MILITARY AIRBORNE TRAINING INJURIES AND INJURY RISK FACTORS (original) (raw)

The Military Training Task Force of the Defense Safety Oversight Council funded a project to compare injury rates between the older T-10 parachute and the newer T-11 parachute. This is a preliminary report on injury incidence and injury risk factors with the T-10 parachute. From 17 June to 3 December 2010, injury and operational data were systematically collected on all jump operations performed by the 82nd Airborne Division (Fort Bragg, North Carolina) while using T-10D parachutes. Data on injured jumpers included injury diagnosis, anatomical location of the injury, and how the injury occurred. Operational data from flight manifests and flash reports included the date and time of the jump, type of jump (administrative/non-tactical (Hollywood) or combat load), unit involved, drop zone, entanglements, Soldiers’ rank, jump order (order in which the Soldiers exited the aircraft), door side (right, left, tailgate), aircraft type, and time from redeployment to jump operation. Dry bulb temperature, humidity, and wind speed were obtained using a Kestrel® Model 4500 pocket weather tracker. There were a total of 23,031 jumps resulting in 242 injured Soldiers for a crude injury incidence of 10.5/1,000 jumps. There were 12 entanglements for an entanglement incidence of 0.52/1,000 jumps. In 2/3 of the injury cases (n=160) an event associated with the injury was determined and these included ground impact (n=120), static line problems (n=17), tree landings (n=6), entanglements (n=6), aircraft exits (n=4), landing on equipment (n=2), dragging by parachute on ground (n=2), parachute risers (n=2), and lowering line (n=1). The incidence of static line injuries evacuated to the hospital (more serious) was 0.30/1,000 jumps, twice as high as the incidence of 0.15/1,000 jumps reported from 1994 to 1996 at Fort Bragg. Univariate analysis (chi-square statistics) showed that higher injury risk was associated with night jumps, combat loads, higher wind speeds, higher dry bulb temperatures, higher humidity, C17 Globemaster or C130 Hercules aircrafts (compared to the other aircraft), exits through doors (as opposed to tailgates), the Geronimo drop zone (at Fort Polk, Louisiana), entanglements, and longer times from redeployments to jumps. Multivariate backward stepping logistic regression indicated that independent risk factors for injuries included night jumps, combat loads, higher wind speeds, higher dry bulb temperatures, and entanglements. Static line injuries appear to be higher than in the past and training and procedural options to reduce injuries of this type should be considered. An appreciation of injury incidence, how airborne injuries occur, and factors increasing injury risk can assist medical and operational planners in further reducing the incidence of injury during airborne training operations.