Why are there flotation devices under plane seats instead of parachutes?

Question

Why are there flotation devices under plane seats instead of parachutes?

Answer 1

eeer because flotation devices don't sink as fast as parachutes? Because you cannot open the door when the cabin is pressurised? Because you cannot operate a parachute safely? Because chances of something happening are extremely slim? Because you cannot swim for hundreds of miles when falling in the ocean? Because it's safer to stay in the plane, letting the cockpit and/or cabincrew solve the problem?

Answer 2

In case you land in water you can use it. If you had parachutes, you would have to teach everyone how to use them. More than likely you wont use them so whats the use.

Answer 3

WOULD YOU LIKE TO FLOAT IN THE WATER OR BE TANGILD UP IN THE ROPES FROM THE PARACHUTES AFTER YOU HIT THE WATER........

Answer 4

Parachutes are basacly worthless if you don't know how to use them. Most accidents happen on Landings or Seconds after takeoff anyways. So its be a waste.

Answer 5

That's easy..

Planes fly above the clouds.....clouds are moisture...you need to be able to float through them...a parachute would be hampered by all that moisture...so, we have flotation devices!!

Answer 6

If you type the words "parachutes in planes" in the box above where it says "Search for questions" it will show you that your question has now been asked 614 times

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If takes a lot of training to jump out an airplane.  Can you imagine the chaos with 200 people struggling to put on parachutes in a cabin that's not big enough to move around in to begin with and the carnage of people and children being walked over and crushed because they're too scared to jump?   Any way you look at it it's an unworkable idea.

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Answer 7

What good would a parachute do?  Let's just assume that everyone knew how to put one on and how to deploy it.  The problem is that exiting the aircraft would kill everyone.  They would be ripped to shreds in the wake turbulence, not to mention the extreme altitude problems involved in such a scenario.  This is assuming that there would even be time to organize a mass exodus from a disabled aircraft that was rapidly losing altitude.  A lilttle thought and common sense would have helped you think this through and come to a logical conclusion to where you would need not have even asked this quesiton to begin with.

Answer 8

I dunno... They may as well have steak and lobster there tho, so you can have a decent last meal before the crash.

Chutes are:

Too heavy

Too hard to use

Altitude dependent

Aircraft have no static line to open the chutes

Also, think how fast the lawyers would jump on a case of an improper parachute opening, like flies on a t**d.

It'd be cheaper for the airline if you just died because you couldn't put on a flotation device, even tho they gave you training.

Answer 9

First off, the vast majority of accidents happen at take off or landing, where a parachute is useless. there is not enough altitude or time to use a parachute.

Take it from someone that jumps out of planes for fun. There is not enough room to put on a parachute in a commercial plane. Everyone would have to wear the rigs before getting on the aircraft. Even if everyone had a parachute there is no safe way to exit the aircraft. You would need special equipment and training to survive the 560 + mph winds and 30,000 foot plus altitudes. Without extra oxygen and protective gear you would die in that environment. The fastest skydiving jumps are at 150 knots, not 500 + knots and are made from 18,000 feet MSL or lower. Just getting out of the airplane could kill you as you'd be slammed into the door on exit. The next issue would be landing a parachute. Most likely this case would use rounds and you'd just have to do a parachute landing fall. That is easy enough to learn. The steering of the canopy would require training. I'd say that about 25% of the people on any flight are not healthy enough to survive a normal skydive. The very young, old, and anyone not in good health would have no chance at surviving the exit, parachute flight or landing.

As a skydiver we know that at some point we will have to exit our aircraft during an aircraft emergency, it doesn’t happen very often, almost never, but it does.  But here is the catch, you need time and altitude to open up the parachute.  We wear seat belts in the plane for taxi, take off, and if needed landing.  If there is a problem with the aircraft under 1000 feet above the ground you go down with the plane.  In a commercial flight you will climb past 1000 feet very quickly but there will not be enough time to put on a parachute system, nor enough time to get everyone out of the plane.  The vast majority of the very rare commercial accidents happen right after take off or on landing…. A parachute would be useless.

For more information about traveling with a parachute you can check out www.uspa.org and there is a link to the TSA rules about traveling with rigs.

In the big picture. commercial airline flights are very safe and not something to worry about.  I travel for a living.  Taking two or more flights a week across the US.  I hate landing in planes because I’d rather be jumping out and landing my parachute, but it is impossible to do that safely from a commercial aircraft; never mind the less than legal part of it.

As for flotation devises, I don’t know about you, but when I get into water all I do is prolong my drowning.  I’m very glad there is something there to help me float if needed.  The parachutes are pointless, the flotation device, might of might not be useful, but I like having the piece of mind.  Perhaps having a parachute on the plane would give piece of mind, even if it couldn’t be used.

Answer 10

A simple answer to this oft asked question is nobody would know how to use them properly and there is no way to exit the plane in flight anyway. Commercial airliners are not designed to "bail out of".

Answer 11

If everything on the plane were to fail, the pilots would still be able to glide the plain down to ground, or in your case, water.

Answer 12

Most people don't know how to use a parachute. Everyone knows how to grab something that's floating. It would be just about impossible to get a passenger plane emptied of people safely at @600 mph and 30,000 feet.

Answer 13

A parachute won't help you at the standard flying altitude and speed. Your best hope of surviving is to land inside the plane. However, if the aircraft should have to land on the water you would need a floatation device to help you stay afloat until you can be rescued.

Answer 14

If a plane is to stall and plummet out of control, U cant even get out of your seat, let alone put on parachutes and walk to the door. Even if you manage to do so, everything, and everybody, will just be sucked out due the the huge pressure difference

Answer 15

Because planes are built by optomists,

parachutes are built by pessimists,

Flotation devises are built by people who can't swim!

Answer 16

Maybe for the fact that a parachute is more expensive than a flotation device. Imagine an airline with 80 jet aircrafts , each by 200-275... seats. Can you make the cost? Exept the other costs that an airline has... Like catering, fuel, mantainance, cleaning etc..etc...

Plus jumping from a jet traveling with 300 Nm seem a litle bit scary...