So, I was thinking the other day on a flight, well, what would I really do if a crash was imminent? I don't know why, but I guess that I'm not the only person who thinks about these things.

I suspect that if a crash was imminent (not a hard landing mind you, but a crash) I would unbuckle my seatbelt. Why? Well, I can imagine that in the force of impact a seatbelt would nearly slice a body in two at the waist, and although I'm sure that everything would happen far too fast for anyone to be conscious of it, the thought disturbs me. Anyone else have this quirk?

Years ago, I worked with a guy who had an additional duty as an accident investigator for the USAF. He told me that most crashes happen during take-off or landing (except deliberate crashes like 9/11 or rare in-flight explosions like TWA 800). The impacts themselves are quite survivable. What kills people who survive the impact is the smoke/fire afterwards. People who don't survive the impact (his experience with USAF fatalities where the aircraft was generally intact) generally die from the deceleration G Forces when the aoerta rips away from the heart and they bleed to death.

I've read somewhere that commercial airliners were designed to permit a total evacuation from an intact airliner within 90 seconds from any seat in a fully-filled cabin. I think all of us know that's a complete joke. So, I figure that if I survive the impact, I'll take a deep breath of superheated air and get it over with quickly.

Yeah, I think I've heard this happens in many auto crashes also. Person looks okay but internal organs and arteries tear and that gets them.

This is a morbid, but rather interesting question. I think the same principle applies as with auto crashes: your body has a higher g-force during a high-impact crash. The seatbelt would keep you from becoming a "missile"--causing a danger to others and leaving you more likely to sustain a head injury.

Since most crashes are survivable, I think it's worth keeping one's seatbelt on. What if the impact is not as severe as you anticipated and the seatbelt keeps you from ramming into the bulkhead?

Above all, if one looks at passenger injury data, the #1 cause of injury is "seatbelt not fastened" during turbulence, takeoff, or landing. (I think this will soon be replaced by "starvation" because the airlines are too stingy )

The evacuation rule is that the plane has to be emptied within 90 seconds with half of the exits blocked. It does seem implausible on a full 747, but that's the FAA's requirement.

[This message has been edited by Mats (edited Mar 12, 2004).]

I was assigned to the US Army Safety Center my last 2 years in the Army. I assisted in several aviation accident investigations. Many factors come into play during a crash sequence. Angle of impact,speed,aircraft weight etc etc. I can assure you that if you are not wearing a seat belt during a crash sequence, you will become a human projectile. Conduct your own experiment,put something(about 5lbs)on the back window shelf of your car and drive down the street really fast. Slam the brakes on and watch what happens. Be sure to wear a helmet. Wearing your seat belt in addition to leaning over and wrapping your arms under your legs will help prevent flailing injuries. The crash will probably be not what kills you, getting out of the acft will be your biggest problem. Just a note, the Army will soon start installing airbags into helicopter cockpits. The BS part of the deal is that the crewchiefs will still be the most unprotected.

Somewhat related question: How many lives have those yellow lifevests saved?


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Premier Exec 1k
ORD, SFO, NRT

I use to have a better version of this...

http://www.denvillepolice.org/crash_timeline.htm

It's not the speed that kills, it's the sudden stop.

Hey tsadude - i want to talk with you about flailing injuries. my email is xxxx

Welcome to FT.

tsadude hasn't posted in 15 months so is somewhat MIA.

I've deleted your e-mail address for security reasons. If tsadude or another poster wants to contact you, they can do so via the FlyerTalk PM system.

Thanks.

Do we also give HEAT 06 the "Oldest resurrected thread of the day" award?

Tell that to the crew of the AF A340 at YYZ who emptied the plane in a minute or so.

The FAA requirement for certification of an airliner as capable of carrying "X" number of people is that it can be completely evacuated in 90 seconds using only half the exits -- and the people doing the evacuating don't know which half of the exits will be unusable until the test is under way.

You realize that you're taking issue with a post made almost three years ago, right?

So what? Usually people complain that one fails to do a proper search, and once it is done and a three-year old thread is digged out, it is also wrong.

Of course, we also have the Mythbusters to help us out now.

http://kwc.org/mythbusters/2005/06/m...ace_posit.html

It really isn't the crash that kills them. Or most anyway.