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Army aeromedical crash rates
R A De Lorenzo1, R L Freid, A R Villarin
1Department of Medical Science, U.S. Army Academy of Health Sciences, Fort Sam Houston, TX 78234-6132, USA.
Military Medicine
|March 2, 1999
Summary
Army helicopter safety is high, with aeromedical and general aviation crash rates showing no significant difference. Both military rates are comparable to civilian aviation safety benchmarks.
Area of Science:
- Aviation Safety
- Aeromedical Operations
- Military Aviation
Background:
- Safety is paramount in military and civilian aviation, particularly within U.S. Army aeromedical programs.
- The U.S. Army conducts numerous helicopter missions annually, including vital aeromedical flights.
- Comparing Army general and aeromedical aviation crash data establishes safety benchmarks for these programs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine and compare the crash rates of U.S. Army aeromedical rotary-wing (helicopter) programs.
- To benchmark aeromedical safety against general Army aviation crash rates.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective review of U.S. Army aviation safety data from 1987 to 1995.
- Crashes categorized into Class A (most severe) and Classes B/C (lesser mishaps).
- Crash rates calculated per 100,000 flight hours; statistical analysis using z test with Yates' correction (p < 0.05).
Main Results:
- Over 13.31 million total flight hours and 741,000 aeromedical hours were analyzed.
- Mean Class A crash rate: 1.86 (general aviation) vs. 2.02 (aeromedical).
- Mean Class A-C crash rate: 7.37 (general aviation) vs. 7.44 (aeromedical); no practical difference observed.
Conclusions:
- Overall incidence of crashes in both Army general and aeromedical aviation is very low.
- No significant practical difference exists between Army aeromedical and general aviation mishap rates.
- U.S. Army aviation crash rates are comparable to published civilian aviation mishap rates.