Evaluation of Lumbar-Load Criterion Based on Test Data and Field Performance Results of the UH-60 Black Hawk Crew Seat

The BAE Systems legacy UH-60A/L Black Hawk Crew Seat has been in serial production for almost 40 years, and has garnered a reputation for providing a high degree of crash safety to its occupants. The seat has been dynamically tested over 150 times, providing a wealth of test data that are summarized in this paper. This paper also presents a review of data from actual UH-60A/L crashes that verifies the seat's excellent performance with regards to minimizing occupant compressive spinal injuries. In addition, this paper presents a compilation of test data containing ATD lumbar-load readings. The dynamic test results are then compared to the lumbar-load limits specified in JSSG-2010-7 and the more recent Full Spectrum Crashworthiness (FSC) Criteria for Rotorcraft. This comparison shows that the seat most likely would not have passed the FSC criteria, which indicates that either the FSC lumbar-load limits are set too low, or that the dynamic test pulses do not replicate the actual crash environment. The JSSG criteria were found to be a better predictor of the seat's actual crash performance.