Analyzing The Interactions between Brown-out Accidents and Night Vision Equipment in Military Aviation Accidents:

Night vision devices mitigate the risks associated with operations in low levels of visibility. They help personnel to maximize visual resources through image intensification or infrared imaging. However, night vision devices also create new risks. They encourage personnel to conduct operations that would otherwise have been rejected. They also create a host of human factors problems that are implicated in a growing number of military accidents. In particular, the operation of night vision equipment has been associated with several different forms of spatial disorientation. The following pages describe how this disorientation exacerbates the hazards created by ‘brown-out’ landings that occur when visibility is reduced by airborne particles, typically from helicopter downwash. The opening sections of this paper provide a high-level review of night vision operations and of previous accidents related to ‘brown out’ incidents. Subsequent paragraphs focus on a more detailed case study leading to the loss of a Royal Air Force Puma on operational duty in Iraq during November 2007. The closing sections of this paper argue that there is an urgent need to go beyond Boards of Inquiry. We must extend the scope of operational studies across the US and UK armed forced to ensure that we learn the lessons provided by the loss of this Puma and the growing number of similar accidents, which stem from complex interactions between new technology and a range of environmental hazards, including but not limited to ‘brown out’ and ‘white out’ conditions.