Anyone who has ever flown on an airplane has heard instructive instructions from flight attendants regarding safety precautions during the flight. In this tirade we hear about the rules for using a life jacket and oxygen mask. But no one says where the emergency exit is and how to evacuate from a falling plane in the event of an emergency.
You may have even asked a completely justified question more than once - why passengers are not given parachutes, because they could be a real hope for salvation in an emergency.
As justifying arguments, airline representatives can name one of the reasons why this accessory is not provided for aircraft passengers.
Reason one
An airplane is a heavy-duty vehicle. According to statistics, there is one airliner crash for every 20 million flights.
Reason two
Anyone who has ever made a parachute jump is already familiar with the complex mechanism of this accessory. In an emergency, few passengers will be able to perform all the necessary manipulations to make a correct jump and a safe landing. For this reason, companies see no point in issuing parachutes to passengers who will still not be able to properly use this accessory to survive in the event of a plane crash.
Reason three
The majority of aircraft crashes occur during takeoff or landing of the aircraft, that is, on non-aircraft high altitude. Based on this, we can conclude: using a parachute at low altitude is pointless, since it still won’t have time to open before the fall.
Reason four
For a rescue parachute jump to be successful, it is necessary to evacuate from the rear of the aircraft. However, most aircraft do not have enough doors and very narrow passages in the back, which will not allow all passengers to jump from the aircraft in a timely manner in the event of an emergency.
Why can't you jump from another part of the plane? Such a jump will end tragically, because a person can hit the wing or fall into the engine compartment, which will also lead to instant death.
Reason five
A strong argument in favor of refusing to issue parachutes to airline passengers is the impossibility of safe evacuation at high aircraft speeds, reaching 800-900 km/h. To jump in such conditions you will need a special suit.
The maximum speed limit of an aircraft at which a parachute jump can be made is 400-500 km/h, but such parameters are by no means relevant for passenger airliners flying at high altitudes.
Sixth reason
The plane flies at an altitude of up to 10,000 km, and even if you jump with a rescue backpack, there is no chance of a successful landing. A person will not be able to breathe without the use of an oxygen cylinder.
It should also be taken into account that low temperatures at high altitudes, reaching -50, -60 degrees at any time of the year. For such extreme jumps, a special protective suit will be required, which could prevent instant freezing of the body and limbs.
Seventh reason
Interior sealing. During a flight at high altitude, it will not be possible to open the door for parachute jumping, which is due to pressure differences. If for some reason depressurization does occur, there will still be no chance of salvation. In the first minute, all passengers on the plane will die, unless they manage to react instantly and put on a protective mask. It is unlikely that anyone will be able to quickly make such a decision in an emergency situation.
The uselessness of a parachute for airplane passengers is justified
All of the above reasons are well-founded arguments justifying the absence of parachutes for passengers on board an airliner. This accessory will not be able to save lives in an emergency, and issuing it only for the personal reassurance of travelers, spending a lot of money on skill, is very unjustified and useless.
Also not considered is the issue of equipping passenger seats with an ejection system, which is relevant for military fighter aircraft. Such a complex consists of several complex mechanisms with a total weight of up to 500 kg. If you equip the board of a passenger airliner with such systems based on the permissible weight, no more than 15-20 people can be taken on board. This will lead to a significant increase in airfare prices.
You also need to understand that the ejection system alone is not enough to save a person during a plane crash. You will need a special helmet and protective suit, and during the flight you will have to remain stationary with your seat belts tightly fastened. It is unlikely that any passenger will enjoy a long-distance flight in such difficult conditions.
We hope that now you will not have any controversial situations when deciding whether to issue parachutes for airline passengers. Now you know for sure that this accessory cannot save a person’s life in the event of a plane crash.
Ecology of knowledge: Everyone has certainly wondered: what will happen if the plane starts to fall? Well, okay, if you go into the water, life jackets will come in handy. What if it’s just on the ground? Where is the parachute? Why aren't they given a parachute on the plane?
Fasten your seat belt, put on a life jacket, and don’t forget your oxygen mask. Anyone who has flown on an airplane at least once knows about these safety measures.
And everyone certainly wondered: what would happen if the plane started to fall? Well, okay, if you go into the water, life jackets will come in handy. What if it’s just on the ground? Where is the parachute? Why aren't they given a parachute on the plane? After all, so many lives could have been saved in all these disasters.
Aviation experts unanimously say that a parachute on an airplane is unnecessary, expensive, and generally from the realm of science fiction. But aerophobes do not give up: they believe that parachutes can be installed on an airplane if you add more money for a ticket, to involve the best engineering minds of the country, and in general - this already exists on military aircraft!
There is even a parachute with which you can successfully jump from the 7th floor. So why can't you install a parachute or a flying capsule on an airplane? Rustoria found out everything.
Oleg Ivashchuk, head of the dynamic simulator department at the Yu. A. Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center
A parachute on a passenger plane is definitely superfluous. I'll explain why:
1. A passenger plane is an extremely reliable machine;
2. Majority emergency situations with passenger airliners it happens during takeoff and landing, that is, at minimum altitudes, when the parachute is simply useless (it will not have time to open);
3. When flying at flight level, that is, at an estimated altitude of 10-11 thousand meters, a parachute is also useless: a person, leaving the plane, will simply die. After all, “outside the window” the temperature is -40 degrees, the atmosphere is thin and there is practically no oxygen;
4. Finally, carrying with you, imagine, a set of parachutes for 300-500 people is a lot excess weight and little free space. There will be nowhere to put the luggage of happy vacationing tourists.
5. And most importantly: parachutes are not carried for the safety of the passengers themselves. In case of turbulence (turbulence), even the slightest, some suspicious passengers will grab these same parachutes and run with them to the exit in an attempt to open the doors.
And so - no parachute - no reason to worry! Happy flying!
Oh yes, capsules are the realm of fantasy. For military aircraft, this is relevant when it is necessary to save one or two people. For a large number of passengers this is unrealistic. This is very expensive, but the point is not even the cost, but the fact that it is very difficult to implement technically. After all, the ejection seat of a fighter jet is a highly complex mechanism, a kind of small rocket with a complex of systems for survival.
And for each person - if in the passenger version - it is necessary to provide a hole in the fuselage and skin, where this entire “capsule” will fly out. And the fuselage and skin of a modern passenger aircraft is a very durable structure, eliminating all sorts of voids and holes, and capable of absorbing aerodynamic, weight and thermal loads when flying at speeds of about 900 km/h.
Alexey Kochemasov, civil aviation pilot, aircraft captain. He runs a popular blog under the nickname “Pilot Lyokha”
Why do you need a parachute if you can’t use it?
Military aircraft (fighters) have parachutes, but these are not just parachutes, but entire rescue systems. The system includes an ejection seat, an oxygen system, a parachute system and a system for protecting against mechanical damage to a person by the oncoming flow.
The whole thing collectively weighs about half a ton. I think it makes no sense to talk about how this system works, since it will take about 20 A4 pages.
It is known that the vast majority of accidents occur during takeoff and landing. So: simply using a parachute on a passenger plane simply won’t work, because it (the plane) flies very high and very fast.
Under no circumstances will the passenger be able to put on a parachute in the cabin, should something happen, much less leave the plane.
To open the doors on an airplane at an altitude of 10-12 km, you will have to depressurize the airplane, that is, let all the air out, otherwise the doors cannot be opened. And if you do it like in a fighter plane (when the door “shoots back”), then explosive decompression will occur, and this, in turn, will result in instant death.
In a fighter plane, the pilot sits in a protective helmet and an oxygen mask, and when the rescue system is activated, the oxygen system begins to supply air to the person’s lungs under excess pressure (automatically), which ensures the vital functions of the body.
You understand that such seats are excluded in the passenger compartment.
Next. The plane flies at a speed of approximately 800-900 km per hour, which means that getting out of the plane unharmed at such a speed is a utopia. A person and his parachute will simply be torn to shreds by the oncoming air flow.
In a fighter aircraft, the rescue system ensures the safety of the human body by introducing a special deflector into the oncoming flow. This is a steel telescopic rod that is fired and fixed in front of the pilot’s body and head.
So, this deflector cuts the oncoming flow and keeps it intact human body. Also, do not forget that a military pilot wears a protective helmet at all times.
Next. Even if you install rescue systems similar to military aircraft in a civilian aircraft, the number of passengers that the aircraft can carry will be reduced by approximately 4-5 times, which means that the ticket will immediately begin to cost the same amount of times more.
Are there many passengers willing to fly from Moscow to Sochi for 100,000 rubles one way? Moreover, you need to be in the ejection seat tightly fastened and pulled in all the time, wearing a helmet and an oxygen mask!
And, perhaps, the most important thing. After all, not only young girls and boys, absolutely athletic and completely healthy, fly: what about children, old people, hypertensive patients, who not only cannot physically endure the ejection itself, but even a decrease in atmospheric pressure below a certain level can become fatal for them?
The use of a parachute in its classical sense (a backpack behind the back) is impossible by definition: you wouldn’t force every passenger to put a backpack on their back and sit like that on the plane for 3-15 hours? And 99.9% of people on the plane will not be able to perform the jump. They just never did it.
As for rescuing the entire cabin by parachute. At low altitude, during takeoff and landing, there is simply not enough altitude and time to use the system. And when two planes collide at altitude, you know, all these parachute devices don’t give a damn.
And at the flight level, being in the plane itself, even if the engines have failed, is much safer than leaving this very plane (well, we already said above that it’s out of science fiction to get out of the plane at an altitude of 10 km).
Is it technically possible to take a parachute with you?
If you decide to take a parachute with you, no one can stop you from doing so. You shouldn't laugh either.
“A parachute is a thing like anything else. If it weighs the same as hand luggage, then there will be no problems; you can take it on board with you. It is better to check specific weight standards in advance with the airline,” the information service at Sheremetyevo Airport told Rustoria.
But still, you should take a parachute with you on a trip only if you really want to scare other passengers, especially impressionable aerophobes. It will still not be possible to use the parachute for its intended purpose, our experts are sure.
So just fasten your seat belt, sit back and think about something pleasant. And there are almost always fantastic views from the porthole. Have a nice flight and soft landing! published
As someone who is afraid of flying, I have always wondered why passenger planes don't have parachutes under their seats. In the event of a fire or engine failure, I think the chances that the jump will be successful are higher compared to an emergency landing. Very few people survive a water landing, even if the seats are used as a flotation device, but this is no excuse for why people would not survive a skydive.
I realize that on the surface this seems like a pretty good idea. I admit, the thought of sitting aboard a doomed plane hurtling into the abyss brings out the Walter Mitty in all of us. After all, even a one percent chance of survival is better than no chance, right? Unfortunately, even 1 percent seems quite optimistic. To understand why, ask yourself a few questions:
What is the probability that an accident will happen at a time when a parachute might actually be needed? After analyzing 49 years of fatal aircraft accidents, Boeing concluded that 12 percent of accidents occurred on the ground, 20 percent during takeoff or climb, and 36 percent during descent or landing.
This suggests that only less than a third of fatal accidents occurred at a point in the flight when parachute use was likely possible. And this is if you do not take into account such probable instant death scenarios as, for example, a collision with a mountain or an explosion in the air, as with a Boeing 747 (TWA 800) over New York.
What is the probability that the average passenger will be able to use a parachute correctly? If you've been skydiving before, you know that taking off your parachute gear is not that easy. At the same time, we are well aware that many passengers have problems even with seat belts. What about children, babies, the elderly, the disabled or just anxious people? Let's add to this the chaos of everyone trying to do it all in a cramped cabin without any prior emergency training. Isn't that what actually happens?
Even if everyone miraculously coped with the equipment, how will they get off the plane? Due to the difference between internal and external air pressure, passenger aircraft doors cannot be opened at altitude. If you try to do this, then due to the aforementioned differences in pressure, passengers may be thrown out or, with a high degree of probability, smeared throughout the cabin, sucked into turbines or burned in the exhaust. In truth, D.B. Cooper probably miraculously escaped these dangers in 1971 when he parachuted out of a Boeing 727 he had stolen. He was the only passenger left on a slow-moving vessel with an emergency exit located at the rear, so he had plenty of time to prepare. But this only slightly resembles the emergency scenario in question.
You will say, “But I still want my 0.001 percent!” Very well, let's do a little cost-benefit analysis then.
How much will this tiny chance of success be worth? A typical Boeing 737-800 seats 150 passengers and a crew of perhaps six. A T-11 model military parachute could probably be purchased for around $600, but remember that we are dealing with untrained users, so reserve parachutes will likely be required, as well as automatic deployment parachutes, which start at $2000. In addition, you will need lockers to store parachutes, extra bed, constant maintenance and checking, periodic replacement. Therefore, we can say with confidence that the cost of such equipment for one aircraft will exceed $500,000.
Where to place parachutes? All air travelers are well aware that passenger aircraft can hardly accommodate all the passengers and their luggage. At the same time, each parachute takes up at least as much space as a bag on wheels. Where should they be stored then? If it is under the seat, this means that there will be no room for legs, or the seats will not recline; if it is above, there will be no space for hand luggage.
What about weight? The T-11 model parachutes weigh about 16 kilograms (37 pounds), so even if we don't take into account reserve parachutes, that would add about 2,630 kilograms (5,800 pounds) of weight to the aircraft. To free up that much weight would require eliminating about 26 passengers and their luggage. The good news is that this frees up space for other people's parachutes. The bad news is that ticket prices will likely increase by at least 20 percent to cover lost revenue from missing passengers.
In short, we are talking about huge expenses with virtually no return. In comparison, flotation pads and life jackets for water landings are the limit of practicality. Of course, water landings don't happen that often, but they do happen—witness Captain Chesley Sullenberger's legendary 2009 non-fatal landing of US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River. Cushions and vests are inexpensive and easy to use, and the hope that the plane will float on the surface of the water and be in a stable position when you get out of it is proven by experience.
Generally speaking, your chances of dying while flying are approximately 1 in 20 million, while your chances of dying in a car accident each year are 1 in 9,200. I don't want to sound heartless, but you have to live with it.
How often, in moments of frightening turbulence, have we thought about parachutes, the presence of which on the plane would add to our confidence in our safety. Surely the question of why planes are not equipped with parachutes in case of an accident worries many travel enthusiasts. But in fact, there are several reasons for this. Let's try to figure it out in more detail.
Aircraft reliability
No matter how often the news about another plane crash is full of news, a passenger plane is a very reliable machine. Statistics show that the probability of dying in a road accident, for example, is much higher than in an airplane: 1:5,000 versus 1:11,000,000.
Unlivable conditions outside the aircraft
During a standard climb, the temperature outside is from −40 to −60°C, and there is practically no oxygen; in such conditions a person cannot survive even with a parachute.
The presence of parachutes will cause unnecessary panic on board
The possibility of leaving a plane while wearing a parachute can cause unnecessary panic among particularly impressionable passengers. For example, entering an area of turbulence may be perceived by some people as a signal to take action, which will make the flight unbearable for many.
Most often, accidents occur during takeoff or landing.
Most emergency situations occur during the takeoff and landing of the plane, which means that parachutes will no longer help in this case.
Panic prevents you from acting in an organized manner
In life-threatening situations, only a few will be able to cope with panic, put on a parachute correctly, proceed to the jump site in an orderly manner and use the device as expected.
Too much money spent
The cost of parachute sets for 100–500 people on each flight will be quite impressive, which will inevitably lead to higher prices for air tickets. In addition, the total weight of the aircraft will increase, and passengers will have nowhere to put their luggage, since storing parachutes will also require a lot of space.
It would seem to be a completely logical and simple solution, which probably occurred to every person who has flown at least once. What are the reasons why airplanes do not have parachutes for passengers? Is it just the greed of the airlines?
Most armchair experts reduce the issue to finances. They say that it is simply not profitable for air carriers to install additional equipment, since this will lead to higher prices for flights and loss of customers. Moreover, companies are even interested in the death of all passengers in the event of a disaster, because this reduces the amount of insurance payments.
Of course, parachutes are not cheap, and equipping each passenger seat with them will cost a pretty penny. However, will this make people more comfortable? Firstly, there is additional weight. Are there many people willing to replace hand luggage for a parachute? What if some passengers agree, but the rest are against? Resolve the issue by secret ballot?
Secondly, putting on a parachute is not like putting a backpack on your back. The briefing alone will take a couple of hours. Would you agree to listen to it before every flight? Many straps must be adjusted to the exact size. This means that giving each passenger a standard parachute is not an option. It is necessary to separately think through options for children, pregnant women, people with disabilities... Ideally, you need to put on a parachute before the flight, set it up, and fly without taking it off. Can you imagine this picture?
Thirdly, a logical question arises: should parachutes be issued to the crews of passenger aircraft? If not, it seems to be unfair to take away their chance of salvation. And if so, then who can guarantee that at the most critical moment the pilots will not jump out, leaving the falling ship behind?
And just imagine what a gift this would be for terrorists. You no longer have to look for suicide bombers willing to carry a bomb on board and explode along with everyone else. After all, you can jump out at any moment.
But let’s say passengers agree, for the sake of their own safety, to endure such inconveniences and expose themselves to other risks. But here the next question arises:
Will a parachute save you on an airplane?
As we already wrote in the article, the vast majority of plane crashes happen during takeoff and landing. Everything happens at too low a height for a jump, and for such short time that you won’t have time not only to put on, but even to think about a parachute.
Oh yes, we agreed that we were flying with parachutes already dressed. In addition, not all accidents occur directly near the ground. Okay, let’s imagine a situation where critical problems occurred at , and this is 10,000 meters. Then passengers will have just a few minutes to evacuate. To understand how much this is, just watch the following video.
In total, it took almost a minute and a half for calm and ready-to-experiment people, who knew that they were not in danger, to leave the passenger plane through the emergency exits. How long will it take for the same number of people, in panic, to jump from a 10-kilometer height with a parachute, which they see for the first time in their lives?
Skydiving instructors know that it is often difficult to persuade even a person who has consciously decided to jump and paid money for it to jump out for the first time. Not everyone will decide to do this. In addition, the daredevils will face a moral dilemma, because the children and elderly people remaining in the cabin will inevitably die as a result of depressurization of the cabin.
You say, so what, it’s better to save at least some of the passengers than none? Okay, then let's see what fate awaits those who decide to jump. The speed is about 1000 km/h, outside there is 50 degrees below zero and there is a lack of oxygen. Even if by some miracle you don’t get smeared on the wing, aren’t pulled into the engine, don’t suffocate or freeze, it’s not a fact that you’ll be happy with what awaits you after landing. The likelihood of finding yourself in the middle of the ocean is much higher than on the threshold of a hospital, which you would really need after such an adventure...
Then, maybe, upon landing, all passengers should immediately put on not only a parachute, but also a wetsuit, an oxygen tank, and take with them a packed lunch for 3 days and a survival kit? Or is this already too much? Or here’s another idea - a catapult. In case of danger, the pilot presses a button, and hundreds of smiling people soar into the sky cozy armchairs, with parachutes above their heads and glasses of champagne in their hands...
Why are there no catapults on passenger planes?
Yes, in fact, for the same reason why airplane passengers are not given parachutes: the conditions outside are unsuitable for survival, plus the heaviness and high cost of the design.
Can you imagine hundreds of catapults firing and parachutes opening at the same time? They will all get mixed up and one big pancake will fall to the ground. In addition, even if you don’t make an individual hatch for each passenger, but build something like a common shootable roof, this will significantly reduce the strength of the fuselage.
Thus, all such “remedies” are nothing more than fantasies that are unrealizable. At least on at the moment. That's why airplanes don't have parachutes or catapults. If you look at the statistics, you will understand that such measures are not adequate to the potential danger. The roof could collapse on you at any moment, but you don’t wear a helmet all the time. Therefore, fly calmly and... enjoy the flight.
