In May and June of 1996, a forensic anthropology team from the C.A. Pound H
uman Identification Laboratory at the University of Florida identified 9 of
10 juveniles from the crash of ValuJet 592. The team relied primarily on a
radiographic atlas developed and used by clinical practitioners to determi
ne skeletal age. Postmortem radiographs of the juvenile victims were compar
ed with radiographic standards to determine skeletal age. Skeletal age was
then compared to a passenger list indicating the sex, weight, height, and c
hronological age of each individual. Tentative identifications based on the
atlas method were organized into an exclusion matrix. Final identification
s were based on this assessment in conjunction with other anthropological d
ata such as appearance and fusion of ossification centers and estimation of
stature.