http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0924Survivors24-ON.html

http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2004/09/24/news/top/news01.txt

I'm just a beginner at this whole survival issue, so I'll throw my opinions out to help me learn. Obviously, they made two mistakes that added to their risk, but since they made it out, no problem-

- They left the scene. Even though it seemed nobody was coming for them, they did. They could have gotten lost and in a lot more trouble. They were lucky to make it to a road.

- When they did leave, assuming the footprints would have been enough to let searchers know they had left. They had note paper, it would have been a good idea to leave a note.

Actually, there is a remaining problem, the rescue coordinator's reputation. We can 'Monday morning quarterback' the survivor's actions, they live. Their mistakes, like Aaron Ralston's will be forgotten in the joy of that fact. No blame, recriminations or possibly even future instruction to other such employees will be given. But our rescue coordinator will receive fault no less than a medieval scapegoat - not the pilot, passengers, weather or mountain. Long ago I responded to a man falling into the surf off Tillamook Bay Oregon. Survival time in those freezing and violent seas could be measured in minutes at best. But we went, both engines at full throttle, crew climbing into wet suits with one hand and driving the boat with the other. Normal ETA to his @ position was 10 minutes. Halfway there the port engine 's head cracked. We never located the victim. Somebody either failed to attach the 'hotstart' connections ( electrical lines that keep the engine core heated while docked) or deliberately removed it. We had the rediculous problem of trespass and theft because procedure wouldn't allow for locks ( slows down emergency response time) or a security system due to budget. But the man's brother wanted blame for this 'accident' and a apprentice machinist's mate was determined to be at fault and his career ruined. 4 months later the body washed ashore 60 miles south of us. The coroner determined death by drowning/ exposure- expedited by 4 controlled substances in his bloodstream.

Both accounts mention the violence of the crash and the fact that the planes burned rather quickly. It seems to me that your only chance at having some survival gear in an instance like this is having it directly on your person. Also, it seems like a big mistake to leave the scene of a crash with out leaving some kind of sign indicating you’re at least alive. Piling up rocks or arranging some sticks in a meaningful way, or simply searching the pockets of your dead passengers for a notepad and pen.

My condolences to families of those who died.

According to the story much of their very clothing was burned. Even a PSK might not have survived undamaged. It's a rare scenario, but worth consideration. Perhaps a small Chris Reeve Aviator with a few essentials or the machined matchsafes have their place? <img src="/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

I read that also, but I couldn't help to think that you would at least have a chance of having some gear survive. It seemed like you would have no chance to grab a bag on your way out and obviously no chance to retrieve it later.

It does make you think about the clothing they wore. Would a flame resistant material be a good thing to consider for small aircraft travel? Even wool would offer some degree of flame resistance.

I bought a surplus nomex flight suit when I was flying aerobatics. It was a rented Decathlon that had been rode hard and put away wet. Plus, the header tank is between your legs. An in-flight fire in the cockpit seemed much more likely in that plane than any in any other, and I wanted to survive long enough to use the parachute.

Although the second article says the crash occurred above the tree line, the local paper here in Calgary published a photograph of the crash site that showed clearly there were a large number of evergreen trees nearby (in fact, the aircraft appears to have collided with a large tree near the end of its run). So a knife or saw would have probably enabled them to build some sort of shelter, and a mag-flint block would have enabled them to get a fire going, which might have saved the life of the third survivor. (I'm betting they laid him on the bare ground instead of ripping down some pine boughs to insulate him.)