Joint Committee on Aviation Pathology: II. Epidemiology of military air display accidents

The paper examines fatal Canadian military air display accidents occurring between March 1, 1956, and March 1, 1974. They are discussed in detail from a human factors point of view. It was found that single and separated pilots tended to be at high risk compared with their married counterparts and most of the fatally injured pilots had less than 2,000 h total flying time. Time on type was shown to be less important than total flight time, and age in itself was unrelated to the incidence of fatal accidents. Spontaneity and deviation from prearranged plans was featured in many of the accidents. Human failure in the cockpit appears to be less frequent in air display fatalities than in fatal accidents occurring in routine operations; however, human failure in supervision accounted for 30% of the display accident cause factors, a figure much higher than in nonaerobatic fatal accidents. Finally, evidence indicates that it is possible to select and operate an aerobatic team in which the risk of a fatality is low, provided a few simple guidelines are observed by the team selectors and the team members.