Injury-causing tensile loading may occur in the cervical spine during events such as the windblast and parchute opening shock phases of pilot ejection and airbag deployments. However, great disparity exists among neck injury tensile tolerance limits in the literature because of varied methods and specimen demographics. The objective of this study was to provide tensile neck injury tolerance values by testing a younger population using a dynamic loading rate. Twelve un-embalmed adult (50.1 ± 9 yrs, 8M/4F) human cadaveric specimens (head and upper torso including skin and musculature) were exposed to axial tensile loads using a servohydraulic material testing system (MTS). The input displacement profile was a quarter haversine with a linear slope of approximately 520 mm/sec corresponding to 35,000 N/s in a Hybrid III neck. Thoracic vertebrae, T8-T11, were embedded in polymethylmethacrylate and affixed to an aluminum plate. A shoulder harness assisted in securing the torso to the plate. Axial tension was applied using a stiffened helmet system with a reinforced integrated chin-nape strap. Linear and rotational bearings assured that tension was the primary mode of loading. Six-axis load cells mounted below the plate and above the head measured forces and moments. Post-test radiographs and dissections were performed to determine location and severity of injury. The mean catastrophic tensile load was 3134 N ± 662 N. All injuries occurred in either the upper (skull-C3) or lower (C5-T1) cervical spine and consisted of skull fractures, atlanto-occipital dislocations, dens fractures, atlanto-axial dislocations, and endplate failures/fractures. All failure loads were below the tensile limit of 4,170 N set by NHTSA (theoretically indicative of 22% risk of AIS 3 injury). In our study, 100% sustained injuries classified as AIS ≥ 3, and represent structural maximums likely surpassing the survivable limit.