Cornell University Medical College, Crash Injury Research Project Collection

The Crash Injury Research Project (CIR) was founded at Cornell University Medical College in March 1942 by Hugh DeHaven, PhD. Dr. DeHaven’s interest in crash survivability began in 1917 when he was involved in a mid-air collision, of which he was the only survivor. He came to believe that many crash injuries were tied closely to the design of the plane and could, with careful engineering, be substantially reduced.

In 1937 Dr. DeHaven embarked on a series of studies on freefalls to analyze the body's ability to withstand impact. In 1942 he shared with Dr. Eugene DuBois (a member of the National Research Council's Committee on Aviation Medicine) that the survivability rate of air accidents could be greatly increased if safety engineering research was done involving the recording and collecting of data on crashes, with analyses made from the data that could then be implemented in future plane designs for greater safety. Funding was obtained from the National Research Council and the Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD) of the federal government. The CIR was housed in the Department of Physiology at Cornell University Medical College, of which Dr. DuBois was Chairman. Dr. Joseph Hinsey, Dean of the Cornell University Medical College, was the Responsible Investigator for the Project.

The CIR’s work received a great deal of attention from the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) and the Civil Aeronautics Authority (CAA). The CIR’s recommendations and safety devices were adopted by airplane builders in my instances. During World War II, the CIR worked closely with the government and opened two branch offices in Washington. These branches were discontinued as a part of the CIR at the end of the war when funding from the OSRD was cut off.

In 1951 the CIR began to aid the Indiana State Police in their studies of automotive accidents. They devised forms for data collection (as they had done in the aviation field) and offered to help analyze the data. In March 1953, a separate Automotive CIR (ACIR) was set up under the Directorship of John Moore.

When the separate automotive branch was formed, the aviation studies (now termed AvCIR) were placed under the control of the Office of the Vice-President for Research at Cornell University. In December 1954 Hugh DeHaven retired and A. Howard Hasbrook took over AvCIR. Funds were obtained from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, and also from the Office of Naval Research (ONR). At this time the aviation part of the CIR moved away from the Cornell University Medical College, organizationally and also physically.

AvCIR moved first to the Cornell-Guggenheim Aviation Safety Research Center. This had been the Daniel and Florence Guggenheim Aviation Safety Center at Cornell University, although it was based on Park Avenue in New York City. With the great growth in the automotive area of Crash Injury, it was felt that a research facility with total emphasis on aviation studies would be better for the AvCIR group, while their departure would leave more room for the automotive people. Cornell-Guggenheim had worked closely with AvCIR for years.

By 1955 AvCIR moved from the Cornell-Guggenheim Aviation Safety Research Center to a new base at LaGuardia Airport, with the Cornell University Medical College being only minimally involved. In 1957 the aviation studies moved to Phoenix, Arizona, and then became a formal division of the Flight Safety Foundation, Inc. This group had been formed in 1945 by Major Crane and David Morrison, both of whom were involved with the Washington branches of the CIR during World War II. The Flight Safety Foundation was taken over in 1968 by a company called Dynamic Science of Marshall Industries. In 1972 this company was sold to Ultrasystems, Inc.

ACIR, with John Moore as Director, remained at Cornell University Medical College under the Department of Public Health. During 1957 and 1958 a split developed in the workings of the CIR. John Moore sought financial support from various car manufacturers so ACIR could continue the accumulation and correlation of automobile crash data. A separate section, under Dr. James McCarroll and championed by Dr. Walsh McDermott, Chairman of the Department of Public Health, appeared with an emphasis more strongly placed on trauma and pedestrian injury. Dr. McCarroll and Dr. McDermott felt that no industry support should be accepted for this program.

The group under Dr. McCarroll remained as a part of the Department of Public Health, while John Moore and the CIR became more of a direct Cornell-Ithaca run organization. In 1960, a new Director of ACIR was appointed, Robert A. Wolf, and a closer working relationship with Cornell Aeronautical Laboratories (CAL) was sought.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

The background history of the Crash Injury Research Project was partially derived from the material contained in the collection and in the Hugh DeHaven Papers.