Human Injury Criteria Relative to Civil Aircraft Seat and Restraint Systems

The use of injury criteria as a basis for the acceptance of seats and restraint systems designed to possess some capacity for crash injury protection has been common for several years in military aircraft and automotive systems, but has only recently been considered for civil aircraft systems. This paper will present the background for the concept of “injury criteria” as distinct from “voluntary human tolerance,” and will explain methods used in developing certain criteria which are most likely to be useful in evaluating civil aircraft seat and restraint system performance. Finally, techniques for using the measurements in testing will be summarized, and guidance will be provided to the system designer which may assist in meeting the goals established by the criteria.