The post crash fire hazard has long been considered the most serious threat to personnel involved in aviation. 1 Helicopter crashes have a high vertical acceleration component that crush fuel cells located beneath the cockpit and passenger compartments. Misting of fuel in the cockpit is common. Rotor action causes the aircraft to rollover or beat itself apart structurally.
Fire is immediate and rapid spreading.
Small internal volumes surrounded by large areas of Plexiglas that usually break open on impact dictate a maximum time to egress and be outside the fireball in 17 seconds. Cause of death is flame contact and superheated air or flame inhalation. Jet A fuel are nearly identical in this characteristic. But no such reduction will occur if the crews reject it entirely, modify it to meet comfort requirements, or wear it improperly. 4 Previous data generated by U.S. military forces has been criticized as being non-transferable to civilian EMS operations, crash scenarios, and post crash survival outcomes.