Survival of high-velocity free-falls in water.

Details

• Creators:
  Snyder, Richard G.
• Corporate Creators:
  Civil Aeromedical Research Institute
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Flight
  • Crash landing
  • Turbulence
  • VTOL aircraft
  • Human factors
  • Set forward force
  • Force
  • Tolerance (Physiology)
  • Survival
  • Free fall
  More +
• Publication/ Report Number:
  AM 65-12 ; DOT/FAA/AM-65/12
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States
• Corporate Publisher:
  Civil Aerospace Medical Institute
• Abstract:
  Forty-four cases of free-falls survived by individuals impacting water environments under conditions of high velocity (50 to 116 ft/sec, corrected for aerodynamic drag) have been intensively investigated and analyzed. Ages varied from 7 to 80 years and the study included 34 males and 10 females. ; The falls occurred in 17 states, mainly over a 3-year period, and included all known survivals of water impact at over 50 ft/sec. It was found that the most survivable body orientation, by a factor of five to seven, is a feet-first impact in which critical velocity for human survival was approximately 100 ft/ sec. No correlation of velocity with degree of injury was found, although distinct patterns of injury were shown. Factors believed to influence human survival tolerances are discussed.
• Format:
  PDF
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/20740/dot_20740_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 784.75 KB]
• Collection(s):
  FAA Civil Aerospace Medical Institute ; US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:09d2f867d9a34a1528eeb9665e94602c5f3634dffb34d0bfb880fae535323933cc7f21a9d9f27c01f8ffd08ee08a05f9af63dc62d0ee6e149548f1fa883c1b80