Egress Training www.dunkyou.com

Pilot versus Fish

Here is a different way of looking at a situation for the next time you are out cruising along on wheels over water or even on floats over top of huge sea swells. For example pilots in general might want to give due consideration on take off out over water at airports such as Vancouver or Victoria BC then possibly consider educating themselves on Egress Training. Looking at the statistics, take off and more importantly the landing phase of flight are where a good percentage of the accidents shade in the pie chart. For a floatplane operator it is the very liquid substance we depend on for our runway which could prove lethal when least expected. Each year a few unlucky aviators are merrily flying along with out a worry in the world and then with absolutely no warning they are upside down in freezing cold water trapped in their aircraft. The reason for the upset is not important, and all too often sudden and unexpected. The response to a cold water submersion could easily be a shocking experience and then followed by a traumatic feeling of entrapment if not handled correctly. For the fish playfully darting about outside your inverted airframe they are right in their element and will live their lives in this environment, as we do above water. For the aircraft occupants who have just been subjected to a violent impact followed by a sudden stop possibly in the length of the aircraft, seconds will make the difference between survival and possibly loss of life. In a similar way to a fish who will not survive long out of water we as humans are unable to spend any appreciable amount of time in their watery world without breath. For any person who finds themselves underwater without Egress Training the difficulty is an ability to control your emotions and understand disorientation with out panicking. Regardless of water skills such as being a good swimmer or scuba diver when confronted with inversion plus confinement and cold shock, it proves to be a formidable challenge for the best. Finding exits with limited eye sight while upside down and with only seconds to survive before you are forced to breathe is something difficult to describe. To best understand this scenario most people are able to hold their breath for a minute or more while sitting comfortably and with out physical exertion. In this unfortunate situation you are often without warning subjected to impact cold water and then once you have released your seatbelts in a foreign world seeking door handles which moments earlier were right there. In the event you are unable to find the door latch from this sealed box like affair your animal instincts to survive take over. Now you become extremely powerful as adrenaline has been released into your system along with a rapid heart rate which is placing high demands on your limited oxygen supply and lowering the over a minute dry land time to less than 15 seconds. With all this being said what is the best answer to prepare for this situation should it happen to you? Enrol in Egress Training just as you did for all those other in flight emergencies such as stalls, and forced landings etc.

Bryan Webster has been flying now for over 30 years and has accumulated over 11.000 hours on 35 different aircraft types.

Today when not flying floatplanes on the BC Coast he can be found in pool facilities all over Canada teaching pilots and passengers the skills required to safely Egress from water/aircraft mishaps.

For more information contact:

Bry the Dunker Guy

Aviation Egress Systems

250-704-6401

www.dunkyou.com

The Life you save could be your own.

If the pilot is unable to get out of an upset aircraft with ease,who is helping the passengers?

Ditching an aircraft is never high on any pilot’s agenda anywhere any time of the year.

For a large majority of Canadian flyers today our floats are already in the hangar, or neatly spaced in a row on shore beside our buddies while winter sets in.

For those of us who fly in Atlantic Canada’s water environment you are already well aware of what I speak of when cold water is mentioned, even in the summer months.

Winter water temperatures and what to think about before departing the pond should be of great interest for the remaining aviators such as pilots like myself who fly off chilly waters throughout the winter. As an example of just how many floatplanes are operational in the winter months on the BC coast alone, spend a day at Vancouver Harbor or Victoria’s busy sea port.

The same body of water we swam in and enjoyed last summer has become a lethal force to be reckoned with now, and should a person be thrust into it and unprepared for the event at to days temperature it will take your breath away literally.

The term cold shock refers to our bodies’ comfortable 98.6 degrees ferinhieght being subjected to a major change of 50 degrees or more instantly, and this is where problems such as panic and hypothermia begin.

When an aircraft hits the water surface and flips on its back often the cabin floods instantly bringing on the scenario of cold shock to life. The onset of cold water causes us to gasp just before we should be taking a large breath of air to fill our lungs with precious oxygen and keep us controlled until the egress is complete.

Being upside down with insufficient air coupled with confinement our minds automatically go into survival mode pumping adrenalin and increasing heart rates which ultimately speed up the burning desire for air. 

Our animal instincts are in full speed ahead at this point and thus we are extremely powerful, problem being we are also overwhelmed by cold and disorientation.

Just to give you an idea of how quickly Egress challenges develop in this situation imagine you’re self stuck in a room full of rattlesnakes with the only door on the far wall, and then turn the lights out.

Egress training will teach you to take the all important breath prior to water entry and how to handle a very foreign experience, plus make positive decisions to get yourself and passengers to safety.

Winter flying itself on floats or even skies is no more perilous than any other time year, we just need to think differently given the conditions.

Dressing appropriately and carrying the proper safety equipment onboard for every flight and time of year is paramount and should be all pilot’s ultimate concern.

Bryan Webster is a 10.000 hour plus pilot actively flying a Beaver on the BC coast today.

In 1977 he was a passenger involved in a water crash while the pilot attempted to avoid power lines draped over the Fraser River east of Vancouver.

Do you fly over water? Have you ever wondered what would happen if you had to ditch? Do you believe that your survival chances when ditching a light aircraft are minimal?
Improving your odds of survival in a water based aircraft incident begins with AES.
The S.A.F.E. course will give you and your flight crew the tools and confidence to have a far better chance of surviving a water impact crash. Reports from aviation publications state that 90% of people that end up in the water while flying, drowned needlessly. This indicates that they survived the impact but succumbed to drowning when they did not exit the aircraft.

S.A.F.E. is short for:
Submerged
Aircraft
Fuselage
Egress