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Originally Posted by
martindo
I
The picture on the safety card for the aircraft I was on (Boeing 737-ER) shows everybody HOLDING the flotation raft rather than sitting on it. This leads me to surmise that the raft might sink if a lot of adults sat on it.
That's interesting. I wonder if it's actually a different raft than those loaded into new 737s for North American delivery that is some sort of "warm climate" overwater configuration. My main airline only flies older 737-300/500 aircraft, so it's possible that they just redesigned the rafts in the newer aircraft.
But for a good portion of the year, the likely water landing sites in the USA (Great Lakes, North Atlantic coast, Pacific coast) would have water that is dangerously cold. Hanging onto the side of the raft instead of boarding it would drastically shorten your survival time in such water.