Plane Carry On Survival Items?

[gadgetgeek]

Echo, unless you are in a small aircraft with a potentially untrustworthy ELB in it, activating a PLB at the same site might slow down rescue as they try to figure out why two beacons have gone off together. I don't know what the aircraft ELB rules are for Australia, so maybe private aircraft don't need them?
Jay, there have been a few folks who have survived from altitude, but they are far and away the rarest of folks, I'm thinking of the girl who found herself in the amazon somewhere? and of course the british tail-gunner who landed minus his chute. Could happen. But since incidents at altitude are the least likely of all, there isn't much in the way of planning for them, as you have no idea what the cause will be. Every one is different.

 

[Bufford]

Has anybody ever seen Lost? Because the TV and movies are the only times I've heard of anybody surviving a large commercial plane crash.

Has anyone ever heard of anybody surviving a large commercial plane crash? I'm not talking about the crash that happened a few minutes after takeoff or just before landing.

At 10,000+ ft if something catastrophic happens that causes that plane to crash you are done. Only hope might be if you got a parachute. If you're packing a chute then the rest of that survival kit might matter. Otherwise say a prayer!

The crashes that happen moments after take off are usually the hardest to survive because the plane is fully loaded and full of fuel. While many survive the impact, sadly its the fire from the fuel that does most of the killing. People are injured and cannot move and become consumed by the blaze unless they are lucky enough to have firefighters on the scene early enough to douse the flames and perform rescues.

 

[K Williams]

Dominican Republic officials confiscated my titanium spork and Bic lighter. TSA OK, but not DR OK I guess...

 

[K Williams]

Otherwise one the best survival items one can carry on the plane are ear plugs to escape from the screaming howling child in the next row.

Two kids behind me on the way back. Constant baby chatter, screaming, and crying. Add to that, one guy in front of me drinking rum the whole flight and singing along with the Wizard of Oz movie. Ear plugs are a must.

 

[Echo63]

Echo, unless you are in a small aircraft with a potentially untrustworthy ELB in it, activating a PLB at the same site might slow down rescue as they try to figure out why two beacons have gone off together. I don't know what the aircraft ELB rules are for Australia, so maybe private aircraft don't need them?
Jay, there have been a few folks who have survived from altitude, but they are far and away the rarest of folks, I'm thinking of the girl who found herself in the amazon somewhere? and of course the british tail-gunner who landed minus his chute. Could happen. But since incidents at altitude are the least likely of all, there isn't much in the way of planning for them, as you have no idea what the cause will be. Every one is different.

Light aircraft ELTs are notoriously unreliable - and the new units are registered, so assuming that both units work, it would tell Cospas/Sarsat that aircraft XX-WTF has triggered its beacon, along with Echo63's beacon being activated
Hopefully this would be seen as an aircraft beacon, and a personal beacon, and they make the connection that the plane has crashed/ditched/landed and there is someone on board still alive enough to trigger their personal beacon

Also - the aircrafts unit isn't much use if it ditches in the ocean, or if the life rafts float away from the crash site (it will give a ballpark area, but having a unit attached to the life raft will get SAR much closer.


Other signaling devices (flashlight, signal mirror and whistle) would also help when sar get nearby.

Snacks, water, proper clothing and shoes will help you wait till SAR arrives

A way of making fire would be handy, along with sunscreen/bug spray, a tarp/garbage bag/survival blanket would help keep the sun/rain off

(bug spray, sunscreen and matches or lighters may be impossible to get onto an aircraft though)

 

[gadgetgeek]

Your logic makes sense, can't argue with that. Also, with working aircraft and personal units, in the light aircraft case, it means that you could move from the crash site, and still have rescue incoming.

 

[amdmaxx]

3oz of sunscreen - check
lighter or matches - check (smokers always carry-on lighters)
bug pray - pretty sure 3oz or smaller is allowed also..

(bug spray, sunscreen and matches or lighters may be impossible to get onto an aircraft though)