Why are there lifejackets under the seats of planes instead of parachutes?

Question

Why are there lifejackets under the seats of planes instead of parachutes?

Answer 1

better odds of survival.......i dont think i would wanna jump out of a 747 doing 700mph...the wing might get me.....maybe they figure you should supply your own, take it as carry-on,lol. cheaper insurance..

Answer 2

I've always wondered the same thing. My guess is probably people aren't trained enought to use them, and plus weight...

Answer 3

These days a certain amount of training and competency is required to 'skydive', or use a parachute. The danger to 'incompetent' or inexperienced passengers jumping would be equal to the danger of staying with the plane.

A better suggestion would be to do what they do with some ultralight aircraft - install parachutes to the plane's cabin itself, so if something happens, the pilots slow the aircraft as far as possible, then pull the chutes and let the whole thing just float down... probably practically impossible, though.

Answer 4

To quote Tyler Durdan , "The illusion of safety , my friend ."

Answer 5

so if you are like flying over an ocean and crash...

i think.

Answer 6

because most of the times when you are on a long trip plane ride you travel over the ocean and if something goes wrong the pilot can land the airplane into the ocean and let passengers slide off the plane, that is why they have life vest because it makes you float!

Answer 7

Its hard so swim with a parachute on.

Answer 8

Good question! Maybe for if you crash in the Ocean! They should have both in my opinion!

Get this: If you crash in water from that momentum and from that high up, it is likely probable that you will die,anyway. (Hitting water is just like hitting concrete) Ever done a belly flop in the pool?

PS. It is just a trick to make you feel secure!

Answer 9

Well if the plane was going down on land there is a high probability the plane will either nose dive or land on its belly. The life jackets are for the water as we live near and fly over the majority of water, it would more then likely land in the water. If you look most airports are not far from the water, and if you go to another country what do you usually fly over? Of course water. Thats my reasoning for life jackets underseats.

Answer 10

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.

If every seat was an ejection seat then maybe you could save a handful of lives, but the extra training and complete redesign of the aircrafts would not be cost effective.

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 11

Trying to parachute from a crashing airliner is unlikely to be any safer than staying on the plane - you can't parachute without oxygen from the altitudes they fly at, and the doors cannot be opened in flight anyway.

Aircraft do occasionally ditch in water though - a China Airlines aircraft ran off the end of the old Hong Kong airport runway a few years ago. A lifejacket would be quite handy under those circumstances.

Answer 12

At the speeds and altitudes that commercial flights fly a parachute is complely useless. At altitude there is not enough air for you to live long enough to open the chute. also the typical speed of an airliner is so high that you are most likely to be torn in half if you can even get the door open to begin with. Also a safe landing with a parachute is not for a beginner. It's not the fall that kills you, its the abrupt stop at the end. Professional sky divers are killed by inproper landings all the time.( with thier chutes opening and operating normally)

Answer 13

because parachutes don't float to good if you crash on water