The Role of Protective Visors in Injury Prevention During U.S. Army Rotary-Wing Aviation Accidents.

Abstract : Visors their associated flight helmets are considered Aviation Life Support Equipment (ALSE). The role of visors is to reduce the frequency and severity of facial injuries. To investigate this role, the Army aviation accident database from the U.S. Army Safety Center, Fort Rucker, Alabama, and the ALSE Retrieval Program (ALSERP) database from the U.S. Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory, Fort Rucker, Alabama, were investigated for visor related accident data. In addition, a review of past analyses of head and facial rotary-wing accident data was conducted. The findings support the premise that visors, when properly deployed, play a major role in reducing the frequency and severity of facial injuries.