I just saw the rather weak remake of Flight of the Phoenix this weekend and got to wondering: What would you folks do in a similar circumstance? Here's the situation: You've just crashed in the Gobi desert. You're not sure of your exact location but you were a couple hundred miles off course when you went down. Being found by SAR is unlikely given your general whereabouts and the relative lack of importance of your passengers and cargo. It's nearly two hundred miles to the nearest town. You have 30 pints of water per survivor, no radio (or GPS, ELT etc) and local geologic conditions have a severe influence on compasses. You may ignore the possibilty of having both a (model) airplane designer and a machine shop's worth of fabrication tools and there are no nomadic smugglers in the area. Do you stay put or hoof it? Split up or stay together? Hire an acting coach for Dennis Quaid or rent the Jimmy Stewart original?

Ed

I would try to scrounge enough materials to build a smokey fire. Just because the desert looks empty doesn't mean it really is.

Sue

I never saw the movie, but since discovery by SAR is unlikley, water is short and there are no nomads in the area, it seems reasonable to travel hoping to make it to a more favorable location or to increase your chances of running into other people that might also be travelling in the area. That beats sitting at the crash site forever with no one coming for you. The crash site would still be a target for possible SAR efforts and you would leave information about your direction of travel for SAR to follow. Most importantly, your chances of finding water would increase if you moved. Navigation would be tricky without a compass, but alternate methods would have to be used. Maybe using the sun/moon/stars or distant mountains to hold a heading.

I would prefer sticking together, but if there were a large number of survivors and the group seemed to be polarizing into two cliques, either around two rival leaders or two ideas of the best course of action, then splitting up would be a possibility. Splitting could reduce internal conflict and increase the chance of being discovered. But in general and especially if the number of survivors is small (less than 10), I think sticking together for mutual support would be the better option.

Rent the Jimmy Stewart original.

Bountyhunter
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I'd hoof it and use the sun and stars for navigation. I might also knock out Dennis Quaid and steal his water.