Title: The Role of Forensic Anthropology During a Mass Fatality Incident
1The Role of Forensic Anthropology During a Mass
Fatality Incident
- Laura C. Fulginiti, PhD, D-ABFA
- Region IX DMORT
- April 20, 2004
- NDMS National Conference
2Photographs Dos and Donts
- First off, There are NO Dos!
- All of the photographs in this presentation were
either borrowed or given to me as part of an
approved package. - DMORT personnel are expressly not permitted to
photograph during an event
3What is a mass fatality event?
- Rule Number One
- Disaster Chaos
- Rule Number Two
- All Are Equal
-
4What is a mass fatality event?
- An incident where more deaths occur than can be
handled by local authorities - -www.dmort.org
- Transportation accidents
- Hurricanes/Tornados
- Floods
- Epidemics
- Other (Noble, GA)
5Local Government Role
- Fire Rescue
- Law Enforcement
- Environmental Cleanup
- Medical Assistance
- Recovery
- Victim Identification
6- The NTSB coordinates and provides additional
resources to the - airline and local government to help victims and
their families while - preserving local responsibility and jurisdiction
7(No Transcript)
8What is DMORT?
- A regionalized system of teams designed to
respond to mass fatality events - Composed of pathologists, anthropologists,
dentists, radiograph technicians, fingerprint
DNA technicians, death and crime scene
investigators, information technology experts,
recovery personnel and funeral directors
9How does DMORT respond?
- Utilize the mobile morgue to assist in the
examination and identification of the persons
involved in mass fatalities - Provide trained personnel to staff the morgue,
the Family Assistance Center or the incident
location as necessary or requested - Provide computer support for antemortem and
postmortem records data entry, interpretation
and storage -
10Forensic Anthropology
- Forensic anthropology is one of the several
disciplines contributing to identification of
mass fatality incident victims.
11What is forensic anthropology?
- Identifies human skeletal remains for medicolegal
purposes - Determines biological attributes of the human
skeleton - age, sex, ancestry, stature, skeletal pathology,
trauma etc.
12How do Anthropologists fit in a mass fatality
incident?
- Forensic Anthropologists assist in two primary
ways - Scene Search and Recovery
- Examination in the mobile morgue
13Search and Recovery
- Goals
- To achieve maximum recovery of victims while
preserving the context as much as possible - To ensure a systematic approach to the recovery
site - To provide the best possible chance for 100 ID
- field recognition and recovery of commingled,
fragmentary and mutilated remains
14Documentation of position important for
survivability factors
15(No Transcript)
16Approaching the Recovery Site
- Consider method of search
- Mapping of site
- Locating remains
- Documentation of remains
- Logging of evidence and remains
- Packaging and shipping
- Maintaining Chain of Custody
17Scene Investigation
- Secure area
- Walk through
- Document area
- Flag
- Photograph
- Grid/Sketch (GPS markings)
- Evidence Collection
18(No Transcript)
19Search and Recovery(Grid System)
20Important Considerations
- Remember that the search pattern will be dictated
by several factors - Topography
- Weather conditions
- Number of personnel
- Time
- Condition of the recovery site
21(No Transcript)
22Examples from different accidents
- Guam Topography and Personnel
- Alaska Airlines Ocean Recovery
- Georgia Weather and Personnel
- Pennsylvania Time and Terror
23Transitioning to Morgue Site
- Purpose of mobile morgue is to assist local
ME/Coroner - Examination and documentation of all recovered
remains - Systematic approach to achieve ultimate goal of
identification
24The Mobile Morgue
25Morgue Triage
- Ensure continuity of established numbering system
- Initially sort remains to determine whether
features exist to assist in the estimation of
sex, age, stature, and other distinguishing
characteristics
26Anthropology in the Morgue
- Separate commingled remains
- Make assessments for biological profile
- age, sex, ancestry, stature
- descriptions
- patterns
- radiographs
27Biological Determinations from the Skeleton
- Biological features used in identification
- Age (pelvis, growth plates, general condition)
- Sex (pelvis, skull, long bones)
- Ancestry (skull)
- Stature (long bones)
- Idiosyncrasies (all)
28Biological Determinations from the Skeleton
- Complete remains are useful
- Skeletal elements provide detailed info
- Fragmentary remains or portions of bones can be
used as well
29Biological Determinations from the Skeleton
- FAs take measurements, examine certain areas of
the skeleton, and make comparisons of size and
shape of the bones to aid in determining the
biological profile.
30Anthropology in the Morgue
- Work with radiology section to obtain views
- age estimation
- unique skeletal characteristics
- comparisons with antemortem radiographs
31Anthropology in the Morgue
- Describe crash-related injuries
- Analyze skeletal structures for trauma and other
medicolegal evidence
32Assistance for Morgue Stations
- Assist in obtaining DNA samples from soft tissue
and bone - Assist the radiologist in taking and interpreting
radiographs
33Identification Meetings
34Positive Identification
35Other Forms of Identification
- Dental
- Fingerprints
- Radiography
- Personal effects
- Visual
- Physical characteristics
36Accident Considerations
- Human factors
- Mechanical factors
- Environmental factors
37Crash Survival Investigation
- Factors affecting crash survival
- Injury correlation
38Patterns
- Control injuries- fractures of fingers, hand,
wrist, lower legs, ankle and/or feet - Restraint and/or mechanical injuries
- Ejection injuries
- Thermal injuries
39Types of Injury
- Decelerative injury
- Impact
- Intrusive
- Thermal
40- The G forces of injury- The gravitational
forces against the body or the amount of force
pushing down on the body in a deceleration manner - 0G Weightlessness
- 1G Body weight
- 4G Typical roller coaster ride
- 18G Force of an ejection seat
41Example
- 20-40Gs Spinal cord compression, C1-C2
fractures, majority internal injuries - 50-80Gs Tearing of aorta, skull fractures
- 100-200Gs Pelvic fractures
- 200-300Gs Vertebral body fractures
- 350Gs Total body fragmentation
42Impact Injury
- Injuries due to man-machine interaction
- Blunt force trauma
- Lacerations
- Flailing injuries The result from free
(uncontrolled) movement during the crash sequence
and/or impact
43Intrusive Injury
- Rotor or propeller blade
- Trees, wires, etc
- Aircraft strike
44Thermal Injury
- Pugilistic attitude
- Fractures and/or amputations
45Analysis of Injury
- Individual or groups of injuries in relation
to the overall accident scenario, I.e. how did
one injury result in or cause other injuries how
do occupant injuries relate to aircraft
deformation
46What is a mass fatality event?
- Rule Number One
- Disaster Chaos
- Rule Number Two
- All Are Equal
-
47Be Prepared
48The End