Over the past several decades, data have been collected on U.S. Army aircraft mishaps defining the environment within an aircraft during a mishap, injuries suffered by the occupants, and the cause (or causes) of the mishap, if known. An analysis of these data indicates 60 percent of the occupants are injured, one-third fatally, if the mishap concludes with the aircraft impacting the ground. More significantly, despite improvements in helicopter design, restraint systems, and personal protective equipment, 68 percent of all fatalities had at least one fatal injury to the head. After adjusting for differences in mishaps, including the aircraft series, and the occupant's station within the aircraft, the authors concluded that an occupant's injury risk in a helicopter mishap had decreased significantly between 1980-84 and 1990-94. One factor in this was a decline in the risk of head injury, which declined by 50 percent. Injury risks to the face and brain, critical anatomical regions of the head, also showed a significant decline. Risks of injury to the neck, torso, and upper extremities were not significantly different between the two time intervals. Although the authors could not identify causative factors with clear implications for preventive strategies, the proportion of new, crashworthy helicopters in the U.S. Army fleet have risen steadily since 1980, and a new flyer's helmet with improved impact protection, the SPH-4B, was fielded by the U.S. Army in the 1990s.


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    Title :

    Head Injury Risk in U.S. Army Rotary-Wing Mishaps: Changes Since 1980


    Contributors:
    S. G. Shannon (author) / J. P. Albano (author) / K. T. Mason (author) / J. R. Licina (author)

    Publication date :

    1998


    Size :

    14 pages


    Type of media :

    Report


    Type of material :

    No indication


    Language :

    English