Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

"Safe Landings" and Injuries

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • "Safe Landings" and Injuries

    Ever since AF447 went down, I've been reading news sources I didn't previously know existed. As I've said, no flight I've ever taken has encountered what would be called serious turbulence. I latch my seatbelt because the flight crew says it would be a good idea. Now I guess I understand why. My own direct experience would never persuade me that turbulence is much of a danger. But beyond that, the mass media pays little or no attention to flights that land after encountering trouble. The effect is to convince anyone limited to mass media that the things that cause crashes are rare. Truth is that what is rare is for the plane to be destroyed and the passengers killed. Much less rare, apparently, is all kinds of terrifying aerobatcis, with passengers flying around, drink carts doing things I can't imagine (they oughta pad those things), and ambulances taking injured passengers to the nearest hospital to t he airport where the pilots gets the plane down safely. I'll hold out my hope that I don't get to be a survivor describing this stuff from firsthand experience, but now I know there's a chance I'll need to call on my best ducking skills.

  • #2
    But beyond that, the mass media pays little or no attention to flights that land after encountering trouble.
    I'd disagree - I think we hear a lot of the time that this happens - take the Emirates flight into Durban, the Qantas flights... I could go on.

    The point is that it isn't common. But, at the same time, it isn't unheard of, which is why we insist people wear seatbelts. Limiting the amount of in-cabin baggage, particularly that which is above the carry on limit, also helps. Have a look at the passengers injured in the Qantas incidents, and compare to the list of those with belts on.

    But yes, maybe one day, you'll need to duck... maybe because another passenger not wearing their belt goes for a fly. Thats part of aviation. No more so than going for a fly when the bus slams the brakes on.

    Comment


    • #3
      No more so than going for a fly when the bus slams the brakes on
      Never seen that happen, either. You know, with only a lap belt, I'd assume the rest of a person's body could swing pretty wildly if the plane is out of control for a brief period of time. Seems like an unprotected head could get a concussion and the spine could get bent out of shape. Nothing that'd kill ya, but maybe something that would keep ya off a plane for a while.

      Still, some people actually pay for such thrills at amusement parks. Maybe they'd be eager for the next time (not me, I don't go on those rides).

      As for those incidents, where do they end up in a regular newspaper or on an evening news broadcast. Sure you can Google for such stories nowadays, but I'd distinguish that from the "mass media".

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by EconomyClass View Post
        ...........You know, with only a lap belt, I'd assume the rest of a person's body could swing pretty wildly if the plane is out of control for a brief period of time.................
        In turbulance prolonged accelerations are primarily vertical, not horrizontally. I've been on flights down the Front Range where I was severly rattled in my seat and up against the seat belt half the time.
        High horrizontal forces occur during crash landings.

        On a related topic (seat belts) combination seat belt/air bag restraint devices are now being fitted in passenger aircraft - initially for "seat beds." Being lazy I just refer you to this page and let you do your own research on the topic:

        I built some of these air bag belts for an Italian automobile company 25 years ago but never thought they might someday be used on aircrsaft.

        Comment

        Working...
        X