Evaluation of the Head Injury Hazard during Military Parachuting

Abstract

The incidence of head injury during U.S. Army airborne training and airborne operations has doubled in recent years. A number of factors are known to contribute to head injuries incurred during airborne training/operations. These factors include the small amount of impact protection provided by the PASGT helmet, shortcomings in training procedures, and failure of trained airborne troops to follow proper procedures when jumping. Other factors are involved as well. This report shows, with relatively little modification, the impact protection and retention characteristics of the PASGT airborne helmet can be significantly improved. Also, this report evaluates a number of factors present in airborne training and operational environments that contribute to head injury and explains how training and operational procedures can be modified to reduce the incidence of repeated headstrikes and subsequent serious head injuries. Head injury; Impact protection; PASGT helmet; Operational environments; Headstrikes.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 01, 1990
Accession Number
ADA220724

Entities

People

  • Charles R. Paschal Jr.
  • Dennis F. Shanahan
  • Joseph L. Haley. Jr
  • Ronald W. Palmer

Organizations

  • United States Army Aeromedical Research Lab

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Accidents
  • Air Force
  • Air Force Facilities
  • Aircrafts
  • Army Aircraft
  • Army Aviation
  • Biomedical Research
  • Corporations
  • Head Injuries
  • Health Services
  • Materials
  • Medical Personnel
  • Military Research
  • Students
  • Test And Evaluation
  • Training
  • United States

Readers

  • Aviation Safety Risk Assessment.
  • Human-Computer Interaction (HCI).
  • Military Training and Readiness Simulation