ACTIVE CREW RESTRAINT DEMONSTRATION

The U.S. Army has been developing active crew restraint technologies as a result of recent studies that indicate a high percentage of injuries in crashes occur as a result of occupants striking cockpit structures. Two full-scale crash tests were conducted to demonstrate, under realistic crash conditions, the performance of active crew restraints which included the Inflatable Body and Head Restraint System (IBAHRS) and the Cockpit Air Bag System (CABS). The AH-1S Cobra helicopter was chosen as the support aircraft for the Active Crew Restraint Demonstration (ACRD) tests. The impact conditions selected for both tests are considered to be moderately severe, based upon U.S. Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory studies, and represent a high percentage of the survivable mishaps. In both tests the IBAHRS and CABS were fully deployed at the proper time to provide their maximum protection capabilities. This program demonstrated that these systems have the potential to reduce the number of injuries and fatalities resulting from contact with interior cockpit structures in a crash.