Survival
From Matronics
This article assumes that the pilot has taken appropriate steps during the flight and flight planning to avoid a crash or forced landing, and to ensure a timely rescue. The focus of the article is on surviving for a period of not more than a few days until help arrives.
Contents |
Attitude
One of the most important factors in survival is having a positive attitude. There are many examples of people who survived seemingly hopeless situations. One thing these people had in common was that they continued to believe that they would survive. Likewise, losing faith that you will survive is likely to reduce your chances of surviving.
Knowing what to do, and when, will greatly help you to keep a positive attitude.
Priorities
Beginning immediately after the crash or forced landing, your order of priorities should be:
- first aid
- fire
- shelter
- signals
- water
- food
Stay with the airplane while you attend to these priorities. It will be much easier for rescuers to find you if you're near the airplane.
First Aid
Nothing hurts your chances of survival more than an injury. Even a seemingly minor injury can become a serious problem in a survival situation. You may not have even the simplest medical supplies with you, such as disinfectants, and you very likely will not have antibiotics. So infection is a major risk.
Shock is also a major risk. Any injury is liable to lead to shock, and your ability to deal with the sympoms of shock is very limited in a survial situation.
The techniques and methods of first aid are beyond the scope of this article. But if you or anyone in your party is injured -- and that is very likely after a crash or forced landing -- your very first priority is to attend to those injuries. Not only is it physically important, but easing the suffering of an injured person will help his or her attitude, and will also help the attitude of the person giving the care.
Fire
Fire is the next highest priority after first aid. Build a fire if at all possible, even if you are in a warm location. Here are some of the advantages of building a fire.
- Even if it's warm during the day, it's likely to be cold at night. Starting a fire now and keeping it going is your best option.
- A fire will help rescuers locate you. During the day the smoke will be visible for miles. At night the light will attract searchers.
- If anyone in your party is injured, warmth from the fire will help avoid shock. This is important in all but the warmest of climates.
- A fire will keep away animals that could be a threat.
- Successfully building a fire will do more to help foster a positive attitude than almost anything else.
Shelter
Shelter protects you from the elements and helps you maintain the gains you've already made. Except in the most barren desert you can build an effective shelter from branches or scrub nearby. Even in the desert you may be able to use the airplane, or parts of it, for shelter.
Anywhere there are trees or shrubs you can construct a lean-to or wigwam from branches and twigs.
In very cold climates you can build shelters from the snow itself, including
- an igloo
- a snow cave
- a "fighter trench"
These shelters are surprisingly warm and comfortable.
Signals
Once you have taken the basic steps above to ensure that everyone in your party survives, it's time to begin turning your attention to helping rescuers find you. You may be hungry and thirsty, but water and food aren't yet as important to ensuring your survival as being found is.
You've already built a fire, which will help rescuers find you. Prepare a second fire as a smoke signal, which you will light at the first sign of a rescue aircraft in the area. Put plenty of greens on top to make a smoky fire. Fresh evergreen branches work very well for this. At night, keep your main fire going with as bright a light as you can manage (without compromising other survival priorities).
Signals on the ground will also be very helpful for rescuers. Make them as large and visible as you can. Ground signals have been spotted by commercial airliners flying in the flight levels! In the summer, you can make signals by piling branches or scrub in a clear area. In the winter, you can trample the snow to make a very large signal.
The international distress signals are:
| V | Require Assistance |
|---|---|
| X | Require Medical Assistance |
| N | No (or Negative) |
| Y | Yes (or Affirmative) |
| --> (an arrow) | I am traveling in this direction |
The following signals are also recognized in Canada, and may be in some other countries.
| LL | All is Well |
|---|---|
| F | Require Food and Water |
| L | Require Fuel and Oil |
| W | Require Repairs |
It pays to know these signals. In the time it would take you to spell out HELP on the ground you can make a much bigger version of V or X. Pilot shops carry plastic reference cards with these definitions on them, which you can put in your survival kit.
Water
Water is a much higher priority than food. But even so, except in the desert, you should ensure that you have performed necessary first aid, built a fire, made signals, and made some kind of shelter before even thinking about water.
In the desert water may be considered part of first aid, if the situation is dire enough.
Food
Food is your least important concern. If you have done everything else right, you will be rescued long before you need food. So long as you are healthy and have water you can survive for weeks without food.
Equipment
Your odds of surviving will be greatly increased if you have some equipment with you. While almost anything can be useful in some way, the weight and space restrictions in an airplane force us to keep our survival kits down to the essentials.
Here is a list of items that experience has shown to be very useful in a survival situation.
| First Aid Kit | The advantages of having one of these are obvious. |
| Knife | There are many options here. A good Swiss Army knife or Leatherman will have all sorts of useful features, and takes up very little space and weight. |
| Matches | Waterproof matches are best, or matches in a waterproof container. It's also a good idea to carry these matches on your person, as anything stowed in the airplane could be lost or destroyed in the crash. |
| Candles | A candle provides a surprising amount of heat, and they are particularly good inside a snow cave or igloo. You can shave them square to save room. |
| Flint | A flint will work when soaking wet, and will last almost indefinitely. (Whereas your matches will eventually run out.) As with the matches, you should carry the flint on your person, so that it's not lost or destroyed with the airplane. |
| Wire Saw | This is a saw made from wire, with a loop at each end for handles. The wire has barbs or an abrasive material attached to it, so that it will saw through wood. Very handy for removing large dead branches from trees for your fire. |
| Small Axe | Weight and space permitting. In an RV, an axe or hatchet is too heavy to justify carrying on routine flights. But it would be a good idea for long flights over sparsely settled terrain. |
| Space Blanket | A compact and lightweight way to keep warm. |
| Radio | A hand-held radio (preferrably two-way) will help you contact rescue aircraft. |
| Mirror | For signaling aircraft. |
| Sleeping Bags | A shelter you can make, but these will add greatly to your comfort and peace of mind, and they don't weigh much. |
| Food | It's a good idea to have 10,000 calories of food for everyone on the airplane. Dry or freeze-dried foods, such as powdered soups, broth cubes, and tea are especially efficient (although they require water). Packing the food inside a small aluminum pot will also provide you with a means to prepare it. |
| Flashlight | You can also use chemical light sticks, although they are one-time-use only. |
There are many other items that will also make your survival easier, if you have the capacity to carry them.
- With some fine wire you can make snares to catch small prey.
- A small net, or even a pair of panty hose, weighs almost nothing and can be stretched across a stream to catch fish.
- A small camp stove can be very handy. Look for the kind that can burn avgas.
References
- Harper Collins Publishers. SAS Survival Guide, John Wiseman (1993).
- Department of National Defence (Canada). Down but not Out, (B-GA-217-001/P1-001).
- Department of National Defence (Canada). Mayday Mayday Mayday, (A-GA-143-001/TS-001).
