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Published: 2003

Total Pages: 28

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The ethical treatment of human research subjects is a requirement of federal regulations. Accomplishing this goal requires that important bilateral information-sharing between research staff and subjects occurs at all phases of the research process, and that significant safeguards are provided to minimize the potential for injury. This report presents an overview of subject- and injury-management procedures utilized during an aeromedical research project designed to assess the effects of changes in airplane cabin configuration and operation on emergency evacuation through a Type-III overwing exit, as well as an analysis of the injuries sustained by subjects during the study. Subject management procedures included medical screening to assure a basic level of subject health and fitness, briefings applicable to important safety issues in the research process, alteration of the research method to eliminate identified sources of injury, and informed subject consent. All 2,544 subjects completed 4 evacuation trials for a total of 10,176 crossings through the Type-III exit. Fifty- eight (2.3%) of the subjects sustained some type of injury during the evacuations, for a rate of 0.0057 injuries per exit-crossing. Eleven of those injuries (18.6%) were deemed serious. Forty injuries (69.0%) were sustained during high-motivation trials. Differential subject management by flight attendants affected the occurrence of injury, necessitating procedural changes halfway through the study to reduce the injury rate. Injuries are an undesirable corollary to research involving humans. There is a significant potential for injuries in studies simulating emergency evacuation from airplanes in which subjects must navigate a chaotic aircraft cabin, compete for the available egress route, and maneuver through the exit to the outside. Experimental evacuations provide valuable information on injury patterns and prevention that can help airlines increase passenger safety. (4 tables, 21 figures)7