Taking a parachute on a plane

[Carlhobson]

Im a bad flyer and am terrified of the plane crashing so would like to take a parachute onboard as my hand luggage or as part of my luggage allowance, Would this cause a problem getting through security, would this be allowed onto the flight? Would this even be viable idea as I heard there are pressure and locks which are there to stop someone opening the plane but would these be relaxed or opened if the plane was going down?

[mazie]

All excellent reasons to fly JJ. You missed off the great food ;o)

[joggerjayne]

That's another good point from mazie ...

Your chances of survival increase, the further back you are.

So, if you have a choice, board by the rear door, and sit down as soon as you see a seat.

Not that your plane is going to crash, or anything.

[AlBags]

You're going to need a hand with that door.
There is only going to be around 2-2.5 psi inside, but wih all that volume of air trying to get out of that little hole .. you better hold on.

[mazie]

And how are you going to get the doors "To Manual" without cooperation from the cockpit? Seriously. I would just take a boat or a ferry Carl

[ChuckFickens]

altitudemeter? LOL it's altimeter.

Make sure you don't get one that works on pressure, you'll be in a pressurised environment

[AlBags]

Row 39 -ish on a 747-400 ; )
Leg room, near the emerg. exit, and at the wing root (the strongest part of most planes)

[mazie]

And where all the fuel circulates

[Prudie]

But you don't want to sit by the wing emergency doors if you have to parachute out,

[237SJ]

If it makes you feel better, you can take a parachute on board. It won`t be any good though. You won`t be able to open the doors due to the pressure differential. You could open the doors if there is a decompression but you wouldn`t want to really as there would be oxygen available in the cabin and there isn`t outside so best not to venture out there.

[joggerjayne]

mazie ...

I usually eat at the airport, so I don't have to have the meal on board.

I can see a scenario where, on the News ...

"A passenger airliner landed safely today after suffering engine problems during the flight.

None of the passengers were hurt, except for one (as yet unnamed) passenger who was seen to pull an object from the overhead locker, strap it to his back, and jump from the plane, before being sucked through one of the engines.

Accident investigators are trying to remove bits of the passenger which were found stuck to the tail fins."

[joko]

it is a silly question - but i totally understand your train of thought...irrational fear can make you come up with irrational solutions, which may sound like a good idea at first...but as you can see from the serious answers, itd be pointless... otherwise theyd provide them under the seats instead of floatation devices.

if you want to take one purely for peace of mind - the knowledge that you have one making you feel safer...the go for it....but take heed that you would not realistically be able to even unpack it out of the overhead locker and get it on in time, let alone get to a door get it open and use it... so you would have to wear it for the whole flight...
plus anyone seeing you with it trying to get it on, may in sheer terror fight you for it...and likely break it...

if half the plane was missing and you were still seated ...then you may well get lucky and be able to use it...but thats a pretty rare occurrence.

there is alos the notion that the airline could suspect you of hijack...and that this is an excuse to get your escape route on board...
and what kind of panic the other passengers would feel seeing you with a big lumpy terrorist-ish backpack/ chute on...in the event of turbulence or some sort of problem, you may find yourself under attack by kneejerkers who decide that its your fault and batter you .... who knows...?

but if you're rich and are allowed then theres no harm...

[mazie]

LOL jj, sounds about right :o) I'm glad I dont worry too much about things

[Carlhobson]

Are you all saying that parachutes could NEVER help? What about when the hijackers diverted this plane and it ran out of fuel, glided to earth and crashed and killed many. I believe that parachutes could have saved lives here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKC9C0HCNH8

[sir.prize]

Now you are frightening us, Carl.

[jackthehat]

Yes.....parachutes with integral snorkels would certainly have helped there!!

[joggerjayne]

Do you know how to pack a parachute yourself?

what happens if you're going through security, with your "unusual" item, and the security officer says ...

"Could you open that for me, Sir."

You'd be left holding a huge pile of tangled fabric and cords.

[237SJ]

Carlhobson, as long as the engines are running, the aircraft will be pressurised so no, you will not be able to open the doors and a parachute will be useless. In extremely unique situations like The Glider (the Indonesian volcano situation) you could in theory open a door and jump out but in most emergency situations it`s just not a possibility.

[sherrardk]

I'm curious, where do you need to go so badly?

[Bambiagain]

I once heard that the brace position should be adopted not because it has any chance of saving you, but because it gives the best chance of preserving your teeth for identification purposes later.

[mazie]

The brace position is the best they have for impact purposes.............I was going to explain but best I dont given Carl's aversion to flying. Anyway good luck with your journey whatever way you choose to travel Carl x