Aviation

Commercial Aviation

Injury evaluation of passengers and crew members involved in aviation incidents poses a unique set of challenges and requires qualified experts to address these issues. Several of BRC Consultants in this practice area are Board Certified in Aerospace Medicine and have years of experience investigating aviation mishaps in both the military and civilian sectors. Evaluated issues involve injury causation analyses, assessment of pain and suffering, and other physiological aspects associated with the crew and passengers. BRC has been involved in analyzing many major commercial aircraft incidents during the last twenty years. BRC Consultant experience includes the 1988 Pan Am Lockerbie Air Disaster in Scotland, the 1989 DC-10 crash in Sioux City, IA, the 2000 Alaska Airlines crash off Point Mugu, CA, and the 2006 Regional Jet Crash in Lexington, KY.

General Aviation

BRC Consultants have the background and experience to address injury aspects of incidents and accidents in the general aviation arena. In addition to medical and engineering degrees, a number of BRC Consultants are also qualified pilots and, with their Aerospace Medicine background, they may address such crew issues as spatial disorientation in addition to the traditional post-accident injury analysis. BRC has evaluated injury causation for a wide range of general negligence and product liability cases to assess such issues as:

• Restraint use/non-use
• Who was flying?
• Seat separation
• Occupant ejection
• Crashworthiness claims
• Pain and suffering

Other Aircraft

Other aviation analyses may involve helicopters, hang gliders, and other types of aircraft. BRC Consultants are experienced in the application of injury causation analysis in a variety of aircraft incidents. These types of scenarios may include reported injuries during a crash, or they may be attributed to entry/exit of an aircraft, or being struck by items stored in an overhead bin. Injury causation analysis can be utilized to assess cause of death in fatal incidents, or evaluate how or whether reported injuries are related to the event. BRC Consultants are also experienced in the analysis of situations where aircraft mechanics and support personnel are involved in incidents where there is a potential for injury. Analysis of the available physical evidence may allow BRC Consultants to assess probability for injury in a specific scenario or relate injury causation to a specific mechanism in the event.

Government and Military

The recognized capabilities of BRC Consultants in the aviation and space arena has led to their participation in evaluations for NASA of crew survivability issues in the 2003 Columbia Space Shuttle accident, the 1975 “Operation Babylift” C5A crash in Vietnam, and numerous retentions in litigation cases involving military fixed wing and helicopter crashes as well as helicopters operated by the U.S. Border Patrol, municipal police and fire services, and other medical evacuation services.