Aerospace Medicine Technical Reports
FAA Office of Aerospace Medicine
Civil Aerospace Medical Institute
Report No: DOT/FAA/AM-65/12
Title and Subtitle: Survival of high-velocity free-falls in water.
Report Date: April 1965
Authors: Snyder RG.
Abstract: Forty-four cases of free-falls survived by individuals impacting water environments under conditions of high velocity (50 to 116 ft/sec, corrected for aerodynamic drag) have been intensively investigated and analyzed. Ages varied from 7 to 80 years and the study included 34 males and 10 females.
The falls occurred in 17 states, mainly over a 3-year period, and included all known survivals of water impact at over 50 ft/sec. It was found that the most survivable body orientation, by a factor of five to seven, is a feet-first impact in which critical velocity for human survival was approximately 100 ft/ sec. No correlation of velocity with degree of injury was found, although distinct patterns of injury were shown. Factors believed to influence human survival tolerances are discussed.
Key Words: wounds and injuries, water entry, velocity, survival (personnel), drag, tolerances(physiology), deceleration, shock (pathology), aviation injuries, aviation medicine, astronauts, stress physiology, rescue.
No. of Pages: 14
Civil Aerospace Medical Institute
Report No: DOT/FAA/AM-65/12
Title and Subtitle: Survival of high-velocity free-falls in water.
Report Date: April 1965
Authors: Snyder RG.
Abstract: Forty-four cases of free-falls survived by individuals impacting water environments under conditions of high velocity (50 to 116 ft/sec, corrected for aerodynamic drag) have been intensively investigated and analyzed. Ages varied from 7 to 80 years and the study included 34 males and 10 females.
The falls occurred in 17 states, mainly over a 3-year period, and included all known survivals of water impact at over 50 ft/sec. It was found that the most survivable body orientation, by a factor of five to seven, is a feet-first impact in which critical velocity for human survival was approximately 100 ft/ sec. No correlation of velocity with degree of injury was found, although distinct patterns of injury were shown. Factors believed to influence human survival tolerances are discussed.
Key Words: wounds and injuries, water entry, velocity, survival (personnel), drag, tolerances(physiology), deceleration, shock (pathology), aviation injuries, aviation medicine, astronauts, stress physiology, rescue.
No. of Pages: 14
Last updated: Friday, June 1, 2012