Thoughts about survival

So, it was no surprise when my fellow pilots and I returned to the TWA training center after lunch some years ago and found our assigned classroom filled with fire extinguishers, oxygen equipment, smoke goggles, and other gear. Each of us got to extinguish fire in a wastepaper basket, don a smoke hood, and so forth. When we were through with these drills, our instructor reached into a large carton and tossed a packaged life jacket to each of us. Another boring drill. How many times had we practiced donning a Mae West? The room filled with muffled groans and expletives.

As we began to open the plastic wrapping, the instructor said, “Hold it, guys. Not so fast. Don’t do anything with those jackets until I give the word. Wait until I count to three. Then put them on and inflate them as quickly as possible. Pretend that your aircraft is sinking. Every second counts.”

Big deal, we thought.

“One. Two. Three. Go!”

As we again began to rip open the plastic pouches, the lights went out unexpectedly. The room turned black. There were sounds of confusion. More expletives.

Thirty seconds later the lights came on, and we were told to stop what we were doing. Each of us felt the stinging embarrassment of failure. If it were not so deadly serious, it would have been comical. Not one of 20 veteran airline pilots had come close to properly donning his life jacket.

Having emergency equipment aboard the aircraft is one thing; being able to use it in challenging conditions is another.

Airline passengers generally seem to be blasé about emergency procedures. Ever notice how so many of them ignore the safety demonstration before departure? They busy themselves with newspapers and magazines as if to suggest they know all this stuff. But actual emergencies prove that they don’t know all this stuff. During an emergency evacuation, for example, many passengers tend to rush toward the cabin door through which they entered. They either pass up emergency exits along the way or fail to use closer exits that are in the opposite direction. (One of the first things an airline pilot does when boarding an airliner as a passenger is to take note of the nearest exit.)

During a loss of cabin pressure, many passengers prove again that they ignored the safety briefing by not pulling down sufficiently on the oxygen mask (to start the flow of oxygen) before attempting to use it.

General aviation pilots also have the obligation to educate passengers before departure. We must ensure that they understand how and when to use seat belts and shoulder harnesses. It is imperative that a pilot demonstrate how to use the doors, windows, and emergency exits in case he becomes incapacitated during an accident. Some years ago, for example, two passengers were entombed in a fiery Piper Arrow because they did not know about the top latch and could not open the cabin door.

I am not sure which is more sinful, having emergency equipment and not being able to use it properly, or not having it available in the first place. For whatever reason, many pilots fail to equip their aircraft with such necessities as fire extinguishers, survival kits, and first aid kits. (In some countries, these are required aboard all powered aircraft.)

The least expensive and most easily obtainable survival equipment is water, but many pilots fail to take more than a small bottle on cross-country flights. One can change the errant habits of some of these pilots by describing to them what it is like to die of dehydration following a forced landing in the desert.

The summer temperature in the desert sun can reach 150 degrees Fahrenheit. To remain cool, the body perspires and can lose up to 2.5 pints of water per hour. After a day or so, sweating ceases because the body has no more water to give. The tongue swells and speaking becomes impossible. Crash survivors can develop such a raging, overwhelming urge to drink that they resort to sipping urine and fuel. Delirium sets in, and people imagine that the sand is a lake and begin to “drink” it, but the throat is so swollen that swallowing is impossible.

Water can no longer save such a person. A cut does not bleed because the blood is too thick. Body temperature rises. And just before this gruesome death, some discover that they have only enough water remaining to cry tears of pain.

What is so sad about this is how easily it can be prevented.

BarrySchiff.com