Helicopter aviators overwhelmingly report back, neck pain from flying
Published: July 28, 2011
WASHINGTON -- Fully 85 percent of military aviators and crewmembers who responded to a Pentagon-funded survey earlier this year reported that they experience discomfort or pain while flying in helicopters, according to data released this week.
The anonymous survey of 8,000 servicemembers also found that as many as 60 percent of aviators avoid getting medical help because they fear that doing so will lead to losing their flight qualification status.
Officials at a forum in Washington this week said they’re not at all surprised by the results, which echo the findings of other, smaller studies. They think the main problem is that while helicopter seats are designed to protect passengers in the event of a crash, little attention is paid to how comfortable they are or how much they protect passengers from the effects of aircraft vibration over time.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, a blue ribbon panel of retired admirals and generals met at the Naval Heritage Center to hear the results of the survey and discuss ideas for improving helicopter seats.
Aviators have been traditionally reluctant to complain about the lack of comfort in helicopter seats, officials said, because to do so would make them seem weak within the community of pilots and crewmembers.
While survey participants did not have to give their names, some of their comments were highlighted at the forum. Across the board, servicemembers said they really don’t like the seats in almost all rotary wing military aircraft.
“Crewmembers in UH-60s [Black Hawk helicopters] have the worst seat in the Army,” one participant reported. “No leg room and constantly bent over.”
“Myself, as well as many other crew members, continually avoided seeking medical attention for the pain while in combat zones,” another participant was reported as saying.
The only military-sanctioned remedy another servicemember reported finding was, “800 milligrams of Motrin.” Participants in the forum proposed looking at the seats that drivers in NASCAR and Formula One race cars, and brought in the director of design facilitation from Herman Miller Inc., the office furniture and equipment manufacturer to discuss how that company develops new chairs.
“Many of the people first noticed the pain in the first 500 to 1,000 hours of flying,” said Dick Healing, a former U.S. Navy safety chief who led a consulting team that analyzed the data. The would suggest that many helicopter pilots and crewmembers spend almost their entire careers dealing with back, neck, shoulder and leg pain.
