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Investigation of a fatal airplane crash: autopsy, computed tomography, and injury pattern analysis used to determine who was steering the plane at the time of the accident. A case report

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Abstract

A fatal accident is reported in which a small single-engine light airplane crashed. The airplane carried two persons in the front seats, both of whom possessed valid pilot certificates. Both victims were subject to autopsy, including post-mortem computed tomography scanning (PMCT) prior to the autopsy. The autopsies showed massive destruction to the bodies of the two victims but did not identify any signs of acute or chronic medical conditions that could explain loss of control of the airplane. PMCT, histological examination, and forensic chemical analysis also failed to identify an explanation for the crash. A detailed review of an airplane identical to the crashed airplane was performed in collaboration with the Danish Accident Investigation Board and the Danish National Police, National Centre of Forensic Services. The injuries were described using the abbreviated injury scale, the injury severity score, 3-dimensional reconstructions of the PMCT, and an injury pattern analysis. We describe how, on basis of these data, we reached a conclusion about which of the two victims was the most likely to have been in control of the airplane at the time of accident. Furthermore, we argue that all victims of fatal airplane crashes should be subject to forensic autopsy, including PMCT and forensic chemical analysis. The continuous accumulation of knowledge about injury patterns from “simple” accidents is the foundation for the correct analysis of “difficult” accidents.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank the Accident Investigation Board Denmark (AIB) and the Danish National Police, National Centre of Forensic Services (NCFS) for their assistance.

Conflicts of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Forensic Medicine, Section for Forensic Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aarhus University, Brendstrupgaardsvej 100, 8200, Aarhus N, Denmark

    Christian Bjerre Høyer, Trine Skov Nielsen, Lise Loft Nagel, Lars Uhrenholt & Lene Warner Thorup Boel

  2. Department of Radiology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus Sygehus, Noerrebrogade 44, 8000, Aarhus C, Denmark

    Lise Loft Nagel

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  1. Christian Bjerre Høyer
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  2. Trine Skov Nielsen
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Correspondence to Christian Bjerre Høyer.

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Høyer, C.B., Nielsen, T.S., Nagel, L.L. et al. Investigation of a fatal airplane crash: autopsy, computed tomography, and injury pattern analysis used to determine who was steering the plane at the time of the accident. A case report. Forensic Sci Med Pathol 8, 179–188 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12024-011-9239-4

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