Pre-escape and escape aircraft maneuvers and gyrations: a critical under-reported problem affecting escape system...

A major problem confronting both the requirements formulators and the designers of aircrew escape systems is defining the systems' operational emergency conditions. For years the community has relied on computerized compilations of such data. However, increasingly, examination of original records reveals that the report originators are not sufficiently thorough in completing the block sections of the form. As a consequence computerized searches for pre-escape and escape aircraft maneuvering and gyrations show these conditions to be dramatically under-reported. Several recent studies suggest this under-reporting approximates 100%. This is critical because the associated aircraft motions may adversely affect seat separation from the aircraft, degrading system stability, and aircrew safety.