Mechanism of extremity injuries occurring during ejection from F-4 aircraft

A retrospective study of F-4 ejections from 1967-77 revealed extremity injuries during the ejection sequence in 43 of 399 ejections for an injury rate of 10.8%. Of the 43 ejections, there were 111 extremity injuries. The injuries were divided into two groups: severe and minimal. Severe injuries consisted of fractures, dislocations, ligamentous tears, and nerve palsys. There were 76 severe injuries. Minimal injuries consisted of contusions, lacerations, and minor sprains. There were 35 minimal injuries. The 76 severe injuries were divided into 50 upper-extremity and 26 lower-extremity injuries. The majority of the severe upper-extremity injuries involved the proximal joints and the majority of the severe lower-extremity injuries involved the distal joints. When the windblast/windflail injuries were compared to the various variables, correlation was seen with the knots indicated airspeed (KIAS), aircraft attitude, and aircraft type. The incidence of extremity injury increases with increased airspeed and a nose-down attitude, and decreases in the RF-4C aircraft configuration.