# Air Crash vs Car Accident



## xlwoo (Jul 15, 2012)

[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]I was told that there are much more car accidents on land than air crashes in the sky. This is true, but people often survive in car accidents, and seldom survive in air crash. One air crash for a person is enough. He is forever gone. If he is involved in several car accidents, he may still be alive and enjoy his life. So there is no comparability between the two.
[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, serif]I always think how we can reduce death rate in air crash. I suddenly think of the parachute. We can't provide every passenger with a parachute and train them how to use it before boarding. However, why can't we install three huge parachutes in the airplane, one in the front part, one in the middle and another in the tail part? The parachutes can automatically open in air crash just like the airbag in the car, which will hinder the pull of the gravity. Can anyone who reads this article spread my idea to the experts that they can make the invention? Thanks for saving life.[/FONT]


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## Bilston Blue (Jul 15, 2012)

Wrong forum. You might try this one...  Aviation Safety Network >

Alternatively, knock out a prototype and get yourself on Dragon's Den.


8)


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## Bloggsworth (Jul 15, 2012)

They already exist for small aircraft - It may surprise you to know that about 99% or more aircraft crashes also happen on the ground, and that most of those occur when the plane is taking off or landing. The parachute problem is one of load carrying, a 747, depending on varient, weighing between 162 and 215tonnes. The 747 has only been involved in 84 "Hull-loss" accidents out of the nearly 2,000 built, about 0.4% - I don't think that the cost/benefit calculation would make it viable.


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## Greak (Jul 16, 2012)

I fly frequently (I think I had roughly 80k miles just last year). I've never been in an aircraft accident but I've been in quite a few automobile accidents. I still prefer driving to flying (but you can't drive over the oceans and boats take too long haha). The turbulence always makes me question my sanity, I had a rough patch flying into Minneapolis in May. It makes you question things, you know?

I'd be much happier getting on an airplane with a massive parachute attached but like Bloggsworth said, what about the crashes closer to the ground? Or what if I'm one of the unlucky ones attached to a small piece of the plane that breaks away from the parachute? We'll always question our safety, it's human nature. I think the idea is good but possibly not practical.

There was a book I read many years ago, "A whack on the side of the head" or something along those lines. The author wrote it to help people stimulate their creative juices. He noted how bad ideas are only bad if nobody builds on them. A bad idea could just as easily inspire someone to a good idea. Your idea may not be good, but it could spark something in someone else. Isn't that how we all write anyways? One idea sparks another....think about it.

-Greak


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## Winston (Jul 16, 2012)

I gave up trying to find the weight of a standard parachute, but somewhere in the range of twenty to forty pounds sounds reasonable.

That means, for every eight or so 'chutes, one less passenger can be carried.  Add in the bulk as a factor, that's even less passengers.  Also, the standard T-10 military parachute needs to be re-packed every 120 days.  That might get pricey.  The service / shelf life is about sixteen years.  Many carriers don't even keep up on structural integrity inspections.  I'd take my chances flapping my arms before I strapped-on some United Airlines parachute.

And yeah, they're not too effective below 1000 feet.  At least there's a chance the 'chute would cover the mess you make after impact.

Any feasible mass-produced parachute system would have to be small, lightweight, cheap to produce and simple to maintain.  Good luck.


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## Sam (Jul 16, 2012)

A plane flies at approximately 35,000 feet. You can't parachute from 35,000 feet without doing the following: First, pumping 100% pure oxygen into your system for at least thirty minutes to flush out nitrogen. If you don't do that, you'll get decompression sickness, otherwise known as the 'bends', which will kill you if not treated. Second, you need a full face mask and an oxygen tank, or you'll die of hypoxia before you hit the ground. Third, you need terminal velocity training. Unless, of course, you do a HAHO jump, in which case you'll be in the sky for an hour. 

Civilians aren't trained to do HALO jumps. There's a good reason for this. Your body falls from the sky at 140 miles per hour, and you don't open your 'chute until at least 1,000 metres from the ground. Most parachute jumps that civilians pay to do are HAHO jumps from about 5,000 metres. You don't need a mask and an oxygen tank for those. Nor do you need to breathe oxygen before the jump.

It's not just a matter of jumping off the plane with a parachute. This isn't the movies.


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## Sam (Jul 16, 2012)

Sorry, I misread that. 

You want to use three parachutes to hold back a 400-ton plane? Good luck with that.


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## Potty (Jul 16, 2012)

Bloggsworth said:


> It may surprise you to know that about 99% or more aircraft crashes also happen on the ground,



Well its not like you can crash into a cloud.


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## xlwoo (Jul 16, 2012)

Thanks for all the interesting responses from you guys.  My next article will be funnier.


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## Potty (Jul 16, 2012)

That was funny? How you going to top that? What to do in the event on a nuclear holocaust?


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## Greak (Jul 17, 2012)

I always thought I had a dry sense of humor. I've been outdone maybe?

-Greak


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## Vlad_M (Jul 31, 2012)

If a plane the size of a modern jet airliner begins to crash there is no hope for it. The airplane's weight is immense. No parachute could ever save a Boeing 747 from crashing if its engines fail.


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## Ddesmond (Sep 28, 2012)

Was this humor?
I'm a pilot and can tell you the idea wouldn't work because airplanes are made of a very soft metal which would tear apart into several pieces if immense drag is introduced on several parts of the aircraft simultaneously.
As was mentioned earlier, some single engine aircraft (Cirrus) already have this feature and the one chute is strategically placed.  With that said, there are still fatal accidents with the Cirrus even after the chute is deployed (look it up).
Beyond that, airplane accidents are far from 100% fatal.  In fact, small plane accidents are only 2% fatal.  You can check the NTSB site for conformation.  Commercial accidents are extremely rare but even then are not even close to 100% fatal.
I can write about this all day but I have to go and take my two little kids flying.


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## Desertrose (Oct 7, 2012)

As a person with a terrible fear of flying (but I still fly) I sit white knuckled chanting this little tidbit I picked up from a fear of flying forum.
"More people in the world are kicked to death by mules every year than are those killed by airplane crashes."
Forget the parachutes. Protect yourself from vicious mules!


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## The Backward OX (Oct 7, 2012)

Ddesmond said:


> Was this humor?
> I'm a pilot and can tell you the idea wouldn't work because airplanes are made of a very soft metal which would tear apart into several pieces if immense drag is introduced on several parts of the aircraft simultaneously.
> As was mentioned earlier, some single engine aircraft (Cirrus) already have this feature and the one chute is strategically placed. With that said, there are still fatal accidents with the Cirrus even after the chute is deployed (look it up).
> Beyond that, airplane accidents are far from 100% fatal. In fact, small plane accidents are only 2% fatal. You can check the NTSB site for conformation. Commercial accidents are extremely rare but even then are not even close to 100% fatal.
> I can write about this all day but I have to go and take my two little kids flying.



Funny, this. (Funny peculiar) We had a fatal air crash close to home just a few days ago, all six occupants killed when a rebuilt De Havilland Rapide without flight instruments crashed into a mountain in heavy fog, and I said at the time, “Why hasn’t someone thought of airbags for planes?” if you threw enough money at the problem, it could be made to work.


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## shedpog329 (Oct 7, 2012)

Potty said:


> That was funny? How you going to top that? What to do in the event on a nuclear holocaust?




thats easy,
quack like a duck and wear a cup


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## shedpog329 (Oct 7, 2012)

The Backward OX said:


> Funny, this. (Funny peculiar) We had a fatal air crash close to home just a few days ago, all six occupants killed when a rebuilt De Havilland Rapide without flight instruments crashed into a mountain in heavy fog, and I said at the time, “Why hasn’t someone thought of airbags for planes?” if you threw enough money at the problem, it could be made to work.




air bags dont really work all that great, left me a with a 6 year old burn scar and a nearly broken nose

not to mention the little man that took control of my insurance


sad story tho


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