The possibility of passengers or crew sustaining head trauma by hitting their head on low entry doors of some commercial aircraft is a concern for more than two-thirds of respondents to a survey on the topic. Almost 90 percent of respondents, many of whom are airline pilots or crew, have witnessed head strikes on low entry doors, the survey said.

 

At least one regional airline pilot sustained serious head injuries from banging his head on an entry door and has been grounded and medically unable to fly since the incident.

 

The survey was conducted by JDA Aviation Technology Solutions, a full service aviation consulting and technology firm, which represents The Head Guard, manufacturer of a removable protective device for aircraft entryways. The results are drawing attention to a previously little-known safety issue involving commercial aircraft, primarily regional jets.

 

“This area of safety is long overdue and I hope that the airlines realize the seriousness of head injuries and do something soon before it is too late. I witnessed a ground service agent coming through the galley service door in IAD and he hit his head so hard it knocked him cold and caused a large cut and excessive bleeding on the top of his forehead,” one survey respondent noted in the comments section.

 

Of the 250 respondents to the on-line survey, 68% said they had hit their head on the top of the main cabin entry door of a commercial airplane. Eighty-eight (88) % of the respondents said they had witnessed individuals hitting their heads entering the aircraft. Of this latter group, two thirds said they had witnessed these occurrences more than five times.

 

Not all respondents thought the possibility of head strikes was a serious problem for airlines and in comments one said “people need to pay attention to what they are doing. The one time I hit my head I was running and not paying attention, neither of which I should have been doing. The passenger I saw hit their head was talking on a cell phone and carrying three bags. Again, the person was not paying attention.”

 

But others were more adamant the issue had to be addressed. One respondent said the liability for head injuries is huge with millions of passengers entering and deplaning aircraft every day. “It's just a matter of time before someone has a lawsuit against an airline. If history has shown us anything, once one lawsuit is filed the next hundred are not far behind.”

 

The survey results can be accessed at http://jdasolutions.aero/images/common/entryway-survey-results.gif or at www.theheadguard.com.

To learn more about Head Guard contact Bill Norwood, JDA VP Products and Technology at 301-941-1460 (ext 170) or 540-825-6663, or via email to wnorwood@jdasolutions.aero.

 

 

 

 

Survey Indicates Aircraft Entry Doors May Pose Head-Strike Problem 

July 18, 2011

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About JDA - For more than 15 years, JDA has been a leading aviation industry consultant, delivering innovative solutions for aviation client challenges in safety, compliance, certification, obstruction evaluation, technology infusion and expert witness support.

 

JDA offers a wide range of certification and operations-related services and products including technology transfer, new carrier certification, obstruction evaluation, safety-based manual systems, ATOS Conformance Audits, Virtual Safety Offices, Crisis Management, and Safety Management Systems.

 

The company’s client base includes American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Republic Airlines, Piedmont Airlines, Sentient Flight Group, Frontier Airlines/Lynx Aviation, CJ Systems Aviation, Sundance Helicopters, Olympus Aviation LLC, Charles E. Smith Inc., and Nevada Development Corporation. JDA also represents ESCO, which manufactures and installs the Engineered Material Arrestor System (EMAS), the FAA certified breakaway-concrete surface installed at the end of runways to provide overrun protection.   

For additional information on JDA Aviation Technology Solutions visit JDA’s website at www.jdasolutions.aero or call 301-941-1460 to arrange for a private briefing.

 

About Head Guard - Head Guard was founded in February 2010 to develop and provide a solution to prevent passengers and service crew from striking their head when entering the main cabin door or service door on airplanes such as regional jets that have a lower door height than larger airplanes.  Head Guard is designed to be quickly attached to and removed from the top of the passenger overhead main cabin entryway before and after the loading and off-loading of passengers. No matter what model, series and make of aircraft that is in the airline’s fleet, the Head Guard will form to each entryway contour by using entryway design specifications. This allows the Head Guard to form fit to the aircraft overhead cabin entryway further reducing any future head injuries and legal liabilities. Go to www.theheadguard.com for more information.

    Aviation Technology Solutions

Since 1994 Aviation’s independent and most trusted partner for safety and performance

 

 

For Release                                                                                          Contact: Mike Rioux

July 18, 2011                                                                                        301.941.1460                                                                                                                                                     mrioux@jdasolutions.aero