Dummy and Injury Criteria for Aircraft Crashworthiness

Since 1988, newly type certificated aircraft are required to comply with stringent crashworthiness requirements. Central to these more stringent requirements is a dynamic test that assesses the potential for injury for someone exposed to similar conditions. In this paper the techniques and reference values used for measuring the impact protection offered by aircraft seating systems are reviewed. General requirements of a crash dummy are enumerated. The use and limitations of various designs of adult sized front and side dummies are discussed, and relationships relating dynamic variables measured with a dummy to the probability of an injury are referenced.