Collision.

After the crash of a cargo plane on a housing estate in Amsterdam South-East, the Netherlands, in 1992, survivors, their families and the various emergency assistance personnel experienced considerable physical and mental problems, briefly called the posttraumatic stress syndrome. Technical defects of the plane and juristic clumsiness in the elucidation of the circumstances and the content of the cargo--like permitting resumption of flights over the disaster area after only two weeks--further aggravated the public health consequences. Gradually, however, attention shifted to the alleged shortcomings of the medical assistance rendered, mostly communicated by television. Although there are no indications for special causes of health disturbances, a large-scale medical-epidemiological investigation still seems necessary, which, however, is unlikely to dispel the anxiety, grief and uncertainties that have arisen over the years.

Accidents, Aviation↗

PubMed1999

Unexpected findings in the investigation of an airplane crash.

We report on the discovery at autopsy of an unexpected cause of a crash during landing of a small sports plane with four people on board. Surprisingly, an intact bullet and fragments of the casing were found in the body of the pilot. As expected, autopsy of the other passengers predominantly revealed signs of polytraumatization. In addition, one passenger had a tunnel wound to the left hand and another, a soft tissue tear between the thumb and forefinger of the right hand. These wounds were considered to be associated with a shooting incident in the cabin. The autopsy findings and additional gunpowder trace investigations suggested that the pilot had been incapacitated by a shot from behind, resulting in the plane crash. The present findings underscore the importance of conducting autopsies on all air crash victims.

Accidents, Aviation↗