Researcher uses historical data to identify trends in pilot injuries | Article

KISSIMMEE, Fla. — The protective gear currently provided to U.S. Army rotary-wing aircraft crews is effective in protecting against injury from enemy munitions, but the areas most vulnerable to injury remain unprotected arms and legs, according to an analysis of combat damage that occurred during Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom between 2003 and 2014.

Frederick Brozoski, an engineer at the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command's Aeromedical Research Laboratory at Fort Novosel, Alabama, discussed the results of his research on the consequences of enemy attacks on UH-60, AH-64 and CH-47 helicopters during OEF and OIF during a panel discussion at the 2024 Medical Health System Research Symposium on August 28 in Kissimmee, Florida.

“The good news is that the protective systems built into the aircraft and the personal protective equipment of the occupants were very effective in preventing injuries,” said Brozoski. “About 70% of the personnel involved in these battle damage incidents were uninjured.”

According to Brozoski's analysis, the extremities consistently sustained the most injuries from enemy munitions, followed by the face, head and neck, while the chest and abdomen were the least injured. The most common type of injury was penetrations by bullets and shrapnel, in contrast to ground troops, where there were more explosive concussions, he noted.

“This data shows that the unprotected parts of the body are most commonly injured,” Brozoski explained. “If you think about it, the extremities and face are usually unprotected, while the chest, abdomen and head are usually protected by body armor. In addition, many flight crew seats offer additional chest and abdomen protection.”

Brozoski worked with MRDC's Joint Trauma Analysis and Prevention of Injury in Combat Center at Fort Detrick to analyze the data and identify patterns and trends in aircrew injuries. JTAPIC coordinates a unique multi-service partnership with intelligence, medical, operations and materiel experts to enable rapid analysis of complex data on incidents and accidents in the field. The military uses JTAPIC's analytics to improve equipment, tactics, techniques and procedures in the field and in the acquisition process.

The analysis also looked at proportional injury trends among ground troops during both operations and compared them with similar data from World War II and the Korean and Vietnam Wars.

Brozoski noted that the dataset had some limitations. For example, it did not include cases where personal protective equipment and aircraft protection systems prevented injuries, making it difficult to extrapolate the true risk of injury. Nevertheless, the data suggest that additional extremity protection may be warranted, which is a potential avenue for future research.

“We have not found any systematic deficiencies in the current protective equipment for the occupants of army rotary-wing aircraft,” Brozoski said.

USAARL specializes in providing scientific solutions that save lives and maximize the performance of pilots, airmen, and ground troops through partnerships with government, academic, nonprofit, and industry organizations across the United States. The company operates groups specializing in soldier performance, en route care, biomechanics and injury protection, and research platforms.

The annual four-day MHSRS conference is the U.S. Department of Defense's premier gathering in the field of medical research and development. Over 4,000 representatives from the military, academia, private industry, and international partners attended the event to learn about the latest advances and initiatives in health research in combat casualty care, military operational medicine, clinical rehabilitation, information science, infectious diseases, and the health effects of radiation. Many military and civilian representatives from across the MRDC participated in the symposium as panelists and presenters.

Dr. John Crowley, USAARL science program director and co-moderator of the panel discussion titled “Current Challenges in Department of Defense Aerospace Medicine,” noted that aerospace medicine has not played a prominent role in the MHSRS in the past, but interest is growing thanks to cutting-edge research like Brozoski’s.

“It is important to consider the unique performance aspects associated with aviation careers, as well as the environmental pressures associated with them,” said Crowley. “Human performance in an unusual environment such as flight raises a wide range of research questions.”