Military parachute mishap fatalities: a retrospective study

Military parachuting is relatively safe. Most injuries involve vertebral bodies or the lower extremity, and fatalities are rare. We studied 49 military parachute accident facilities occurring during 1964-1989. Causes of the accidents included accidental deployment of reserve parachute in aircraft, static line failures and entanglements, equipment (canopy) failures, in-air collisions, landing injuries, drowning, and dragging. Rarely, preexisting illness such as coronary artery disease caused or contributed to an accident. Pathologic findings revealed a high proportion of deceleration and blunt force injuries: cardiac, aortic and liver laceration, and skull, pelvic and extremity fractures. Isolated head injury, strangulation, and post traumatic pulmonary embolus were occasionally noted. Toxicological examination demonstrated contributing factors such as alcohol intoxication or antihistamine use in a small number of cases. Background investigations, scene inspections, autopsy and toxicology studies all yielded important data or pertinent negatives during investigations. We propose an investigation protocol.