The dental X-ray file of crew members in the Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS)

In 1977, the Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) established a dental X-ray file of all crew members. Its aim was to have immediately available an adequate set of physical antemortem data useful for identification in case of a fatal crash. Recently, an investigation into the quality and suitability of this material was carried out. The radiographs of 100 Danish, 100 Norwegian, and 100 Swedish pilots were picked at random and evaluated for formal deficiences, technical deficiencies, treatment pattern as useful for identification purposes, and the presence of pathology. The major results of the investigation were that a number of formal and technical deficiencies were disclosed, that the treatment pattern would seem adequate for identification purposes, and that a number of pathological findings were made, several of which had to be considered possible safety risks in the form of barodontalgia.