Assessing the Health Risks of Carrier Landings in U.S. Navy Pilots

摘要

Landing an airplane on an aircraft carrier is one of the most demanding and complex tasks required of Navy pilots. Heart rate values in pilots increase during flight, especially during landings and launch. Because of the hazards involved, carrier landings might have an impact on the health of Navy pilots. This study was designed to determine whether or not carrier landings adversely affected the health of Navy pilots. The objective was to compare the hospitalization and mortality rates of helicopter pilots and fixed-wing pilots who had considerable carrier landing experience with a control group of pilots who had little, if any, carrier landing experience. Results of comparisons across carrier landing exposure groups revealed no significantly higher total hospitalization rate fo any one of the three groups.