Why don’t airplanes have individual parachutes ?
Upon engine failure, a plane has the ability to glide for the next 30 minutes through the air, slowly losing altitude.
One of the main arguments against parachutes is that we are talking about waaay different heights comprares to commercial sky diving.
So here’s my case, since airplanes can glide after engine failure, why not once they reach appropriate height have passengers jump off and parachute to safety ?
Obviously better than hoping for the best while hurling through the sky in a giant metal can towards a mountain…
Teaching 180 people how to skydive while they’re panicking and free falling in the sky sounds impossible
Also where would they store the parachutes? They’d also need the eye protection to go with them and if you’re over water good luck lmao. Military trained soldiers drown while landing in water with parachutes on, chances are Betsy Lou from Kansas ain’t making it either.
Lastly how would you train a bunch of flight attendants and pilots to be skydiving instructors on the side? The pressure coming into the cabin at those altitudes would be extreme also.
Theoretically sounds like a good idea but when you break it down you can see the flaws in it, also not even to mention the legal implications that would take. Then the introduction video on the plane would take 25 fucking minutes instead of the 10 it already takes just to explain how to use a damn oxygen mask and exit the plane.
If I’m on a plane and we start going down I’m just gonna start trying to explain my previous choices to God and try to negotiate my way into Heaven before we hit the ground.
Blessed and making-amends-before-death-pilled
Pretty great reply for a Walnut Brain. Name does not check out.
Not to mention that Its gets cold pretty quick the higher up you are so you'd have to have everyone jump at a relatiely low altitude which means a shorter window. I think the temperature drops around 3.5 degrees Farenheit per 1000 ft
Yeah also you need oxygen above 15,000 feet and airliners fly at 31,000 - 38,000 feet. It is a bit of a logistical nightmare that you have to coordinate a jump under 15,000 feet as if the plane is in bad state it could be plummeting quickly, so the jump is a bit more technical. The military could do it, but you have a bunch of old people and people with kids that would just hold the jump line up considerably. Also, a small group of people are going to be 100% scared of jumping out a plane, especially at night. The staff gathering this herd of people may have to suddenly jump out due to the plane being so low. It would be a total fiasco.
Not sure about these reasons:
1) what is there to teach? can't you put the parachute like a backpack and pull the string when you're in the air to open it?
2) store them at the end of the plane. remove the last seats and put a locker with parachutes. in case of emergency people can pass them up. if you don't think people would pass them, then store them in overhead compartments - you can also make the compartments bigger or store the excess luggage at the end of the plane (remove last rows for that)
3) show instruction videos while flying. they can take the whole flight, who cares.
4) god is made up by humans, so you'll just waste your last moments in life.
The air pressure reason might be the real reason actually. I don't know much about air pressure. But I would guess if you open the door at this altitude, it might cause something like ripping out chairs and killing everybody on board - I dunno. Would love some more info on this from knowledgable people.
Simple pros and cons. Rather than spending so much to maintain parachute, the cost associated with carrying them (they're not that light), it makes much more sense to just keep improving the vessel itself so that accident is very unlikely. Hey in fact, airflight is the safest mode of transport with much lower casualty rate than any other transportation!
There is a good youtube video explaining this questions.
A while ago there were prototypes for a parachute for the entire aircraft, but it never came out of a concept phase.
A water landing as an example is inherently safer than asking people to jump out during a flight.
Not entirely true there are parachutes for light aircraft, take a look at the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System.
Excellent find, thanks for sharing. Didn't know about that one.
Most commercial planes have 2 engines, and while losing one is an issue they are fully capable of maneuvering and landing with the 1 engine - look it up on YouTube, this happens frequently enough. Engine failure -> slow glide to eventual fatal crash is not how any large airliner crash has ever happened. The Air France jet went nose down in a matter of minutes, same with both 737 Maxes - hard to save anyone in those situations.
Further, being on a commercial airplane is statistically one of the safest places you can be
Just take a step up the chain and put parachutes on the plane itself. It's what Cirrus does in their general aviation aircraft, and they have a rediculously good record.
Past the obvious practical issues, from what I remember often if pilots are able to glide the plane to a stage where parachuting possible usually survivability pretty high e.g. Gimli Glider, Sully and TACA one with legend of a one-eyed pilot.
So I think even if could be implemented and passengers somehow get it right barely any times worth implementing since further damage to aircraft/ pilot misunderstanding situation / too little time often accident cause, at which point this is no help
The crashes that kill tend to be controlled flight into terrain or crashes on landing, parachutes won’t help in either case.
They are WAY too heavy and bulky. Fuel cost alone would completely eliminate any business case. Airlines are working tirelessly to eliminate every ounce of unnecessary weight on aircraft. 350 parachutes would be a monumental setback for very few lives saved, if any.
maybe have them on some planes and let people decide is they want to pay extra to have parachutes on their plane or not.
There would need to be much more training for the cabin crew. And in parallel for the passengers, their survival rates might be the same if not worse than just sitting inside the plane as they don't have any experience/training with operating a parachute before.
great question. I was thinking the same recently after hearing about Boeing crush and flying to client the next day. I would pay extra if my plane had parachutes just in case.
Just buy / bring your own skydiving rig on the plane.
Check your computer bag, carry-on your rig and you're g2g
I don't think flight attendants will let me use it in case of emergency
Might be due to costs. To explain, forget the costs of parachutes, I’d imagine they want to save themselves from litigation costs. Imagine the testimony a survivor would give.
Sorry no hedging product available when it comes to flying commercial airplanes. Your position is naked and unhedged and totally at the mercy of risk. Just hope tail doesn't catch you that's all.
I get what you're saying, but the risks would be far higher. individuals would panic in a real emergency because most individuals are not trained to utilize parachutes. Furthermore, it's not as easy as it seems to jump out of a plane safely because they move so quickly. It would be nearly impossible to get everyone out in a systematic manner. Most of the time, it is considerably safer to stay in the aircraft and make an emergency landing.
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