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According to the statistics,
two-thirds of the people involved in air crashes
survive. Approximately one-third of the third
who do die could have survived if they had known
what to do and almost all of these died from
smoke or fire. If it seems certain the plane is
going to crash, here's what to do while the
plane is going down.
- Put your seat belt on and
fasten it as tightly as possible.
- Check where all the
emergency exits are, put them in order of
priority and plan your route to each one.
Interviews with survivors of air crashes
confirm that the common element among the
overwhelming majority was that they had a
specific plan of action and followed through
with it on their own. If you have time,
study the emergency safety card; studies
have shown that you are three times more
likely to be injured during a crash if you
haven't read the emergency safety card.
- Take sharp pencils, pens
out of your clothes and remove dentures,
high-heeled shoes and eyeglasses.
- Empty your bladder to
reduce the chance of internal injury.
- If you don't have a
personal smoke hood, moisten a handkerchief,
headrest cover or shirttail, so if there's
smoke after impact, you can hold it over
your mouth. If no other liquids are handy,
use your urine.
- If you've got time, pack
for outside the plane, such as a sweater or
Coat to keep you warm and any medicines you
will need.
- Cover your head,
preferably with a pillow. Then either cross
your arms over your calves and grab your
ankles or put your palms-forward, crossed
wrists between your head and the seat in
front of you. In the latter position, it's
best to slide your feet forward until they
touch the seat leg or under-seat baggage in
front, so your legs are less likely to snap
forward on impact.
If you're still alive after
the plane comes to a stop, that's when you
should do the one thing which will most likely
save your life, and that is, very simply, get
out of there as fast as you can.
In crash after crash in
which the passengers survive impact, they just
sit there, stunned, waiting to be told what to
do. Often, the flight attendants, themselves
stunned, fail to give directions right away.
When the flight attendants finally do start
talking, many of the passengers will still sit
there as though in a trance. By the time the
passengers finally get moving, the plane has
filled with smoke, with flames and/or with
panic-stricken fellow passengers trampling each
other to get out.
So, as soon as the plane
comes to a stop, undo your seat belt, leap out
of your seat and move quickly to the exit. Don't
take anything with you; you'll need your hands
free to keep your balance in the aisle as you
step over bodies and luggage or find yourself
being pushed from behind by panic-stricken
passengers. If the aisle is blocked, walk over
the backs of the seats. Don't waste your time
crawling on the floor to avoid any smoke; you'll
only end up being trampled by and/or buried
under all the other passengers who are
suffocating. But if there is smoke, do keep your
head down. You'll know you've arrived at the
doors when the floor lights are red rather than
white.
Do not push the passengers
in front of you. You won't get through any
faster and will only increase the chance of your
being punched in the face, trapped by squirming
bodies in the aisle or, most seriously, stuck
behind a blocked door (see below).
When you finally arrive at
an exit door, if it's not open, take a quick
look out the window to see if there's fire
there. If there is, run to the other side of the
plane and open the door there.
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