Water Ditching and Survival--The Personal Flotation Device aka lifevest

“How likely are you to use this training in the next thirty (30) days?”  It is a standard question on an effectiveness-of-training evaluation form.  What caused me to chuckle on seeing it and the responses was the subject matter of the just-completed course—Water Ditching and Survival.  As part of the course, I had been immersed in a simulated small aircraft cabin, extricated myself, righted a six-person life raft, climbed in the raft, and pulled in one of my fellow student.   “Not very likely, I hope” was my initial response muttered to myself.  But, considering that preparation is the object of the training and that risk management techniques are woven into the content of the course, “very likely” is a good choice.  Preparedness and training is part of risk management for the mission, whether flying point-to-point or flying 50 miles offshore over the Beaufort Sea on a Bowhead Whale Survey, as I did back in 2005.

What makes the “very likely” response even more likely is that at the beginning of summer in Alaska, airplane travel in the next month is a likelihood.  (Three “likely” words in one sentence might make air travel inevitable.)  Airborne is how we get around, especially in a small plane if we are going to locations beyond the road system, which may entail water takeoffs and landing or flight over water.  For example, two of my five neighbors have small airplanes on floats.  That is the only means to get to their cabins on two of Alaska’s uncountable lakes.  For work, when we visit villages to speak with the residents, we go by charter, propeller-driven, aircraft.  Our coastal destinations usually means an overwater takeoff and approach for landing,

The preflight safety briefing--pay attention

The applicability of the training is not just limited to general aviation aircraft.  The inflatable personal floatation devices (pfd) used in the course are the same as those devices that the cabin attendant on a commercial airline tells you during the preflight briefing “are stowed under your seat for your use in the unlikely event of a water landing.”  Think of how often that any passenger, including yourself, checks to see if the pfd package is indeed stowed where the attendants, safety instructions, and placards say it is stowed.  Hopefully the previous occupant did not take it home as a souvenir of the trip.  You think I am kidding?  Go to EBAY and type “airline life jacket” in the search line. Luckily, most are from out-of-service airlines.  Want a new one of your own?  Check out the marketplace of every aviation product you could (n)ever need—Sporty’s Pilot Shop

We examined a number of inflatable pfds as part of the course, ranging from the airline type to more elaborate suspenders and vests with pockets.  All types are activated by pulling the tab, which activates the CO2 cartridge, filling the device’s air chamber.  We were advised to check that the CO2 cylinders were serviceable and had not been previously activated by unscrewing the cylinders from the trigger mechanism and examining the neck of the cylinder to make sure they were still sealed.  As a backup, tubes allow the wearer to orally inflate the air chamber.  “Do not activate the vest until you are outside the airplane” the instructor reiterated, otherwise the buoyant vest trap the wearer in a submerged aircraft.” For the same reason, the instructor cautioned against using any device that automatically activates on contact on water. 

“Pockets are useful”, one of the instructors noted, “because the survival gear on board the airplane, which is really ‘camping gear’—it makes waiting to be rescued more comfortable—may not make it out of the airplane and to land.  In that case, you will need to survive with whatever you have on your person.  That should include items like a firestarter, knife or multitool, signaling device and some kind of high energy emergency rations, at a minimum. Think of your situation and what you might need.”  (Except for the rations, I carry the essentials on my wrist with the Alaska Survival Bracelet.)

I used volunteer with the Alaska Office of Boating Safety to do water safety education programs for children.  In that capacity, I learned almost everything there was to learn about pfds and life jackets.  In the not too distant past, I was certified as a Red Cross water safety instructor, lifeguard instructor, and lifeguard.  Most of what I know is applicable to aviation, with some caveats. For example, I have an inflatable suspender style pfd that activates on immersion in water.  I use these for openwater sailing.  They are not to be used for flying.