Originally Posted By: dougwalkabout
Guess I take a different approach. To me, it's about playing the odds. And as I understand it, there are things you can do to tip things in your favour.

The clothing you wear is your primary EDC. It may be the only thing you have, inside the aircraft and out. Insulation is good; flammable is bad.

Second are a few tools that could help you get out. A good bright flashlight, paramedic shears to cut that stuck seatbelt (or your spouse's), sturdy shoes/boots with treads to get you out SAP (and don't kid yourself: in a burning plane, everyone's an SOB, and people push, claw, and climb, -- it's ugly, primal, and predictable).

Third, it's stuff that buys you some time if and when you get out. Clothing first; first aid; signalling; water, shelter, fire; and so on.

That's what little I know. It ain't much, but it makes sense to me.




The way I look at it, there's pretty much no situation where I'll be exposed to the elements, as it were. Any jumbo jet going down is pretty much toast; with very few exceptions 100 tons at 500 mph is a lot of energy to dissipate on impact. So, yeah, wear good clothes, shoes, etc, but nothing out of the ordinary, because it's one of the few places so predictable. I suppose you could get stranded for a few days at the airport (mainly if you've got layovers), but that's again comfort stuff, not survival. And on the off chance the plane goes down and you survive, well, there's a ton of blankets, probably food, and a LOT of luggage to rummage through to find stuff you'll need. And probably bodies to scrounge off of as well.

Any burning plane is most likely on the ground. Which means there's a good chance my belt isn't fastened. And if it is, I'm still thin enough to slip out if I pull it out all the way smile Though I HAVE been guilty of carrying shears, my stethoscope, and some other stuff in the plane, but only when I don't check my luggage!

So, really, the plane part of a trip is something I just don't do anything for. Food, something to drink, my MP3 or laptop, gum. But that's every plane ride, not really "survival."