title: Fatal drowning as a result of an airplane crash--case report.
abstract: An ULM (Ultra Light Motorized) plane Aeroprakt 22-L with two men on board dived unexpectedly into the Dworackie lake near the town of Olecko in Warmia and Mazury district, Northeastern Poland. The pilot and the passenger had multiorgan blunt injuries, including subdural and subarachnoid hemorrhage, fractured ribs, fractured thigh (in one of the deceased) and pulmonary contusions as a result of the impact with the lake. The multiorgan injuries and unconsciousness resulting from head trauma prevented the casualties from saving themselves. The underlying cause of the death was the crash into the lake, however drowning was assessed as the proximate cause of death. The accident was analyzed together with an account prepared by State Commission on Aircraft Accident Investigation and with the Human Factor Analysis and Classification System - HFACS (the standardized method of analysis of flight accidents, the tool originally developed and tested within the U.S. military).
authors.affiliation: Department of Forensic Medicine, Medical University of Bialystok, ul. Waszyngtona 13, 15-269 Bialystok, Poland. michalszeremeta@gmail.com
authors.forename: Michal
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Szeremeta
authors.forename: Jacek Robert
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Janica
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Niemcunowicz-Janica
authors.forename: Witold
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Pepinski
mesh_terms: D000060:Accidents, Aviation; D004332:Drowning / Q000473:pathology*; D049429:Forensic Pathology; D006801:Humans; D060106:Lakes; D008168:Lung / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009104:Multiple Trauma / Q000473:pathology; D014474:Unconsciousness / Q000150:complications