WATER OPS AND PFD'S

[fox main]

Good Day,
Looking for opinions and comments on the use of PFD'S for all Float Plane passengers and crews, including Wild Fires opes, fixed and rotary wing.
With the advent of the newer types of PFD'S which are very compact and easy to wear, is the time that we seriously look at this issue.
Most people who have been involved with aviation for a few years can tell a sad and tragic story of someone they have either knowen or have read about drowning after an aircraft accident. Just over a week ago a chopper was lost into the Fraser River with the Pilot. Others could ony watch as the Pilot came to surface and then went under a short time later. Could a PFD changed the out come?
I think years ago there was a good reason not to wear PFD'S as they were just way too big and bulky to wear in and around aircraft etc.. Is the next item Transport will mandate?
Something to think about... Stay Dry Folks!

[CD]

Discussed a bit earlier here:

Mustang PFD's

[canwhitewolf]

dltd

[fox main]

Fox Main, yes , and a few others with North Warning!

[Northern Skies]

Personally, i'd rather not have something on me to snag on the way out. Plus, how do you know that your pax are not going to inflate the things inside and pin themselves to the floor? I brief my pax to open the door first, THEN take their seatbelt off, then exit to the rear away from the prop, and put on the lifejacket after that. I think the stats would show that most drownings happen in the airplane before people can get out.

[canwhitewolf]

dltd

[Widow]

In recent years, there have actually been a larger number of people who survived but drowned after escaping.

[_dwj_]

Personally, i'd rather not have something on me to snag on the way out. Plus, how do you know that your pax are not going to inflate the things inside and pin themselves to the floor? I brief my pax to open the door first, THEN take their seatbelt off, then exit to the rear away from the prop, and put on the lifejacket after that. I think the stats would show that most drownings happen in the airplane before people can get out.

And how many passengers actually manage to find their lifejacket when they are upside-down and under water? Hell, most of them can't even find the door-handle or their seatbelt buckle! I suggest you read Widow's post in the Mustang thread, and you might change your mind.

[Snowroller]

Other than 3 Armco's ,2 Warehouses removed Fox-Main hasn't changed much over the 14 years I been there,you guys aren't missing much,still "groundhog day" up here.

[Widow]

Personally, i'd rather not have something on me to snag on the way out. Plus, how do you know that your pax are not going to inflate the things inside and pin themselves to the floor? I brief my pax to open the door first, THEN take their seatbelt off, then exit to the rear away from the prop, and put on the lifejacket after that. I think the stats would show that most drownings happen in the airplane before people can get out.

And how many passengers actually manage to find their lifejacket when they are upside-down and under water? Hell, most of them can't even find the door-handle or their seatbelt buckle! I suggest you read Widow's post in the Mustang thread, and you might change your mind.

Here, I'll make it easy:

As a reminder ... in the accident which resulted in my husbands death ...

The pilot and all four passengers managed to escape the aircraft ... but not to take the PFDs with them - they were all still strapped inside. Only the passenger (my husband) who wore a floater coat (not recommended, but he DID manage to escape) was ever found - and he was basically uninjured. This would lead one to believe that there was a strong likelihood that NO-ONE on board was seriously injured and yet no-one survived. An excellent reason to wear your PFD in ALL phases of flight. Had all aboard been wearing PFDs when the accident occured, there is no doubt that they would have been rescued - five voices calling for help while floating would have been a lot "louder" (and warmer) than one.

Another note of importance in said accident, is that of underwater egress. I am not sure what training the pilot had received, however I do know that my husband had taken the classroom portion of an egress training course a week or so before the accident. I remain convinced that this training gave him the wherewithal to make it out of the aircraft and to survive for (confirmed) several hours in the cold February waters.

[hydraulic fluid]

I too think wearing life jackets should be mandatory,try openning the plastic bag that they are in while you under water,upside down,and with a broken arm....

[fox main]

Fox Main, it wasn't the cold, food or wet dreams, it was those crazy right seat driver's from the "BRADELY GANG" that that drove me to those long cold walks along the beach looking for a polar bear, seal or anything else that was crawling the tundra that I could beat the shit out off!
ps, the worse ones were the red headed ones, they always started the late night food fights!!