As I sit here this afternoon, I am watching a real time feed of my kids flight heading to Asia. Right now it is over Greenland. I was just wondering about the following (god forbid): What if the plane had some malfunction and needed to land pronto (ala Capt. Sully) and did a perfect belly glide on the ice up north. Temp in the deep frost category. Say -20 or -30 F. It would easily be half a day to a full day before someone got up there. What would be the key techniques to staying alive in a fully equipped 777? I am gonna assume they have lost all power. Any thoughts?

Find some way of tearing out the foam from the seats and jamming it in your clothes as insulation, maybe.

Find one of the batteries and some wire and torch the fuel and tires or anything; both as signal and warmth.

This is the reason you should dress for the weather enroute and not just the weather in the terminal(s). The polar flights I've been on have been cold inside the aircraft. If you need an excuse, use the cold cabin temps to justify dressing warmly. Wool is good for air travel -- warm when it's cold, cool when it's hot, much safer if there's a fire or if you need to evacuate the aircraft and leave everything behind.

It doesn't even need to be a polar flight. A flight I was on while flying home for Christmas had to land in Minot ND for fuel -- much colder there than at either end of the flight.

Stay warm, stay dry, stay warm, stay sheltered, stay warm, stay hydrated ... did I mention stay warm? Here are also two stories about surviving after the crash:

http://www.equipped.org/waldock698.htm

Not much else to say other than to carry a comprehensive kit on board if you can. Will ponder a bit and post some specific techniques later on.

Good ideas all. I was also wondering about the crew. Certainly they get evacuation training and are good at that. But what about post evac time? I would actually be surprised if the airlines gave them training on survival skills and how to "take care" of the passengers for any period of time afterwards.

Ya guys are making me feel better already

I googled 'airline survival training' and didn't find much.

One site said that flight crews will be getting training on dealing with on-board terrorist type situations, but nothing indicated that they were taught anything about survival once on the ground. This site will train pilots: http://www.etisurvival.com/pil.htm, but since airlines have cut pilot pay in half, I would assume that the airlines aren't going to pay for it.

I guess it's up to the passengers, as usual.

Sue

Shared bodily warmth. I recommend finding a toothsome flight attendant and pairing up for the duration. Once rescue arrives, you can return her to the upright position....

I flown over those areas several times, while enroute between the USA and the UK. I remember looking out the cabin window at the ice sheets and the freezing oceam, saying a little prayer to myself, and hoping the aircraft was reliable. Frankly, the chances of survival if a commercial aircraft put down on those freezing wastes (water and ice) is pretty much negligible. What kinds of gear and clothing do the passengers have ... just the normal clothes they were wearing when the boarded. Nowhere close to what they would need to have a good chance of survival.

other Pete

Well I'm no expert, but it seems to me that the odds of surviving a a full-blown disaster in mid-flight are so utterly miniscule that they're hardly worth fussing over, from a preparations point of view. It's takeoffs and landings that are at higher risk, with some potential for preps and initiative.

A flight would (I think) be some five miles up while over Greenland. If the aircraft is intact, that buys a fairly decent glide path. If you hit the ground or ocean early, the odds of the aircraft being intact are pretty darn small.

IF you are conscious and able to move when the aircraft stops moving, all you can count on is the clothes on your back. I wear non-synthetic clothing on flights, with wool socks and grippy shoes, and wear a smallish daypack that I can bug out with. Anything larger is a fantasy -- you need to get out, get out, get out NOW NOW NOW. You are not going to be dragging your junk out with you. Smoke will kill you quick.

BTW, I generally hate flying. Bloody sardine cans. Nothing romantic about it IMO. YMMV.

Tarzan, I think you have the right idea... If you are unable to prepare for all situations - improvise! Improvise with a brunette flight attendant if at all possible