What If You Fell Out of an Airplane at 30,000 Feet?

WHAT IF

Is there a trick to falling out of an airplane and surviving?

Transcript

00:00 30,000 feet (9,144 m)

00:08 9 km (5.7 mi)

00:13 So far, only one person has survived a free fall from that height.

00:18 Would you be as lucky?

00:21 This is WHAT IF,

00:23 and here's what would happen

00:24 if you fell out of an airplane at 30,000 feet (1,000 m)

00:29 On January 26, 1972,

00:36 an explosion aboard JAT Airways Flight 367 resulted in the impossible.

00:42 22-year-old flight attendant Vesna Vulović fell from 10,000 m (1,000 ft) in the air,

00:48 setting a world record for surviving the highest fall without a parachute.

00:53 How did she survive?

00:55 Is there a trick to falling out of an airplane and surviving?

00:59 And what does it feel like?

01:01 If you're a frequent flyer,

01:03 you might want to pay close attention to what's coming up.

01:07 Since the 1940s, there have been almost 50 cases of people surviving falls from airplanes.

01:14 In all of those cases,

01:15 the survivors were lucky enough to have something to cushion their fall.

01:20 Vesna Vulović, for example, was in the back of the plane when the explosion happened.

01:25 When the plane broke apart,

01:26 the tail section remained intact,

01:28 and pinned by a food cart,

01:30 Vulović was prevented from being sucked out into the open air.

01:35 The detached tail of the airplane landed in deep snow in the mountains of Czechoslovakia.

01:41 Vulović suffered several broken bones,

01:43 but the airplane wreckage and layers of deep, soft snow ultimately saved her life.

01:50 The second highest fall without a parachute that someone survived happened in 1943.

01:56 Air Force gunner Alan Magee's bomber was hit by enemy fire over France.

02:01 His plane burst into flames and propelled Magee out of the plane before he could grab a parachute.

02:07 Magee fell about 6,700 m (1,000 ft).

02:11 Apparently, he smashed through the glass roof of a train station,

02:15 and was found hanging from the steel girders that held up the roof.

02:18 You wouldn't think that a glass roof would cushion any kind of fall,

02:21 but if it hadn't have been there, Magee might not have survived.

02:26 So if you ever find yourself falling from an airplane without a parachute,

02:31 grab onto something, anything, and use it to break your fall.

02:36 Of course, that's easier said than done.

02:38 When you're in free fall from 9,144 m (1,000 ft) in the air,

02:43 a soft landing is probably the last thing on your mind.

02:46 (Bang!)

02:48 (Bang!)

02:50 It all happens so fast.

02:52 From the moment you're outside the plane, it's only 170 seconds until you hit the ground.

02:58 During that time, you will be extremely cold and deprived of oxygen.

03:03 The average temperature at 9,144 m (1,000 ft) in the sky

03:07 ranges between -40°C (1,000°F) to -57°C (1,000°F)

03:11 But you wouldn't feel it for long, because you'd pass out soon after leaving the aircraft.

03:16 While all air contains 20.9% oxygen,

03:20 at higher altitudes, there is lower air pressure,

03:23 so it feels as if there's a lot less oxygen.

03:27 This will cause you to lose consciousness, at least for a while.

03:31 The air pressure will gradually rise as you get closer to the ground,

03:35 so you would probably wake up again after about a minute of free fall.

03:40 As you fall, your speed will increase by 9.8 m/s (1.8 ft/s) every second,

03:47 because that's the Earth's gravity.

03:50 Eventually, you would stop accelerating and reach a constant speed known as terminal velocity.

03:56 This results from a buildup of air pressure below you as you fall,

04:00 because air can't get out of your way fast enough.

04:03 And at the same time, the air behind you doesn't fill in fast enough,

04:07 creating a sort of vacuum.

04:09 The difference in the air pressure below you and the air pressure above you

04:13 creates drag, or air resistance.

04:16 When the force exerted by this air resistance equals the force of gravity,

04:21 you've reached terminal velocity, and you'll be moving at a constant speed.

04:26 Falling from 30,000 ft (1,000 m), you're likely to reach terminal velocity at 190 km/h (115 mph).

04:32 Of course, your actual terminal velocity will depend on your size and weight.

04:36 The heavier you are, the faster you'll fall.

04:39 But if you spread your arms and legs out wide,

04:42 you can increase the amount of drag exerted on you.

04:45 That might slow you down a bit.

04:47 You'd enjoy it a lot more if you had a parachute, though.

04:50 Parachutes are lightweight and very wide.

04:53 A parachute would cut your falling speed from 45 m/s (1,000 ft/s)

04:58 down to about 5 m/s (1,000 ft/s).

05:01 If you don't have a parachute, it would help to know where to land.

05:06 Look for somewhere that's soft, so there's a chance of breaking your fall.

05:10 A lot of people who have fallen from airplanes and lived

05:13 have survived due to landing in deep snow, or being cushioned by trees or bushes.

05:18 Unfortunately, a tree can either be really good or really, really bad.

05:25 If you don't see anything soft below,

05:27 your best bet is to try to land feet first, with your legs together, slightly bent.

05:32 When you hit the ground, you'll likely crumple to the side or back.

05:37 This is known as the five-point impact sequence.

05:40 And while it will be incredibly painful, it will save everything above your waist,

05:45 mainly your vital organs and your brain.

05:49 Of course, these are all just recommendations,

05:52 tips to make the best out of a bad and severely unlucky situation.

05:56 Humans aren't really built for 9,144 m (1,000 ft) free falls.

06:01 And yet, every year, we seem to achieve something that we thought was impossible.

06:06 So before your next flight, you might want to pack a four-leaf clover, just in case.

06:12 And for more ways to survive freak accidents, paranormal activities, or apocalyptic events,

06:18 just keep watching WHAT IF.

06:21 ♪ ♪ ♪

06:26 you

Category

Transcript

Recommended