An Airline I won't be flying on
- Thread starter GB
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OP
OP
GB
Chief Eating Officer
My Father In Law worked for the FAA for many many years. On numerous occasions he even briefed the President of the United States on crashes that had occurred. He was specifically involved with crash investigation and prevention. I spoke with him about this and he agrees that chances of using the vests are very slim BUT it is ridiculous to not have them on board just to save some money.
jennyema
Chef Extraordinaire
The cushions have straps on them and are actually very effective flotation devices. They are widely used on boats, canoes, etc.
If I were ever in that situation I would rather have the cushion than that cheapo life vest that you have to blow up with a straw.
Have you ever seen anyone buy anything out of that magazine?
OP
OP
GB
Chief Eating Officer
I am very familiar with those cushions as well as water safety. I was a white water canoe instructor for years as well as a water safety instruction. Those cushions have straps, yes, but you can not attach them to your body. if you lose consciousness then you are dead. If the water is cold and you loose feeling in your hands then you are dead. If you break your arm in the crash and cant use your hand to hold onto the strap then you are dead. If you are a child or infant then you are dead. At least with the vests they are a hands free device that will keep you afloat. Not to mention that the vests are designed to flip up face up even if you are unconscious so you will not die from having your face under water.
My parents were in a boating accident years ago. They had those cushions, but were not wearing live vests. The owner of the boat did not know how to swim. When the boat went down the first thing my dad did was yell to Richard to make such he had a cushion. He yelled back yes as he lifted it above his head to show dad. Yes he went right under the water as he did this.
My parents were in a boating accident years ago. They had those cushions, but were not wearing live vests. The owner of the boat did not know how to swim. When the boat went down the first thing my dad did was yell to Richard to make such he had a cushion. He yelled back yes as he lifted it above his head to show dad. Yes he went right under the water as he did this.
If a commercial airline is at altitude and not in "crash mode", 50 miles is plenty of distance to achieve the proper glide angle to get you back over land and aimed towards an airport or highway.
If it's descent is any faster than that, then I agree a life vest isn't going to do you any good.
However, if you're on that plane that crashed in the Potomac shortly after takeoff, I would rather have the vest, but it would probably be a lot easier to grab a nearby floating cushion than inflating a vest and putting it on once you are in the water.
JMO
DramaQueen
Head Chef
Your seat is your flotation device and I would think you could use that a lot quicker than a vest. When the plane is going down like a dart into the water, would you have the time or the where-with-all to put on and tie your life vest? I don't think I would remember where the vest was to begin with. The Jazz plane they're referring to flies over the Great Lakes and I guess their reasoning is that if the plane were to go into a "water landing" (I love that phrase) then the Coast Guard would be able to reach you in a very short time being only 50 miles from shore. Your flotation device would hold you til then. If you're unconcious, well, you're on your own. Now, who said to get rid of the skymall magazine???? 
No!
No!
OP
OP
GB
Chief Eating Officer
And what about my kids?
jpmcgrew
Executive Chef
This is all over trying to save a lousy 50# ? Maybe better yet they should make sure everyone goes #1 and # 2, I wonder how many pounds they could save then
perhaps they will strip everything to the shell, issue earplugs, and call it a MAC flight.
jpmcgrew
Executive Chef
First class will be aluminum lawn chairs bolted down with a piece of rope for a seat belt.
hey, that sound better then the 30hour flight accommodations I have had from that type of flying! If I can hear my MP3 player, I WILL pay extra!
AmericaWestCMH
Assistant Cook
What's the big deal? Airplanes have pretty amazing glide ratios, but if it just so happens to take a nosedive into water you're fish food anyway.
Why worry about every once-in-billion "what if?" scenario?
Why worry about every once-in-billion "what if?" scenario?
OP
OP
GB
Chief Eating Officer
So by that logic you would be fine if they got rid of all safety equipment on a plane? And your stats are way off. Once in a billion might be a saying, but it is not an accurate depiction of how often planes crash. Safer than driving on a highway, yes, but crashes happen all the time and there are survivors sometimes as well.
Why worry? Because I would like to stay as safe as possible and not die because of a cost cutting measure. But I never said I was worrying. I just said it was a stupid way to save money.
Why worry? Because I would like to stay as safe as possible and not die because of a cost cutting measure. But I never said I was worrying. I just said it was a stupid way to save money.
AmericaWestCMH
Assistant Cook
Don't be so dramatic. Flotation devices (seat cushions) are the required equipment in this application, and that is what is being provided. Nothing illegal or unsafe here.
OP
OP
GB
Chief Eating Officer
Ummm I am not being dramatic and I never said that it was illegal. I said it was a stupid way to save money.
DramaQueen
Head Chef
I'm getting ready to fly back to Las Vegas from Michigan and my first flight to O'Hare in Chicago is over Lake Michigan entirely. It takes about 40 minutes to fly over the lake so I'm not sure how wide Lake Michigan actually is. I will, of course, be thinking of this conversation as I fly over the water. The rest of the 3 1/2 hour flight is mostly over desert, and mountains. Doesn't matter where the plane goes down, you're toast. Flotation devices aren't worth much here.
The rest of the 3 1/2 hour flight is mostly over desert, and mountains. Doesn't matter where the plane goes down, you're toast. Flotation devices aren't worth much here.
buckytom
Chef Extraordinaire
i'm thinking of putting a couple of mae wests in the back of my truck...
am-west, prop airplanes have decent glide ratios.
jets, especially one's with fat people and extra luggage, drop like rocks. but i agree with ronjohn. it depends on the altitude.
am-west, prop airplanes have decent glide ratios.
jets, especially one's with fat people and extra luggage, drop like rocks. but i agree with ronjohn. it depends on the altitude.
qmax
Sous Chef
i'm thinking of putting a couple of mae wests in the back of my truck...
Isn't that what D. B. Cooper tried?
AmericaWestCMH
Assistant Cook
A few hundred pounds of luggage and fat makes little difference on a jet weighing hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Jets do just fine and in most cases as well or better than a typical prop; see the 'Gimli Glider' story and the Air Transat flight that had to glide down. The Gimli Glider (767) managed 12:1, the Cessnas I flew were at best 8 or 9:1.
