Study on PG Accidents with Spine Injuries

---

by Karl Slezak, DHV Safety Chairman
From the DHV-Info, No. 100 (May 1999) from the Safety Issues Section
(a rough translation by Ulf Arndt).

---

About one third of the reported 120 PG accidents in 1998 in Germany resulted in spine injuries. During the research it was endeavoured to contact all the pilots who had suffered spinal injuries. Where this was not possible, the hospitals were queried.

1. Cause of accident

• Nearly half (46%) of injured pilots had a tuck
  
• 22 percent overcontrolled (spin, stall, parachutal)
  
• 13 % misjudged approach
  
• 11 % came down on reserve
  
• 8 % impacted with an obstacle
  
  

These figures highlight again how important it is to control tucks and avoid overcontrol.

2. Severity of injuries

• permanent back damage 2 pilots (4%)
  
• medium permanent handicapped 12 pilots (29%)
  
• light permanent handicapped 12 pilots (29%)
  
• complete recovery 10 pilots (24%)
  
• no injuries 3 pilots (7%)
  
• unknown 3 pilots (7%)
  
  

Checking with hospitals, it looks like the real number of accidents is about double the number reported to DHV.

3. Position of pilot on impact

Impact on ground with

• back and/or bottom first 59%
  
• side, hips 22%
  
• legs first 19%
  
  

This supports the trend to develop backprotectors and side protectors.

4. Usefulness of protectors

Of the pilots who impacted on the back and got injured,

• 16 had no or unsuitable back protectors
  
• 2 had only an airbag
  

Using combination of 17cm foam and airbag

• 3 had no injuries
  
• 1 had non-serious crack, out of a 10m full stall
  
  

Conclusion

• Backprotectors based on foam or foam/airbag with enough thickness reduce the risk of serious spine injuries when impacting on the back or buttocks.
  
  
• Backplates with thin foam are not enough protection.
  
  
• A backprotector is no help on side impacts. At present there is not enough data to study the efficiency of side protectors. There is one case of a pilot who probably suffered no injuries due to side protectors.
  
  
• When impacting with legs first, back and side protectors initially are of no help. It must be endeavoured to use the legs as shock absorbers on impact and then roll over side and back (Parachute Landing Fall). It is important to keep the legs together and knees bent.
  
  
• Impacting with straight, stiff legs can result in very serious, permanent spine damage.
  
  

Selection List