Table 4.
Association Between Airborne Injuries and Type of Aircraft
| Comparison |
Study |
Conditions |
No. of Aircraft Exits |
Aircraft |
Risk Ratio (95% CI) |
Summary Risk Ratio (Summary 95% CI) |
Q Statistic P Value |
I2 Statistic |
Begg and Mazumdar Correlation (P Value) |
| All aircraft | Essex-Lopresti,25 1946a | 0–15-knot wind speedsb | 810 | Balloon | 1.00 | Fixed-wing aircraft/ balloonc 2.99 (0.89, 9.96) | <.01 | 93 | 0.67 (.15) |
| 19 564 | Dakota (fixed wing) | 1.60 (0.83, 3.08) | |||||||
| Pirson and Verbiest,28 1985a | Day jumps | 93 007 | Balloon | 1.00 | |||||
| 65 711 | C-130 Hercules (fixed wing) | 1.52 (1.09, 2.13) | |||||||
| Lillywhite,30 1991a | All | 7120 | Balloon | 1.00 | |||||
| 25 093 | C-130 Hercules (fixed wing) | 11.54 (5.96, 22.34) | |||||||
| 2023 | Helicopters (types not specified) | 1.56 (0.48, 5.07) | |||||||
| Neves et al,41 2009 | All | 12 925 | C-130 Hercules (fixed wing) | 1.00 | |||||
| 803 | C-115 Buffalo (fixed wing) | 2.20 (1.31, 3.69) | |||||||
| 2014 | C-95 Bandeirante (fixed wing) | 2.94 (2.14, 4.04) | |||||||
| Deaton and Roby,42 2010 | All | 503 | C-130J Hercules (fixed wing) | 1.00 | |||||
| 267 | CH-53 Sea Stallion (rotary wing) | 1.87 (0.38, 9.22) | |||||||
| 193 | MV-22 Osprey (fixed and rotary wing) | 1.71 (0.29, 10.17) | |||||||
| Knapik et al,5 2014 | All | 83 498 | C-130 Hercules (fixed wing) | 1.00 | |||||
| 33 045 | C-17 Globemaster (fixed wing) | 1.06 (0.93, 1.22) | |||||||
| 9051 | C-23 Sherpa (fixed wing) | 0.29 (0.20, 0.44) | |||||||
| 2160 | C-160 Transall (fixed wing) | 0.46 (0.24, 0.89) | |||||||
| 73 | C-212 CASA Aviocar (fixed wing) | d | |||||||
| 2667 | CH-47 Chinook (rotary wing) | 0.21 (0.90, 0.50) | |||||||
| 1253 | UH-60 Blackhawk (rotary wing) | d | |||||||
| Fixed wing/rotary wing | Lillywhite,30 1991 | All | 2023 | Helicopters (types not specified) | 1.00 | Fixed-wing/rotary-wing aircrafte | .01 | 77 | 0.01 (>.99) |
| 25 093 | C-130 Hercules (fixed wing) | 7.38 (2.76, 19.74) | 3.46 (0.91, 13.23) | ||||||
| Deaton and Roby,42 2010 | All | 271 | CH-53 Sea Stallion (rotary wing) | 1.00 | |||||
| 506 | C-130J Hercules (fixed wing) | 0.53 (0.11, 2.63) | |||||||
| Knapik et al,5 2014 | All | 3920 | All rotary wing (CH-47, UH-60) | 1.00 | |||||
| 127 827 | All fixed wing (C-130, C-17, C-23, C-160, C-212) | 6.67 (2.78, 16.67) |
Abbreviation: CI, confidence interval.
a
Included in the meta-analysis.
b
No balloon jumps were conducted at wind speeds >12 knots.
c
Risk ratio is calculated as fixed-wing aircraft/balloon.
d
No injuries occurred with these aircraft, but the number of jumps was small.
e
Risk ratio is calculated as fixed-wing/rotary-wing aircraft.