Investigation and analysis of a reported incident resulting in an actual airline hijacking due to a fanatical and engrossed VR state

We begin this report by defining Chronic Alternate-World Disorder (CAWD) as a symptomatic behavior in which a person becomes fanatically engrossed in a virtual-reality (VR) world to the extent that he or she can no longer dis tinguish between the actual world and virtual reality. We then report on ou r investigation and provide an analysis and discussion of what we believe t o be a case of CAWD. The case in question involves a perpetrator who hijack ed a jumbo jetliner in order to fly the airplane on his own, after developi ng CAWD from the use of light-simulator software. Psychiatrists and physici ans specializing in VR-related disorders have analyzed the case's psycholog ical, social, and technical background based on previously disclosed inform ation. We believe symptomatic cases of CAWD will increase as VR spreads thr oughout our society. In view of this, our objective is to propose precautio nary and preventive measures for providers of VR systems for patients with schizophrenia or personality disorders, from psychiatric and sociological p erspectives.