How to escape a sinking helicopter
popularmechanics.comDoes anyone else feel compelled to read any article with a headline like this? I know if I don't read it and then for some reason find myself on a sinking helicopter the only thing I will be thinking about is why didn't I read that article!
As it turns out, this article only talks about specialised training and special devices and the dangers of crashing in cold oceans. Probably not many handy hints for the casual helicopter passenger.
Now if you will ever crash you will also be remembering very well how you used two very important minutes of your life in order to comment on HN about how the article was not really useful, instead of looking up for some damn precious helicrash survival step guide. Nevermind, it will be my last thought, as well.
I'm the same way, but then I figured that I won't be regretting it for long.
Takeaway for us in the real world: locate an exit before you start moving.
BOSIET and HUET classes are a blast, if you spend any time on/around the water for work, I'd highly recommend getting signed into one ASAP. If you're not going to be in arctic areas, most facilities offer a T (Tropical) BOSIET that's a bit shorter in duration and you don't have to put on the arctic survival (gumby) suits. I refreshed my BOSIET (which includes HUET) only about a month ago, if anybody has any questions feel free to fire away!
My Dad was in the Canadian Coast Guard the HUET classes are mandatory.
It's a good thing because I think Dad said over half the crew couldn't even swim!
Not that it matters you'd be dead in three minutes anyway without a Mustang suit.
I remember reading an article about Inuits doing traditional kayaking (I think to hunt whales but I'm not sure).
The writer was surprised to find out that they did not train or practice "Eskimo Rolls". He asked what they would do if they got stuck upside down. The speaker said something like "I don't know, probably drown".
"In water chilled to 50 degrees F, an Olympic swimmer was able to hold his breath for only 10 seconds. Another Olympian, this one a silver medalist, was able to breast stroke for about 7 minutes before she lost all muscle control and devolved into a slowly undulating tangle of limbs. Message received."
Can anyone find a source for this? I've swam in some seriously cold water (partially iced over lake water, I don't know how cold it was) and it is really stunningly bad, but that seems rather off. The best I can find (some USCG powerpoint about surviving airplane crashes in water) has lack of muscle control beginning at around 10-15 minutes, which seems more in line with what I have experienced.
I don't have a source, but the same thing was explained to me during a sea survival course. It was a requirement to be able to enter a Sydney to Hobart yacht race.
This course included spending time in a very cold pool in full gear and attempting to activate and enter an inflatable life raft (over and over, and in the dark).
I was reasonably insulated but not in a survival suit, and I lost virtually all muscle control after about 15-20mins.
The shivers left me so weak I could barely climb the ladder out of the pool.
The instructor explained to me that this was the major point of the exercise. The right strategy is to try to minimize heat loss by bringing your knees up to your chest and not moving much (Assuming you have floatation).
I expected the article to talk about getting to the surface without getting beat up by the rotor blades. I guess the rotor stops fairly soon after hitting the water, or else the downdraft would push you safely away?
With my rudimentary knowledge of physics, I would assume that helicopter blades and a rotor, although designed to hold the weight of the aircraft and its occupants, are not designed to slice through water. Given the level of resistance water provides, the speed with which the blades slice through the atmosphere, and the fact that a falling human hitting water at terminal velocity ends badly for the human, it's not really possible for a helicopter to push water the way a water propeller is designed to do.
Intrusive add that caught my click. I left the site without even seeing the article...