An evaluation of proposed causal mechanisms for "ejection associated" neck injuries

A major concern to the U.S. Navy has been the incidence of neck injuries sustained in aircraft ejections. Some of these injuries result in lost work days, some require specialized medical treatment and, occasionally, a neck injury is fatal. The net effect of such injuries is to increase the difficulty and cost of achieving specific levels of fleet operational readiness. At the same time, the occurrence of such injuries reduces aircrew confidence in the efficiency and safety of their escape systems. This study was the continuation of a study reported by one of the authors in 1983 (2), and this paper presents the current results in attempting to narrow the field of possible contributing factors and to possibly identify the more significant causal factors and mechanisms.