Another True Survival Story

MIKE MACINTOSH

MIKE MACINTOSH

Joined
Mar 31, 2006
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Cought a bit of this story on fox this morning. an 83 year old man with both leg's pinned under an over turned farm tractor manages to dig his way free with a pocket knife.It illustrates why we should always carry at least a small psk with us, a survival situation could happen at any time or place My hat's ofF to this old man he handled the situation well. tough as nail's:thumbup::thumbup:

http://www.middletownjournal.com/hp...local/2007/09/12/mj091107tractorsurvivor.html
 
Tough ole fart.

A simple whistle would have saved him a lot of grief possibly.

Skam
 
Given the option, I would choose the whistle over the knife for digging myself out from under a tractor.

Seriously, a whistle would have worked, except in the event that there were no one around to hear it.

If a tough old man (while digging himself out with a pocket knife) blows a whistle while trapped under a tractor, and no one is around to hear it, does the whistle make a sound?
 
hlee said:
Given the option, I would choose the whistle over the knife for digging myself out from under a tractor.

Seriously, a whistle would have worked, except in the event that there were no one around to hear it.

If a tough old man (while digging himself out with a pocket knife) blows a whistle while trapped under a tractor, and no one is around to hear it, does the whistle make a sound?
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I duno if the whistle would have worked. His home was 150 yards away, and it sounded like there was no one there. Since he lives on a large farm there may not have been anyone for miles and miles.
 
Cockerham's eight children, 21 grand children, 28 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild are saying a prayer of thanks for his escape and are urging him to get a roll bar before he gets back behind the wheel of his tractor.

"I'm thinking about getting one," he said.
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If they put a roll bar on the tractor I hope they also strap him to the seat so the rollbar doesn't kill him.

Tough bird. I wish him well.

KR
 
MIKE MACINTOSH said:
Cought a bit of this story on fox this morning. an 83 year old man with both leg's pinned under an over turned farm tractor manages to dig his way free with a pocket knife.It illustrates why we should always carry at least a small psk with us, a survival situation could happen at any time or place My hat's ofF to this old man he handled the situation well. tough as nail's:thumbup::thumbup:

http://www.middletownjournal.com/hp...local/2007/09/12/mj091107tractorsurvivor.html
Click to expand...

Actually he could have dug himself out quicker, but he also built himself a lean-to, started a signal fire, and setup a half dozen snares.:D
 
Its not the size of the whistle, its how its blown.



Did this thread just take a turn for the worse?
 
Whistles can be heard for miles especially on flat ground like farmland. Dont discount it as it should be the first thing you pack IMHO.

It is theorized Aron Rawlston would still have an arm if he had a whistle handy.

Make it a good whistle though. Fox 40 minimum, Storm whistle ideal.

With kids if nothing else string one around their necks on a breakaway lanyard please.

Skam
 
If I were in the woods and heard a consistent whistle, I would think someone was in trouble right away. Hearing one in farmland or a town would leave me wondering what it was. A whistle isn't a bad idea, but in this case I think he got lucky that he wasn't really hurt in the inital fall and was able to dig out.

There are three scenarios I try to prepare for to go out in the woods: getting lost (read NOT getting lost), losing my main pack/gear, and an incapacitating injury. That last one overlaps the tractor incident. One way to deal with it is leaving your destination and a check in time with someone you trust. An 83 year old man might check in a family member if going out on a farm with heavy machinery. A cell phone or FRS radio might have helped too.
 
It just goes to prove you need a tough knife you might have to do some survival digging. I bet he wished he had a tough fixed blade now.
 
Is this a climate thing, but doesnt all tractors have a cabin on them.
Over here in northern Europe every farm machine has a cabin on, for protection against bad weather and if the machine will fall over.
 
I had several soiled underware moments with farm tractors. A rollbar/seatbelt is a great comfort but don't let that safety margin spur you on to take chances. Even with a rollbar you are still in danger of death or grave bodily injury if you roll! I once almost rolled, with a rollbar on the breast of a dam. I got it on all fours and stopped with the front tires in the swamp at the bottom. If I had rolled into the swamp that rollbar wouldn't have done me much good. The bad part was that it left the story on the ground and my boss saw it later and commented. Brand new JD owned by the gummit no less. Mac
 
skammer said:
LMAO. There will never be a reason for Chris to carry anything but a lil girly knife.:D:p

Skam
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No man that's not cool, this article really worried me so I have been sitting here all morning thinking about what I need to carry in my PSRTROK (Personal Self Recovery Tractor Roll Over Kit) I am not sure of everything I am going to carry in it but some sort of big honkin knife is at the top of the list. Chris
 
That was a great story about a tough old goat who had the guts to solve his problem and save himself. I'm already disabled, so, besides a few other things that I always have on me, I carry a Wind Storm whistle attached to my key ring always. I highly recommend them. They are as much a part of my "don't leave home without it" gear as a knife is. You can buy them online at www.wind-storm-whistles.com @ $4.50 each + $4.00 S&H for any quantity you order. The Wind Storm model is very nearly as loud as its bigger brother, the Storm whistle, and it's a little easier to carry. Get one for everyone you care about. Kids die every year when they get lost, then become weak and can't call for help while there are people nearby looking for them.
 
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