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Previous military pilots and their later fatal civil aviation accidents

    Tanja Laukkala   Affiliation
    ; Eero Pukkala   Affiliation
    ; Bruce Budowle   Affiliation
    ; Antti Sajantila   Affiliation
    ; Matti Mäntysaari Affiliation
    ; Heini Huhtala Affiliation
    ; Alpo Vuorio   Affiliation

Abstract

Military pilots undergo rigorous selection compared with civilian professional pilots because of different operational requirements. There are no studies of military pilots’ subsequent civil aviation careers and fatal pilot aviation accidents. This study focuses on Vietnam War (VW) pilots and subsequent fatal aviation accidents in the U.S from 1965 to 2018. In total nine aviation accidents met the inclusion criteria and are described in detail, including the pilots’ previous civil aviation incidents. The VW pilots were healthy, had valid Medicals and continued to fly in demanding pilot positions after their military careers. Although the data are limited, this study suggests that previous military pilots may differ slightly from other pilots in their subsequent civil aviation careers.

Keyword : aviation, accident investigation, safety management, pilot, military

How to Cite
Laukkala, T., Pukkala, E., Budowle, B., Sajantila, A., Mäntysaari, M., Huhtala, H., & Vuorio, A. (2021). Previous military pilots and their later fatal civil aviation accidents. Aviation, 25(3), 182-186. https://doi.org/10.3846/aviation.2021.15660
Published in Issue
Oct 28, 2021
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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