Essentials to carry on board aircraft?
- Thread starter Andy BB
- Start date
Correct they say that the seat can be used as a floatation device, your life jacket is however under your seat, ive flown with American, Delta, Jet Blue and a couple of the smaller US feeder airlines and they have always said the life jacket is under the seat, be that on a Beech 1900 or a 737/A320, it's the same on every commercial aircraft ive ever flown on, including Russian ones.
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I've flown Delta fairly recently, as well as KLM, BA, Singapore, Garuda, Emirates, Virgin, American Airlines, Jet, Lufthansa and a few others I've forgotten in the last 12 months. And in all of them they have provided life-jackets, and given endless instructions on how to wear and inflate them.
Re smoke hoods, there seems to be a misunderstanding here. The ones I referred to in my earlier post did not have O2 generators, and are perfectly legal to carry onboard. And would hopefully stop you having to scratch soot off your eyeball with a fingernail to find the exit following a crash - see earlier comment by a Manchester crash survivor.
I tend to fly quite a bit, and the following is in my carry on at all times (actually, I tend to carry this in my backpack every day anyway):
Dry food: cereal bars (3 or 4), m&ms (peanut and chocolate), mints (14 hours without brushing your teeth can be pretty rough!)
Compact wash bag (dry): toothbrush, razor (and travel shaving brush), nail clippers, small roll of toilet paper (about the size of a cardboard inner tube), KFC sealed wet wipe, floss, shaving soap, small bar of general purpose soap (can be used for all sorts, including washing clothes)
Liquids bag: small toothpaste, deodorant, aftershave, small tin of vaseline (if going somewhere cold)
Comfort: noise cancelling in-ear headphones (ever since I went on a transatlantic flight and couldn't hear the film despite having the sound up to max!), iPad (loaded with a few movies and endless games like sudoku, connect 4, jetpack jim, etc.), bottle of water bought airside (aircraft are seriously dehydrating), earplugs & sleeping mask on long flights, pen and writing pad, tiny folding umbrella (my coat doesn't have a hood)
I also dress smart casual with no belt, it tends to minimise the fuss at security/border/customs, and comfortable shoes can make the difference between a difficult and a nightmare journey in case of delays.
Dry food: cereal bars (3 or 4), m&ms (peanut and chocolate), mints (14 hours without brushing your teeth can be pretty rough!)
Compact wash bag (dry): toothbrush, razor (and travel shaving brush), nail clippers, small roll of toilet paper (about the size of a cardboard inner tube), KFC sealed wet wipe, floss, shaving soap, small bar of general purpose soap (can be used for all sorts, including washing clothes)
Liquids bag: small toothpaste, deodorant, aftershave, small tin of vaseline (if going somewhere cold)
Comfort: noise cancelling in-ear headphones (ever since I went on a transatlantic flight and couldn't hear the film despite having the sound up to max!), iPad (loaded with a few movies and endless games like sudoku, connect 4, jetpack jim, etc.), bottle of water bought airside (aircraft are seriously dehydrating), earplugs & sleeping mask on long flights, pen and writing pad, tiny folding umbrella (my coat doesn't have a hood)
I also dress smart casual with no belt, it tends to minimise the fuss at security/border/customs, and comfortable shoes can make the difference between a difficult and a nightmare journey in case of delays.
a can of engery drink - well aparently Red Bull gives you wings 
or better still leave the flying to the birds!
or better still leave the flying to the birds!
Makes perfect sense to me but I've never been on a flight that briefed it that way. Gotta admit it's been over 20 years since I've flown commercial though.
Does the Hudson River count? As Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger would disagree with that statement
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_Airways_Flight_1549
That was a controlled landing onto water. Not a crash.
We're getting into semantics now. That Wikipedia article mentions the "C-word" on more than one occasion.
Remember, crashing into a mountain is called a CFIT incident (controlled flight into terrain)
I really want to start a thread now.
"I've been spending a lot of time lately just sat at home in my pants. Considering most accidents happen in the home, what survival gear should I carry on my person?"
"I've been spending a lot of time lately just sat at home in my pants. Considering most accidents happen in the home, what survival gear should I carry on my person?"
Difference between that and open water is no waves! But still an excellent piece of flying.
Having listened to the CVR, they are remarkably calm. I feel sorry for the bloke who designed the ditching button - he must have felt so smug until they broke the news that it wasn't pressed!
If the flight does not go over water then they do not have to carry life jackets. I've flown on US flights that have not carried life jackets just had the seat cushion as flotation device.
TBH I don't believe an inflatable would/could meet Class I PFD requirements anyway.
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Sure they do - most offshore yachting PFDs are inflatable. You can't work effectively wearing a foam class one.
In my personal experience, every flight i have travelled on in the CONUS has had life jackets on board.
Just looking online now and it looks like you might well be right about them being legal. That said most boaters here don't actually wear their PFDs while working; only during a drill or getting ready to abandon. I haven't been on yachts but the charter fishing boats all carry a regular Class I for each person aboard (hanging in an easily accessible spot)
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Logistically that would make sense. Even if a particular flight isn't going over water it would be pointless to remove them. Unless of course the airline never flies over water and simply never installed them.
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Regarding the survivability of an open water crash, often even the professional rescuers don't survive: www.piersystem.com/go/doc/425/1333187
And this was close to shore.
And this was close to shore.
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You must 'suffer' from the same habit as I do: check if they're actually underneath your seat during (or before) the pre-flight safety demo's ...
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