ORIENTATION-ERROR ACCIDENTS IN THE REGULAR ARMY AIRCRAFT DURING FISCAL YEAR 1967: RELATIVE INCIDENCE AND COST

: The report deals with the magnitude of the pilot disorientation/vertigo accident problem in Regular Army fixed wing and rotary wing flight operations. Factors involved in the development of an operational definition of the orientation-error class of aircraft accidents are discussed. Incidence and cost data presented for fiscal year 1967 include a total of 57 major and minor orientation-error accidents (19 of which were fatal), resulting in 45 fatalities, 105 nonfatal injuries, and a total aircraft damage cost of $10,144, 034. The contribution of rotary wing orientation-error accidents to this total was 55 accidents (18 of which were fatal), resulting in 44 fatalities, 104 nonfatal injuries, and a total aircraft damage cost of $10,116,847.