It might seem like a logical thing to do when involved in a plane crash around water would be to grab the life jacket from under the seat before heading out. But, when The Wall Street Journal took a look at just how useful life jackets actually are, they found some conflicting information. Take, for example, U.S. Airways Flight 1549. That’s the flight that ended up in the Hudson River, and of the 150 passengers, only four were able to both find and correctly put on a life jacket.
That’s not the only time life jackets have been problematic, either: Take the events surrounding the crash landing of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 767. After crashing in the Indian Ocean in 1996, 123 people were killed. According to reports via CNN, most of the fatalities were from drowning. Passengers managed to get their life jackets on, but when most inflated them inside the plane, they were trapped.
So, what should you do? For starters, never, ever, ever inflate a life jacket while still inside. And secondly, if you have a choice between staying behind to search for a life jacket and getting out of the plane, choose evacuation. That’s according to FAA principal cabin safety investigator Cynthia McLean, who explained: “We want [passengers] out as quickly as they can get out.”
