Startle is a significant contributor to aviation accidents and has been the subject of human factors research for several years. In addition to commonly used methods for measuring pilot startle - such as NASA-TLX and heart rate variability - this study applied frequency analysis to the control inputs of 16 participants. Half of these participants (n = 8) were exposed to a loud (90 db), startling sound during a simulated approach flying task, while the other half (n = 8) were not. The study found no significant difference between groups on either NASA-TLX or HRV metrics. However, a trend was observed indicating that exposure to the startle stimulus increased the quantity of high-power frequency control inputs made by participants. The current findings establish a foundation for frequency metrics as an objective, non-invasive marker of pilot startle. Future research is encouraged to incorporate frequency metrics into a broader set of physiological and performance measurements to better analyse the effects of startle in pilot populations.