If you happen to fall out of an airplane

[cthulu2016]

If you happen to fall out of an airplane a half mile up without a parachute you're in trouble, but in a slightly better situation than if you fell out a twenty story window.

Yes, you will probably die, but people do sometimes survive falling out of planes.

Because of air resistance, a person falling from a tall building or from a plane will be going the same speed when they hit the ground. The terminal velocity of a human being is only about 125 MPH, and you can slow that some by being as non-aerodynamic as possible. Arms and legs out. Hold your shirt or jacket like the "wing" membranes of a flying squirrel.

You'll have a surprisingly long time to think about it. Try to steer yourself toward a hay stack or plowed field or giant marshmallow, if available. (Falling from a skyscraper means you're probably headed for concrete and have less time to control what little you can control.)

Water is not a good idea because 1) water is less compressible than, say, hay or marshmallows (that's why depth charges work so well), and 2) even if you get down to 90 MPH you are still going to be knocked out wherever you land so water isn't the best spot.

Now here's the nasty part... I don't know if I could do this, but it's the correct advice. Before you hit, lock your legs and land feet first. Much like "crumple zones" in cars, breaking your legs absorbs a surprising amount of energy, and steers that energy away from your spine. Ewwww. I would probably not do it, but that's what hang-gliders are taught to do if their wings fold up.

Granted, you are very, very likely to die and almost certain to suffer some serious injuries falling from a plane... but if you happen to be one of the fluke survivors you'll certainly have a story to tell.

[htuttle]

1. Thanks! I'm going to copy these tips into my phone...

...just in case I have to look it up in a hurry someday.

[Scuba]

2. Oh sure. Where were these instructions 40 years ago when I needed them?

[hlthe2b]

3. So then, I should aim for the field of marshmallows

check.

[lunatica]

4. When you're pretty sure you're gonna die

You'll try anything. What the heck. Why not?

[blaze]

5. Legs locked

Got it.

[zbdent]

6. I figure, if I'm falling out of a plane about a mile up ...

I might as well enjoy the short flight, and go head first.

Less likely to have to recover in lots and lots of pain ...

[virgogal]

7. No good for me---I'd pass out from utter fear in one second.

[Broderick]

8. "giant marshmallow, if available."

I really recommend a vat or swimming pool full of jello. Marshmallow is quite sticky to be honest, and you will create heat and friction when you make the plunge. Jello however, is something that isn't quite as sticky and perhaps a bit drinkable and edible at the same time once you make contact. In that case, if hungry, I recommend that you seek a sugar free pool of jello. I do care about the long term effects on teeth and health by consuming too much sugar.

Oh, and hold your nose. Jello up the nose is like jello out the nose laughing. Not a fun or pretty picture.

[enough]

9. What brings this to mind, cthulu? (nt)

[cthulu2016]

10. Holiday weekend. A lot of folks will be flying.

Just being helpful.

[jberryhill]

11. The falling part is easy, as I understand it

Falling out of a plane is pretty harmless.

It's the hitting the ground part which causes problems.

[quinnox]

12. or look for the nearest sky diver, and hitch a ride like in the Bond movies

[Broderick]

13. Like this 80 year old did

http://www.webpronews.com/80-year-old-woman-falls-out-of-tandem-harness-while-skydiving-2012-05

[Nay]

27. Holy, holy shit. That poor woman. I'm surprised she didn't have a heart attack on the way down. I

would have. And the skydiver himself must have been utterly terrified that he almost killed somebody. Whew. My 70-yr-old friend wants to do this tandem skydiving thing with me, but I think I'll skip it....

[Brother Buzz]

14. I'm still working on my surviving a free falling elevator theory

Say you were in an elevator, in a free fall. Assuming you have the presence of mind in this situation, and assuming you get the timing right and jump so that you are up in the air when the elevator hits bottom, would you be hurt as much as if you hadn't jumped?

[FSogol]

15. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Physics!

Ceil Adams answered it best:

"Dear Cecil:

Being a frequent traveler in elevators, I have had occasion to ponder various unpleasant scenarios, such as being trapped inside with a car plunging me to almost certain death many floors below. I have always wondered, however, whether I might be able to save myself in such a predicament by jumping into the air at the moment of impact, thus offsetting the force of gravity. Would it work? I await your supreme knowledge.

— B.J., Los Angeles

Cecil replies:

Sorry, kiddo. The only thing you can do if you get stuck in a falling elevator is tuck your head between your knees and kiss your arse good-bye. It's a simple matter of physics. Let's say, for purposes of illustration, that your falling elevator reaches a terminal velocity of 100 feet per second. Even if you manage a leap of Nureyevian proportions, you'll only reach a speed of maybe 5-10 feet per second. (For purposes of comparison, a sprinter doing 40 yards in five seconds is moving at 24 feet per second--horizontally, of course, and with room to work up a little velocity.) That leaves you with a net downward velocity of 90-95 feet per second. In short, Pancake City."

[pinboy3niner]

16. Don't listen to Cecil. When you ride in an elevator...

...always remember to bring a giant marshmallow with you.

[cthulu2016]

18. I think so...

Let's see... you are falling at, say 60 MPH. Whenever the bottom of the elevator stops moving you will hit it at 60 MPH.

Right before it hits you jump.

Okay, when you jump you are now only going 50mph relative to the ground... but you have added kinetic energy. Do you have to pay for that on the way down?

If the elevator was coming up at you at 60MPH then jumping up before it hit would soften the blow. Does it work the same on the way down? Because in that case the levator is stopped when you hit it.

Hmm... is it better for your head to hit the dashboard of a car from 6 inches away at 60mph or from three feet away? Is there a difference.

I dunno. Hopefuly someone will weigh in.

[IDemo]

20. Problem with that

In a free fall, you and the elevator are moving downward at the same rate, making you essentially weightless. Unless you're wearing special velcro shoes for your elevator ride, the instant you bend your knees to prepare for the jump, your feet will lose any pressure against the floor needed to propel yourself upward. But even if you began the fall in a crouching position, any true free fall would have you and the elevator moving too fast after only a few seconds for even an Olympic high jumper to make a noticeable difference in the impact speed.

[immoderate]

17. An experienced body glider could handle this easily...

Arch your back, bend your knees, wear thick rubber soles.

--imm

[johnnie]

19. How weird

I'm currently falling out of a plane and had to read DU one last time just to open it on my phone and see this thread. Thanks, I'll let ya know how it wo..



On edit: IPhone still works, legs hurt like hell

[RebelOne]

21. I will keep these tips in mind and hope I never have occasion to use them.

I have made 6 jumps from planes but always had a parachute handy.

[Pilotguy]

22. Or you can do what Travis did...

[cherokeeprogressive]

23. I've thought about this before... and have actually devised a plan of action I think I could survive

Ski jumpers "fly" through the air in a path they can control to some extent.

If I can "fly" like a ski jumper, I can hit the ground after falling a long distance at a shallow angle rather than a straight down SPLAT.

Let's say you can engineer a situation where you hit the ground at a 15 degree angle going 120 mph rather than hitting the ground going 120 at a NINETY degree angle. One might be survivable, the other? Um...

Joke

What's the difference between a bad GOLFER and a bad SKYDIVER?

A bad GOLFER sounds like this: WHACK... FUCK

A bad SKYDIVER sounds like this: FUCK!... WHACK.

[Nye Bevan]

24. Yep. Steer myself towards a haystack. I'll remember that. (nt)

[Dash87]

25. During WWII, a gunner fell out of the bomber he was in,

and fell into a snowbank, only breaking his legs and living to tell the tale.

[flvegan]

26. So a plowed field is a softer landing than say...an unplowed field.

If you fall out of a plane, you're fucked. A dude in a flying squirrel suit recently jumped from a chopper into like, an acre of cardboard boxes and the world gasped.

Giant marshmallow. Yes. That. I'd rather use my Spidey webslingers and at the last instant shoot a web at a nice tall crane and stop short a few feet from the ground. The YouTube video would get many hits, and I'd be an instant sensation.