Previous military pilots and their later fatal civil aviation accidents
Abstract
Military pilots undergo rigorous selection compared with civilian professional pilots because of different operational requirements. There are no studies of military pilots’ subsequent civil aviation careers and fatal pilot aviation accidents. This study focuses on Vietnam War (VW) pilots and subsequent fatal aviation accidents in the U.S from 1965 to 2018. In total nine aviation accidents met the inclusion criteria and are described in detail, including the pilots’ previous civil aviation incidents. The VW pilots were healthy, had valid Medicals and continued to fly in demanding pilot positions after their military careers. Although the data are limited, this study suggests that previous military pilots may differ slightly from other pilots in their subsequent civil aviation careers.
Keyword : aviation, accident investigation, safety management, pilot, military
How to Cite
Laukkala, T., Pukkala, E., Budowle, B., Sajantila, A., Mäntysaari, M., Huhtala, H., & Vuorio, A. (2021). Previous military pilots and their later fatal civil aviation accidents. Aviation, 25(3), 182-186. https://doi.org/10.3846/aviation.2021.15660
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
References
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Bullman, T., Schneiderman, A., & Gradus, J. L. (2019). Relative importance of posttraumatic stress disorder and depression in predicting risk of suicide among a cohort of Vietnam veterans. Suicide and Life Threatening Behaviour, 49(3), 838–845. https://doi.org/10.1111/sltb.12482
Chatzi, A. V. (2018). Safety management systems: an opportunity and a challenge for military aviation organisations. Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, 91(1), 190–196. https://doi.org/10.1108/AEAT-05-2018-0146
Drinkwater, J. L., & Molesworth, B. R. C. (2010). Pilot see, pilot do: Examining the predictors of pilots’ risk management behaviour. Safety Science, 48(10), 1445–1451. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2010.07.001
Junttila, I. S., Vuorio, A., Budowle, B., Laukkala, T., & Sajantila, A. (2018). Challenges in investigation of diabetes-related aviation fatalities – an analysis of 1491 subsequent aviation fatalities in USA during 2011–2016. International Journal of Legal Medicine, 132(6), 1713–1718. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-018-1879-4
Kantor, J. E., & Bordelon, V. P. (1985). The USAF pilot selection and classification research program. Aviation Space and Environmental Medicine, 56(3), 258–261.
Ketchum, N. S., Michalek, J. E., & Pavuk, M. (2007). Mortality, length of life, and physical examination attendance in participants of the Air Force Health Study. Military Medicine, 172(1), 53–57. https://doi.org/10.7205/MILMED.172.1.53
Knapik, J. J., Marin, R. E., Grier, T. L., & Jones, B. H. (2009). A systematic review of post-deployment injury-related mortality among military personnel deployed to conflict zones. BMC Public Health, 9(1), 231. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-9-231
Le, H., & Lappas, I. (2016). Continuing airworthiness: major drivers and challenges in civil and military aviation. Aviation, 19(4), 165–170. https://doi.org/10.3846/16487788.2015.1126909
Leveson, N. G. (2011). Applying systems thinking to analyze and learn from events. Safety Science, 49(1), 55–64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2009.12.021
Leveson, N. (2015). A systems approach to risk management through leading safety indicators. Reliability Engineering & System Safety, 136, 17–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ress.2014.10.008
Marmar, C. R., Schlenger, W., Henn-Haase, C., Qian, M., Purchia, E., Li, M., Corry, N., Williams, C. S., Ho, C. L., Horesh, D., Karstoft, K. I., Shalev, A., & Kulka, R. A. (2015). Course of posttraumatic stress disorder 40 years after the Vietnam War: findings from the National Vietnam Veterans Longitudinal Study. JAMA Psychiatry, 72(9), 875–881. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2015.0803
Maroco, J., & Bartolo-Ribeiro, R. (2013). Selection of Air Force pilot candidates: a case study on the predictive accuracy of discriminant analysis, logistic regression, and four neural network types. International Journal of Aviation Psychology, 23(2), 130–52. https://doi.org/10.1080/10508414.2013.772837
Martinussen, M., & Torjussen, T. (1988). Pilot selection in the Norwegian Air Force. International Journal of Aviation Psychology, 8(1), 33–45. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327108ijap0801_2
Metsker, M. (2018). Three reasons why U.S. is running out of pilots. https://www.economicmodeling.com/2018/05/24/threereasons-why-us-running-out-of-pilots/
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). (2018). Accident Database and Synopsis. https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/index.aspx
Nix, S., Gossett, K., & Shepherd, A. D. (2013). An investigation of pilot fatigue in helicopter emergency medical services. Air Medical Journal, 32(5), 275–279. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amj.2013.04.001
Sicard, B., Taillemite, J. P., Jouve, E., & Blin, O. (2003). Risk propensity in commercial and military pilots. Aviation Space Environmental Medicine, 74(8), 879–881.
Soeters, J. L., & Boer, P. C. (2000). Culture and flight safety in military aviation. International Journal of Aviation Psychology, 10(2), 111–133. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327108IJAP1002_1
Vuorio, A., Asmayawati, S., Budowle, B., Griffiths, R., Strandberg, T., Kuoppala, J., & Sajantila, A. (2017). General aviation pilots over 70 years old. Aerospace Medicine and Human Performance, 88(2), 142–145. https://doi.org/10.3357/AMHP.4717.2017
Waller, M. & McGuire, A. C. (2011). Changes over time in the “healthy soldier effect”. Population Health Metrics, 9(1), 7. https://doi.org/10.1186/1478-7954-9-7
Zakariassen, E., Waage, S., Harris, A., Gatterbauer-Trischler, P., Lang, B., Voelckel, W., Pallesen, S., & Bjorvatn, B. (2019). Causes and management of sleepiness among pilots in a Norwegian and an Austrian air ambulance service – a comparative study. Air Medical Journal, 38(1), 25–29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amj.2018.11.002