Why does anyone feel the need to carry a survival kit on a commercial airliner?

You're kidding, right?

no, I'm not kidding.
Do you feel like you need it on your person because the 747 is going to crash and you will survive and will need a candy box full of trinkets? Or that the plane will get hijacked...
Or what? I think this is a legitamate question.

Well, the short answer is that I would like to have a PSK with me on the airliner for the same reason I'd like to have it everywhere I go... I want to have it when I need it, and I don't know when that will be.

Planes do go down, and people occasionally survive the initial crash. Fortune almost always seems to dictate that the crashes occur in remote areas, or in the ocean. If there's a massive structural failure and I plummet to my death, or a deadly explosion then there's nothing I can do about that... Just like there's nothing I can do if a terrorist comes up behind me and puts a gun to my head. But this forum isn't about that, its about being prepared when the fates give you a fighting chance. Having the airlines take away my right to have that fighting chance is something to which I take great offense.

As far as confronting a highjacker goes, I don't think anyone is suggesting we need a PSK for that. Personally, I'd love to have my fighting chance in this area too... but the airlines and the "Dept. of Homeland Security" have already decided for me in that regard. To say the least, I'm not very happy with their decision on the matter!

It´s the only way to be sure that you have it after you leave the plane. You could have had a nice flight <img src="images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />. Maybe your luggage had one too ... but to a totally different location <img src="images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />. In that case the kit in your suitcase won´t help.

Absolutely! I always carry-on enough stuff to live without my checked baggage for a while, just in case. I take an extra shirt, socks & underwear, toiletries, EDC gear (minus blades), etc. I carry clothes for unexpected weather in locations other than just my destination - hot or cold - because a plane can be diverted or a layover can be extended for any number of reasons. I also carry gear I may need for an emergency on the plane, like a smoke hood, food & water, first aid kit, etc. Also, I carry anything I don't want to have to replace or might have trouble replacing upon reaching my destination. This last includes valuables and takes-time-to-gather items like all the neat stuff I keep in my PSK. I have only lost my baggage once, but that's beside the point. The point is that anyone can lose their baggage. That's enough reason to keep cetain items in your possession.

Lastly, having certain items on the ground at the destination is enough reason to take a checked bag even if it's a short enough trip that you don't really need the extra volume. This would include knives & multi-tools, other sharps if you're planning on being out where you might want them (like camp saws & axes) and self-defense devices like guns, pepper sprays, etc.

Stay safe,
J.T.

Three good reasons to have some stuff with you on the plane.

1) You will land - planned or un-planned and you will and at that time, you will be in the same situation as before you took off (or worse) If carrying a bit of survival gear at all times make sense then it make sense. Otherwise don't bother with this forum, and topic.

2) If you land in an un-planned place or fashion and survive the landing (which occasionally happens) then having some survival gear with you may be critical to prolonging your suffering untill your isolation ends and the professionals can take over.

3) You carry on travel necessities because you don't want to wait for the checked luggage or risk the carry-on travel necissities to the vagaries of the baggage handling process. If your candy box of trinkets makes you feel good then why not carry it.

OTOH, if your PSK is only a candy box full of trinkets then I suspect that either you haven't the training and experience to understand the utility of your tools or you haven't selected to fill your PSK with quality items.

Reasons to take offense at airport security

1) I hate being told what to do

2) I hate feeling my liberties restricted
(BTW the airlines are private and private rules apply. The won't give me the liberty to carry knives or to fly the plane - Durn it!)

3) I hate having to depend upon someone else for my safety and security
(BTW more people die in airliners because of human failure in the staff of the airlines than do from terrorist events - who's protecting me from that?)

4) I hate being hasseled and delayed

5) I hate being treated anonymously and humiliatingly

My Airline PSK includes, but is not limited to, a bottle of wine and a CD <img src="images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Contemporary rules preclude many essential items on our persons. Even baggage is subject to scrutiny. A lifejacket cannot come aboard with a charging bottle, in spite of every onboard lifejacket possessing one <img src="images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" /> So, we have two options; post the unit ahead of us for pickup and hope for the best, and stow gear in cargo and again hope we have access. Will we?The famous crash in the Andes and subsequent sensationalized cannibalism demonstrates that crashes still occur with survivors and long term survival needs. Times change, and so may the rules. I reminisce longingly of the Stewardess ( flight attendant) of WIEN AIR walking up to the pilot's cabin with my .375H&H for the flight from Kodiak to Anchorage <img src="images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I'm guessing that was a long time ago... even for the wilds of Alaska! <img src="images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

My solution, thus far, has been to avoid getting on any commercial airliner like it was infested with The Plague. As others have pointed out, they are a private business and are free to impose whatever rules they like. But until those rules start to reflect my values and concerns, they can go bankrupt for all I care. I don't have any sympathy for them... even before 9/11, I can remember literally getting yelled at for using my non-internet-ready palm pilot, while we were stuck on the tarmac waiting for clearance. You know, if I can twart the navigational system of a 737 with a PDA, I have to believe that commercial flying is something to be avioded at all cost. I'd rather drive for 8 hours than put up with that nonsense!

But the fact that my father is a charter pilot, and that I can conduct most of my business over the internet makes this solution a little more viable for me than most. <img src="images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Sorry to disappoint you, but your chances of thwarting the navigation systems on a commercial airliner with a handheld PDA are pretty much nil. Even the backups to their backups have backups. <img src="images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Pre-takeoff is probably one of the busiest parts of the entire flight for the pilots; they're going through an elaborate checklist, checking and double-checking that everything is set correctly. I sure don't want the flight attendants to interrupt them to ask if it's okay for the passenger in seat 17D to use his PDA. The flight attendants, for the most part, aren't pilots and may know less about how an aircraft flies than I do; they shouldn't be expected to make a decision that may result in the departure being delayed, so they err on the side of caution: no electronic equipment turned on from the time the airliner leaves the gate (or whenever) until the captain says it's okay.

Being paranoid about safety is not an unsafe practice.

Considering how many people die on US roads every year, I think driving for 8 hours because you're PO'ed at the airline is a case of cutting off your nose to spite your face. I also don't see how sitting behind a steering wheel for 8 hours is any more comfortable than sitting at the airport for 2. And you have little or no protection against the drunken English rock star who's forgotten we drive on the Right-hand side of the road on this continent. <img src="images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />

I'll fly, thanks. <img src="images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />