Yeoman Kristin, O'Connor Mary B, Sochor Sara, Poplin Gerald
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 315 E. Montgomery Ave., Spokane, WA, 99207, USA.
University of Virginia Center for Applied Biomechanics, 404 Lewis & Clark Drive, Charlottesville, VA, 22911, USA.
Inj Epidemiol. 2020 Dec 7;7(1):64. doi: 10.1186/s40621-020-00288-5.
Transportation events are the most common cause of offshore fatalities in the oil and gas industry, of which helicopter accidents comprise the majority. Little is known about injury distributions in civilian helicopter crashes, and knowledge of injury distributions could focus research and recommendations for enhanced injury prevention and post-crash survival. This study describes the distribution of injuries among fatalities in Gulf of Mexico oil and gas industry-related helicopter accidents, provides a detailed injury classification to identify potential areas of enhanced safety design, and describes relevant safety features for mitigation of common injuries.
Decedents of accidents during 2004-2014 were identified, and autopsy reports were requested from responsible jurisdictions. Documented injuries were coded using the Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS), and frequency and proportion of injuries by AIS body region and severity were calculated. Injuries were categorized into detailed body regions to target areas for prevention.
A total of 35 autopsies were coded, with 568 injuries documented. Of these, 23.4% were lower extremity, 22.0% were thorax, 13.6% were upper extremity, and 13.4% were face injuries. Minor injuries were most prevalent in the face, neck, upper and lower extremities, and abdomen. Serious or worse injuries were most prevalent in the thorax (53.6%), spine (50.0%), head (41.7%), and external/other regions (75.0%). The most frequent injuries by detailed body regions were thoracic organ (23.0%), thoracic skeletal (13.3%), abdominal organ (9.6%), and leg injuries (7.4%). Drowning occurred in 13 (37.1%) of victims, and drowning victims had a higher proportion of moderate brain injuries (7.8%) and lower number of documented injuries (3.8) compared with non-drowning victims (2.9 and 9.4%, respectively).
Knowledge of injury distributions focuses and prioritizes the need for additional safety features not routinely used in helicopters. The most frequent injuries occurred in the thorax and lower extremity regions. Future research requires improved and expanded data, including collection of detailed data to allow characterization of both injury mechanism and distribution. Improved safety systems including airbags and helmets should be implemented and evaluated for their impact on injuries and fatalities.
运输事故是石油和天然气行业海上死亡的最常见原因，其中直升机事故占大多数。对于民用直升机坠毁中的损伤分布了解甚少，而了解损伤分布可以为加强伤害预防和坠机后生存的研究及建议提供重点。本研究描述了墨西哥湾石油和天然气行业相关直升机事故死亡者的损伤分布情况，提供了详细的损伤分类以确定加强安全设计的潜在领域，并描述了减轻常见损伤的相关安全特征。
确定了2004 - 2014年事故的死者，并向相关司法管辖区索要尸检报告。使用简略损伤量表（AIS）对记录的损伤进行编码，并计算按AIS身体部位和严重程度划分的损伤频率和比例。将损伤分类到详细的身体部位，以确定预防目标区域。
共对35份尸检报告进行了编码，记录了568处损伤。其中，23.4%为下肢损伤，22.0%为胸部损伤，13.6%为上肢损伤，13.4%为面部损伤。轻伤在面部、颈部、上肢和下肢以及腹部最为常见。重伤或更严重的损伤在胸部（53.6%）、脊柱（50.0%）、头部（41.7%）和外部/其他区域（75.0%）最为常见。按详细身体部位划分，最常见的损伤是胸部器官（23.0%）、胸部骨骼（13.3%）、腹部器官（9.6%）和腿部损伤（7.4%）。13名（37.1%）受害者溺水，与非溺水受害者相比，溺水受害者中度脑损伤的比例更高（7.8%），记录的损伤数量更少（3.8处，而非溺水受害者分别为2.9处和9.4处）。
了解损伤分布情况突出并优先考虑了直升机通常未使用的额外安全特征的需求。最常见的损伤发生在胸部和下肢区域。未来的研究需要改进和扩展数据，包括收集详细数据以确定损伤机制和分布特征。应实施并评估包括安全气囊和头盔在内的改进安全系统对损伤和死亡的影响。
