Parachute use doesn’t necessarily prevent death, major injury —Experts

Despite this widely held yet unsubstantiated belief of efficacy, experts have found that parachute use does not reduce death or major traumatic injury when jumping from aircraft.

In a new study, researchers said that parachute use compared with a backpack control does not reduce death or major traumatic injury when used by participants jumping from aircraft.

The study, PARACHUTE trial, is the first randomized clinical trial of the efficacy of parachutes in reducing death and major injury when jumping from an aircraft. It was in the 2018 Christmas edition of the British Medical Journal (BMJ).

For the trial, 92 aircraft passengers aged 18 and over were screened for participation and randomised to either jump from an aircraft (airplane or helicopter) with a parachute or with an empty backpack.

In the study, the composite of death or major traumatic injury upon impact with the ground immediately after landing from a private or commercial aircraft was measured between September 2017 and August 2018.

Participants were instructed to jump from the aircraft after being provided their assigned device. Jumps were conducted at two sites in the US: Katama Airfield in Martha’s Vineyard and the Yankee Air Museum in Belleville.

Information on participants’ medical history including a history of broken bones, acrophobia (fear of heights), previous parachute use, family history of parachute use, and frequent flier status was collected.

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Also, flight characteristics including carrier, velocity, altitude, make and model of the aircraft, the individual’s seating section, and whether the flight was international or domestic was documented.

At the time of each jump, researchers recorded the altitude and velocity of the aircraft, and conducted a follow-up interview with each participant to ascertain vital status and to record any injuries sustained from the free fall within five minutes of impact with the ground, and again at 30 days after impact.

They said the findings should give momentary pause to experts who advocate for routine use of parachutes for jumps from aircraft in recreational or military settings.

Parachutes are routinely used to prevent death or major traumatic injury among individuals jumping from aircraft, but their efficacy is based primarily on biological plausibility and expert opinion.

Although decades of anecdotal experience have suggested that parachute use during jumps from aircraft can save lives, many studies of parachutes have suggested injuries related to their use in both military and recreational settings. Its injuries are formally recognised by the World Health Organisation.