Life Jackets

[Jimmy]

My teacher said to me today "I have anothor aeroplane question" was quite an interesting one this time....

He said that he heard not one aircrart has sucsesfully "ditched" in the ocean, as in any one surviving, do why do they have life jackets? Is a prety obvies question but I thought it quite interesting I prety much told him theres always a chance that the life jacket will be needed and there hasn't been that many incidents so really the chance of it being sucsesful could be quite high and that many ditchings into the oceans would have been with out control, controlled flight into water could be quite differant.

He then wanted to know why there isn't retracable floats incass the plane needs to land on water! Think he may have been joking at this point Imagine that, massive floats "just incase" hahaha, I assured him the chances of ever having to ditch in water are very very very low, hes still happy to pay the extra ticket price for having floats, haha imagine how economical it would be carrying around floats, near impossible actuly, goodbye fuel tanks. How long would an aircraft float for anyway if the "ditching" was controlled? Still chuckling about the floats

So, has there really been no survivors from "ditching" on water? Is my thinking for why they have life jackets correct? Theres always that chance they may survive..

James

[Zöltuger]

So, has there really been no survivors from "ditching" on water?  Is my thinking for why they have life jackets correct?  Theres always that chance they may survive..

there have been survivors in ditchings: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopian_ ... Flight_961 as an example, 52 survivors out of 175 POB (a beautiful 767 no less )

with their underwing engines, aircraft are not designed to float or skim the water, which is why they break up on ditching. however, i suppose if an aircraft was going to fast on landing/aborted take off and it slid into the water (at somewhere like auckland) lifejackets would be useful.

[Airwolf]

Have you never watched Discovery channel and Aircrash Investigation?

Never heard of Egypt Air? Look even the space shuttle carrys life Jackets differance being the space shuttle has a smooth underside so chances are itwill skim across the water a passenger jet has the engines dangling down making so much harder to make a succesful ditch landing in one piece.
Then there is the incidents where planes have shot off the runway and come to rest in a Harbour! Even in 10ft of water are you going to risk not having a floatation device?
Good point though would it be better to have parachutes than life jackets? Then again you parachute over the pacific you need a Life Jacket as well

Yes people have survived a water landing, eqypt air is the classic example.

Edit sorry wrong airline

[ardypilot]

Ethiopian_Airlines_Flight_961

I immediatly thought of that- remember seeing it on Aircrash Investigation/Mayday.

a passenger jet has the engines dangling down making so much harder to make a succesful ditch landing in one piece.

Not the An-148, BAe-146, B727, DC-9 Fokker 100 , Learjet and just about every other buisness jet

[HardCorePawn]

Good point though would it be better to have parachutes than life jackets? Then again you parachute over the pacific you need a Life Jacket as well

Given what happens to a person who jumps out of a plane doing not much more than the stalling speed... I hate to think what would happen to someone jumping out of a jet aircraft doing a couple of hundred knots...

I'm sure craig will be able to explain the forces the human body endures as it leaves a (perfectly good) aircraft...

And a parachute landing into water is not a good idea for inexperienced people... trying to get out from under a big blanket of "silk" is not going to be easy...

[Alex]

Much better to have lifejackets in case of a water landing - it also reassures you. I know I feel much more comfortable knowing I'll have a lifejacket if we should need to ditch - wouldn't you?

Alex

[ZK-Brock]

A big reason for less successful water ditchings is due to passengers inflating their jackets before they get out of the aeroplane - this keeps them on top of the water so they can't swim downwards to get out.

[Jimmy]

aha thought there must have been some sucsuful ones, even like some aircraft that over ran the rwy at VHHH I think I recall someting like that? the pax swimed to shore..

Thanks for that link Tim, really did seem odd for there to be "no succsesful ditchings"

and yeah I told my teacher that they would also be there for passenger comfort, thats when he said hed also feal much more safe having retractable floats ah dear..

Now I have definate reasons for why theres life jackets, had anoyed me not knowing any really good reasons, now I know

thanks
James

[towerguy]

if you go into the tide off Auckland you don't need a life jacket - just stand up and walk!

[G-HEVN]

Ditchings in light aircraft are often very survivable. The thing to remember though is: don't inflate the lifejacket (or liferaft, assuming you want to survive more than just a few minutes) while still in the plane!