Surprisingly most of the ditching training is the same but the equipment is very different.

Dang. Talk about the stereotypical British stiff upper lip:
"We're going to have to ditch the plane in a water landing in the middle of nowhere."
"Well . . . all right, then."

Funniest part: "Survivors may fall in the water."

Yes, likewise the Captain “only one thing for it...”, as if talking about giving a good thump to a particularly sticky door which won’t open.

Very interesting and sobering video - thanks for sharing!!

“What’s in the survival kit?”

”Essentials....... barley sugars”. :D

Although as others have said, a fairly sobering viewing.

Co the CC still size up and make a mental note on every flight of suitable pax who they ask to assist in the event of an emergency? Do they look at those in the exit row wile they do the specific "you are sitting in an exit row" briefing as to which pax they would call on per door if needed?

Speaking as someone who 99 times out of 100 is in the exit door row on a SH flight I can't say I've ever noticed.

A selection of M&S drinks and snacks and a chip & pin mobile device?

This is the closest I’ve seen captured ‘in real life’.


And below is I think the more modern equivalent

Another curiosity from that video is the "Brace" position. This has always baffled me because to the layman it seems that if you are bent forward like that and a rapid and sudden deceleration (such as during a water ditching) occurs your head would slam very hard into the seat back in front and risk breaking your neck or at least render you unconscious? Seems even more likely with seat pitch declining from some 34" in Y a few decades ago down to the 29" that seems to be the norm today.

However there is clearly not a better position or it would have been adopted by now and sitting more upright would result in your face slamming into the seat-back but a broken nose and teeth would seem preferable to being rendered unconscious etc.

I know there are many theories around this over the years, ie the brace position means you are more likely to break your neck therefore cannot sue the airline :D and / or preserving your teeth intact if a fatal crash is preferred by the authorities because it is much easier to be identified using dental records. ;). Neither of which are true I'm sure :eek:

Yes, my own humorous remarks aside, I have been feeling rather unsettled since watching at lunchtime. Testament to the quality of the production.

Incidentally, if you click through to watch on YouTube itself, there are some comments from one of the cast members on how they filmed it.

I think getting your head down and covering your head would potentially reduce injuries from flying bits and pieces. I always worry about all tjose 20kg bags in overhead stowages...

Very interesting in many respects. They all stayed nice and calm didn't they,

But don't the seat backs break away forwards under load? This way, perhaps the intention is that the seat back should break away under pressure from the passenger's head at a time when there is zero relative velocity between them; but if the passenger was sitting upright, the seat back would only break away when the passenger's head hits it at speed, perhaps in excess of 100 mph?

That's surely straight from the Eric Moody school of British Airways pilot speaking.

The South African Airways video is excellent and BA have many of the same procedures, taking your first NITS briefing is something you always remember.

Ever had anything serious?