Will they fly again? The probability of wounded military aviators returning to flying duty: a study of 70 cases

In this study, 70 Israeli Air Force aviators, most of them suffering from severe or moderately-severe injuries, were evaluated as to their potential to return to active flying duty. Of these, 59 (84%) were able to return to flying and 11 (16%) were permanently grounded. While 44 of 51 fighter aviato...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Aviation, space, and environmental medicine Vol. 56; no. 7; p. 702
Main Authors:	Dreyfuss, U Y, Caine, Y G, Margaliot, S Z
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	United States 01-07-1985
Subjects:	Accidents, Aviation Adult Aerospace Medicine Disabled Persons Humans Israel Military Medicine Professional Competence Time Factors Wounds and Injuries - rehabilitation Israel
Online Access:	Get more information
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Summary:	In this study, 70 Israeli Air Force aviators, most of them suffering from severe or moderately-severe injuries, were evaluated as to their potential to return to active flying duty. Of these, 59 (84%) were able to return to flying and 11 (16%) were permanently grounded. While 44 of 51 fighter aviators (86%) returned to flying, only 30 of them (59%) returned to fly fighters, and the rest were transferred to another type of aircraft. The roles of age and severity of injury were studied in detail and it was concluded that higher age and severe injuries prolong the convalescence period but do not prevent the aviator from returning to flying. Nine aviators were permanently grounded because of medical reasons. In each case a single injury could be demonstrated as the direct cause of their permanent grounding. All aviators were followed-up for 3 years after having returned to flying. It was concluded that an evaluation period of 2 years is sufficient to determine the long-term success of military aviators returning to flying.
ISSN:	0095-6562