The preparations for surviving an air crash begin from the moment you book your flight to the end, however it turns out. The earliest steps include wearing the appropriate fabrics (wool & cotton) and keeping your seatbelt on at all times.
Let’s see the latter steps necessary to be one of the few survivors of a plane crash.
What Should I Do When The Plane Is About to Crash?
Preparing for Impact
There’s always a few minutes before a plane makes an impact with the land or sea, or whatever. That means you’ll have some time at hand to prepare for impact.
In the Water or Land
With the plane tiptoeing on-air & all balance lost, it is time to know if you’re landing in water or land. If you find out that you’re above water, immediately put on your life vest. Take note that you’ll need to inflate the vest before leaving the plane. And if there’s any extra clothing with you, whip it on before the vest. Crashing in water will require staying some time in it & that’s an easy way to contact hypothermia.
Knowing where your plane is crashing is not something you immediately find out when the plane is about to crash. You need to have studied the route mapped for the plane to take before boarding. This is where you take note of the water bodies in its way.
Weigh Your Exit Options Calmly
Basically, there are two options here: to jump out or remain in the aircraft.
If you haven’t taken a course on airplane crash survival, it would be a miracle for you to remain calm as a plane is spiraling downward. However, you must will your mind to, else your entire plans would have gone to waste. You’ll surely be in the midst of people scared to the bones. Don’t lose your head too.
You’re keeping cool to figure out your exit point. If you’re far to the exit, there’s a good chance that people have crowded the exit already. If this is so, jumping off the flight may not be an option, except if you can find a way to.
Jumping Off the Plane
Jumping off a crashing plane has to be one of the most daring things you’ll ever do throughout your lifetime. But it may be the best thing you’ll do for yourself too. Best because it may be the only way to save your life.
If you’re jumping off a plane, you have to do so calculatedly. It looks surely easy to do on TV, and while it isn’t, even the actor calculates before jumping off. So, if you’re doing so, make sure you’re good in your math & physics.
Now, this is where it is more important to know the possible crashing site of the plane. Knowing the plane is heading for the sea or land will help know when to jump. However, regardless of the location, you have to be at the door, prepped to go.
There are two options if you’re jumping off a crashing plane: with a parachute or not?
- If you have a parachute at hand, it is much easier — I hope you’re familiar with using one already. What matters most here is your courage. Are you willing to make the jump that’ll save your life notwithstanding how frightening it is? However, there won’t be time for indecision when you’re up there with your heart in your mouth. This is why you must have planned. If you have, further calculations won’t be necessary. Just get to the door, look out to see there’s nothing dangerous nearby & jump! Just jump! The catch here is that you have to jump while the plane is still very high in the air so the chute can come alive. Being too close to the ground before chuting out is unlikely to end well.
- If you’re without a chute, it becomes necessary to do more calculations. I’m assuming you’ve made the calculations for this too. Leave no stone unturned, hey. Is the plane crashing in a forest, an ocean, or on land? You surely cannot make the jump if you’re going to land on shooting branches of trees. A preferable scenario for jumping out without a chute is when the plane is crashing in water. You’d know there’ll be very little possibility of landing on a heavy surface which can lead to instant death. However, if you’re diving into the water, big fish are a threat. Lastly, when jumping out without a chute, you’ll have to leave it very close. Wait until impact is quite near.
Choosing to Stay on the Flight
Jumping off a crashing plane is a very frightening thing to do, so if you’re staying aboard, there’s no criticism. You have to prep, so the impact is minimized.
First off, you must be in your seat with the seatbelt tightly fastened. There are two options available to you here.
- The first is to keep both legs tightly closed, with your head bent forward such that it is between your knees or just in them. Clasp the hands over your head to protect the head while you take your legs back so that the shins are safe from the hazard of sliding bags. Check for loose shore laces & fasten them. If your jacket has a flappy side, zip it up. Any loose or dangling item has to be wrapped tightly to your body. Failure to do so can get you stuck, and that’s the last thing you want happening.
- The second option is to rest on the seat right in front. Keep your legs like you should in the first position. You have to clasp your hands tightly, holding the front seat, and then place your head on the created platform, as you would if you were sleeping. Another way is to place the head directly on the seat & then cover it with your hands.
So, What Next in the Guide for Surviving an Air Crash?
Surviving an air crash does not stop at escaping the airplane. What happens next can yet be the most important part. Understand that you may be alive either after jumping off the plane or when it makes impact with the ground & yet not make it home. The strategy against one of your worst fears continues.