| John:
While I agree with the vast majority of what you posted, the paragraph below is not supported by the volume of data that Doug Ritter at "Equipped to Survive" has compiled. The vast majority of ditchings do, in fact, result in the people surviving the ditching. As you correctly point out, however, many drown after having survived the ditching, essentially unhurt. That's what the data shows. I encourage everyone to become familiar with Doug Ritter's work. Among it is the reality that you will leave the airplane with nothing but what's in your pockets at the time. The life raft, life jackets, survival gear, etc., that are in the baggage compartment or on the floor behind the pilot's seat will go to the bottom with the airplane. That, too, is supported by the hard data.
Walter
In spite of what the airliners tell you about a water landing, very few
people actually survive. In most small planes, everyone's spines snap just
above the pelvis as the lower seat belt holds them back against the seat and
as their upper bodies move violently forward as the plane skips and bounces
across the surface of the water. Everyone dies. Even at speeds as low as
90, most spines get snapped. If they survive the "landing," the cold water
gets 'em. Time of Useful Consciousness (TUC) is only minutes. 30 minutes
after a cold water incident, search and rescue goes into recover mode. |