Gear for when you fly

Joined
Mar 26, 2002
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There always seems to be posts around the forums about what you can carry on flights to protect yourself from terrorists. Although discussion on this topic is interesting since it leads to tools that you can carry in other non-permissive environments, the truth is that you are discussing means that you are of the mindset to use whatever you can get your hands on anyway. The more I fly the more I think about other threats.

For lack of a better example every time I leave the house I think about the old video game Frogger. Remember how he would try to get from place to place without getting killed? That is how I view the world, full of threats that if you don’t pay attention you are likely not to return home. As we have seen recently many more planes crash than are taken over by terrorists. Keeping with my mindset that no matter how many rounds I suck up gunfight I would keep going, I also have the mindset that even if I am on a plane that crashes I will survive. Just as it is with a shooting that means total survival, not just surviving the actual incident.

Now that I fly more and more it kills me when I see people travelers wearing flip-flops or even slip on shoes. Of course they will tell you that the reason is because of all the energy it takes to take your shoes on and off for security. I think of how often I manage to stub my toe or step on something in my own house and imagine kicking my toe into hard on an aircraft as I am trying to get off because it is in fire.

Whenever I fly I get a little OCD about getting all of the prohibited items out of my bag. One of the things that I always leave in my bag is a good pair of gloves. If the plane does crash there is a pretty good chance there will be hot, wet, or sharp surfaces.

Something else that I add to my bag when flying are ESS Striker Turbofan goggles. For those not familiar these goggles have fan that keeps the lens clear. The best part is that they fit over my prescription glasses. By wearing decent shoes and having these two other items in bay will allow met to protect my feet, hands and eyes. This protection is critical in any survival situations.

Adding a first aid kit to your bag should go a long way in giving you some piece of mind. For anyone who thinks that surviving a plane crash is far fetched…I say no more so that picturing yourself taking out hi-jackers with a Surefire. After all, it just comes down to mindset.
 
I guess thats one way to look at it 'Ol Bud. It's good to try to always be ready for what ever. You never know what the future holds, all you can do is try to be ready for the Worst case;)
 
Unless the plane has an extremely large % of hijackers, I don't think people would just sit around and let the plane be hijacked now that everyone knows what happened on 9/11. You probably aren't going to be able to do it yourself anyway; you're going to have to work as a team with your fellow plane-mates. I would imagine that the terrorists would have some sort of knives and probably not guns. You're just going to have to hope that when you choose your moment to unbuckle and launch at one of them, that other passengers assist you instead of sitting there staring.

edit: And hope there's an air marshall on board.
 
Unless the plane has an extremely large % of hijackers, I don't think people would just sit around and let the plane be hijacked now that everyone knows what happened on 9/11. You probably aren't going to be able to do it yourself anyway; you're going to have to work as a team with your fellow plane-mates. I would imagine that the terrorists would have some sort of knives and probably not guns. You're just going to have to hope that when you choose your moment to unbuckle and launch at one of them, that other passengers assist you instead of sitting there staring.

edit: And hope there's an air marshall on board.

One could only hope this would be the case, but sadly I'd wager that there will still be a lot of people on the flight that would rather sit there and do nothing than risk personal injury. I've always held to a simple focus in that type of situation. I WILL do what I can to survive, and if I'm gonna go down anyway I'm taking as many of them with me as I can. Call that what you want, but it's how I see it.

As for the OP, I completely agree. I think we can sometimes become so focused on the "main" or most obvious threat that the others fade from view. The plane could just as easily have some sort of malfunction, and you need to be prepared for that. +1 on the shoes and gloves idea, protecting your hands a feet will go a long way towards successfully surviving. I'd personally never thought about the goggles, but that makes a ton of sense to me. I'm sure most people here would think of this, but carrying some paracord would be a good idea as well. The stuff literally has hundreds (or more) of uses, and it doesn't take up that much room. Again, I'm sure I'm not telling y'all anything you don't already know, but I thought I'd add it anyway! :D

EDIT: Also, along the lines of surviving a terrorist takeover, there are a few options that I didn't realize till I read the TSA's list of stuff you can and can't bring with you. Apparently small scissors and even screwdrivers are legal for carry on. :confused: How that's any less lethal than a knife is beyond me, but whatever the case may be, packing a small flat head screwdriver would be a good idea. It's a useful tool regardless which situation you find yourself in. At least that's my take on it. :p
 
The most important bit of survival gear for a plane crash? Tickets for a seat in the tail of the plane. ;)
 
Most General Aviation Crash are due to pilot error and no survival kit would help... flying airline you limited to what you could actually carry so I guess the best thing would be dress well and have the knowledge in your head to E&E if needed or look for simple items to use for self defense or aiding in escape
 
Most General Aviation Crash are due to pilot error and no survival kit would help...

Well, the pilot error part is true, but there are many forced landings that are survivable, and the cause of death is often exposure and/or lack of water, so survival gear can be valuable. That being said if the survival gear isn't attached to you its baggage and due to the flammibility of avgas (100LL) fire often forces you away from the plane quickly. Many that fly over hostile terrain wear a survival vest in addition to having a survival kit. I like Doug Ritters advice:

http://equipped.org/avsrvtoc.htm


flying airline you limited to what you could actually carry so I guess the best thing would be dress well and have the knowledge in your head to E&E if needed or look for simple items to use for self defense or aiding in escape

Yep, you are pretty much confined to the little the airlines allow or what you can scrounge.
 
We keep a Survival kit in our Baron, you are correct I tend to be alittle bias due to my job I guess,rough estimate Say 1 out 10 aircraft we pick up are survivable or it tends to look that away after a while...
 
The most important bit of survival gear for a plane crash? Tickets for a seat in the tail of the plane. ;)

I could be wrong but I have always understood that seating near exits is the KEY factor in surviving an aircraft crash. Survival rates dip sharply the further you are from the exit doors. Therefore I agree that planning ticket booking/allocation is an important part of situational awareness.

I agree with the OP that a flashlight (I do carry) and gloves (I have not previously carried) would be reasonable carry on equipment and that you should rarely go out anywhere in public wearing footwear that you are not comfortable running/fighting in. I hadn't thought of taking paracord, it weighs little and I could see how it could be useful. Thanks for the thread.
 
We keep a Survival kit in our Baron, you are correct I tend to be alittle bias due to my job I guess,rough estimate Say 1 out 10 aircraft we pick up are survivable or it tends to look that away after a while...


I hear you. I don't have stats handy on GA accidents and surivability, but there is a lot of aluminum in the mountains I fly in which the accidents weren't survivable either. However, there have been many had the occupants been better prepared would have probably survived. Do you fly SAR in a Baron??? Can you elaborate? I have a Grumman AA5B Tiger.

BTW. I just pre-ordered an RC-5 to augment my F1 in the plane. Looks like a winner.
 
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I could be wrong but I have always understood that seating near exits is the KEY factor in surviving an aircraft crash. Survival rates dip sharply the further you are from the exit doors. Therefore I agree that planning ticket booking/allocation is an important part of situational awareness.

From what I've read it seems that in a crash the tail sometimes separates from the body of the plane and lands in a manner that is more survivable than if you were in the main cabin area. This could be wrong of course, but being near an exit is also a major plus for sure!
 
I always cover the obvious - gloves, good shoes, clear goggles, & a bright flashlight.

If I go far over water I always carry on a 1 liter plastic bottle of tea. The plan is to tie my gear to me and keep it afloat with the emptied out bottle.

One thing to keep in mind is that you can take a 7 inch overall length screwdriver. TSA rules since 2001.

I get an 8" cut the handle down a bit and I may be known to chisel grind my wide flat blade. I don't go overboard and make an obvious chisel tip - but I do make it a bit thinner at the tip. This always makes me feel a bit more secure. Thank goodness I have never had to use it on any bad guys.

My flat blade has made some trips with me to:
Mexico, Japan, Thailand 6 times, Brazil, Belize, Laos, & Cambodia.

OK now that it is all typed out - I agree - it looks a bit crazy - but I tell ya it makes me feel better.
 
Personally I fly alot from Thailand to USA and I do often wear sandals as they are more comfortable and the flight is from 18-24 hours long and it is bad enough in economy class wearing comfortable shoes. Yes it is better in an emergency to wear strong boots or shoes, but in an Airbus or a DC-10, I think if it crashes what kind of shoes you are wearing will probably be irrelevant.
 
from what i read, on the plane that landed in the Hudson River recently, there was one guy who had read the safety instructions before the plane landed and thus knew how to open the emegency door. nobody else knew how in the immediate vicinity and people just sat there until this one guy opened the door.

not sure if it was mentioned yet --- how about a whistle. i remember reading about the everglades crash... it was dark and they where having problems finding the survivirors.
 
Mercop and the rest, Thanks for this post. I have been purchasing a few items to throw together for a TSA approved kit to use when flying. In the near future I will be flying overseas and back monthy and figured I should get something useful. Sor far I was planning on using:

Gutted Ritter PSK
Safety Glasses
Gloves
Flashlight
County Comm Pry tool
Defensive Pen
First aide items
Bandanna
Paracord

Any other suggestions?
 
Thanks to mercop and others bringing this up, I may be expanding my flight kit as well. Currently, when flying I carry a Zebra F701 SS pen (poor man's defensive pen), Fenix P1DCE, latex gloves, my always-on polycarbonate Rx glasses, a bit of paracord, a roll of good duct tape, thumb drive with personal info and non-emergency stuff on it, Fox40 whistle, a Bic lighter if it makes it through screening, water tabs, a small FAK, and a Petzl E+lite headlamp. I always wear either boots or trail runners in case of... ?? Most of that stuff is regular EDC for me so it's just a matter of adding the roll of duct tape to my carry-on and de-knifing myself. My swisstech UtiliKey always accompanies on my keys as well.... funny how I keep forgetting to pack that in checked luggage. :D
 
Mercop and the rest, Thanks for this post. I have been purchasing a few items to throw together for a TSA approved kit to use when flying. In the near future I will be flying overseas and back monthy and figured I should get something useful. Sor far I was planning on using:

Gutted Ritter PSK
Safety Glasses
Gloves
Flashlight
County Comm Pry tool
Defensive Pen
First aide items
Bandanna
Paracord

Any other suggestions?


They allow you to carry a pry bar? :eek: Seems to me that'd be a definite no-no.


My swisstech UtiliKey always accompanies on my keys as well.... funny how I keep forgetting to pack that in checked luggage. :D

I had forgotten about that UtiliKey till you mentioned that. So I pulled it out and took another look at it. Honestly, while it wouldn't be my first choice, you could do a fair amount of damage to someone with it. And it would be an ok knife for a last ditch survival situation. The fact that it looks so much like an actual key is a major plus for making it past security.

Steel toed shoes/boots. Great protection for banged toes, and effective self-defense utility.

TSA will make you remove your shoes. :)

Haha, that is very true. I set off that stupid buzzer every single time with my boots, even though I tell them I've got steel toes. For some reason, until recently, they wouldn't let me take the off at the local airport. Of course now they want you to practically strip for them. :rolleyes:

I'm sure someone is gonna call me a mall ninja for thinking of this, but what about Cold Steel's line of NightShade knives? Aren't they supposed to be completely metal free? If so, they should pass through security just fine, assuming you don't get patted down or anything. Then you'd be in a world of trouble.
 
Last time I had to fly I had this in my carry-on.
CarryOn.jpg


Another thing I do is avoid wearing polyester/nylon clothes. In the event of a fire, you don't want what you're wearing to melt itself to your skin.

Never understood why the standard uniform for flight attendants is pretty much 100% polyester. :rolleyes:
 
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