Parachute use to prevent death and major trauma when jumping from aircraft: randomized controlled trial
People just *assume* that you’d be much better off jumping from an airplane with a parachute rather than an empty backpack. But is that true? Some researchers did a study to find out and have published the results in the prestigious “The BMJ” (formerly “British Medical Journal”).
Abstract
Objective To determine if using a parachute prevents death or major traumatic injury when jumping from an aircraft.
Design Randomized controlled trial.
Setting Private or commercial aircraft between September 2017 and August 2018.
Participants 92 aircraft passengers aged 18 and over were screened for participation. 23 agreed to be enrolled and were randomized.
Intervention Jumping from an aircraft (airplane or helicopter) with a parachute versus an empty backpack (unblinded).
Main outcome measures Composite of death or major traumatic injury (defined by an Injury Severity Score over 15) upon impact with the ground measured immediately after landing.
Results Parachute use did not significantly reduce death or major injury (0% for parachute v 0% for control; P>0.9). This finding was consistent across multiple subgroups. Compared with individuals screened but not enrolled, participants included in the study were on aircraft at significantly lower altitude (mean of 0.6 m for participants v mean of 9146 m for non-participants; P<0.001) and lower velocity (mean of 0 km/h v mean of 800 km/h; P<0.001).
Read further at the link for details. See if you can spot the minor issue that *may* have contributed to this perhaps surprising result.