6 reasons why there are no parachutes for passengers in airliners
The safety of pilots and passengers of military combat and transport aircraft is usually provided by parachutes. These devices have been used in aviation since the beginning of the 20th century. But the passengers of the liners are deprived of the opportunity to save their lives in this way. Some people believe that if commercial flights were equipped with parachutes, there would be fewer victims in plane crashes. But why didn't anyone take care of it?
The lack of parachutes for passengers is not an unfortunate omission of air carriers and not an economy on safety. It's just that in modern passenger planes they are practically useless and can even pose a danger. Here are six obvious reasons why parachutes are not suitable for modern air transportation.
Skydiving is usually carried out from a height of up to 5 thousand meters. For higher-altitude jumps, additional equipment is used, such as oxygen masks and special insulated suits. But even a well-equipped professional parachutist takes a serious risk.
Passenger planes most often fly at an altitude of 10 thousand meters and above. Jumping an unprepared and properly untyped passenger from the lower boundary of the stratosphere is suicide. It is impossible to equip each passenger with oxygen equipment and conduct a training course for him.
Military and sports aircraft are designed taking into account the fact that people will leave them in the air with parachutes. For this purpose, special ladders and doors of a special design are provided, located in safe places. At the same time, sports aircraft fly at a relatively low speed, and combat aircraft are equipped with catapults.
Passenger planes are created without taking into account the needs of parachutists. Moreover, after one strange incident, the only doors of the liners, theoretically suitable for jumping, were equipped with blocking devices. If a person decides to leave the cabin in the air, then death awaits him even before he uses a parachute. He will either immediately hit the fuselage, or be pulled into the engine, or simply wring his neck with a stream of air.
In the event that each passenger has a parachute, and all liners are equipped for emergency jumps, this will not solve the problem. In order to jump with a parachute, you need to be mentally prepared for this. Even in an emergency, only a few will be able to decide to leave the plane in the air.
At the same time, if passengers are given parachutes, they will create a dangerous panic and prevent even those who are capable of it from jumping. Imagine a cluster of frightened people of different genders and ages with bulky backpacks in the aisles of the salon. And even at a time when every second is precious.
Statistics show that most plane crashes occur during takeoff or landing of the aircraft. Also, a significant part of such emergencies happens due to the destruction of the liner in flight, for example, as a result of an explosion. Less often, technical malfunctions become the cause of the crash, but even in this case, the aircraft very rarely loses altitude gradually.
Even the most experienced military specialists and athletes will not be able to jump out with a parachute from a plane that has blown apart or fallen into a tailspin. Cases when there is an opportunity to escape in this way are rare, so engineers prefer to increase the reliability of components and assemblies of the liner. This is much more effective from the point of view of flight safety.
In order to make an entertaining jump in perfect weather, you need to take a theoretical course and go through a training session. Most people generally make their first jump together with an instructor. In an emergency in the air, you will need to act confidently and smoothly. Everyone will have to get up from their seat, get a parachute, put it on correctly, do not forget about the oxygen mask.
It will not work to conduct courses for each passenger, and a short lecture from a flight attendant will not give any effect. We can say that those who stay in their places will have a higher chance of surviving a plane crash. Jumping, even on a sunny, windless day, is not an easy task. And if there is a rainy night or a snow storm overboard?
A good parachute that can save a human life is not only expensive, but also a very cumbersome thing. In passenger planes, it is sometimes not easy to place hand luggage, let alone a large and heavy parachute. You can't hide it under the seat like a life jacket. The parachute should be placed in a place accessible to a person so that it is always nearby. Theoretically, this is possible, but in this case, almost half of the payload of the liner will be parachutes.
It remains to add that air transport is still the safest of all existing ones. Even the probability of a train accident is higher than the crash of a liner. Therefore, the engineers decided not to complicate life for themselves and others with means that are unlikely to be useful.