# What would a plane crash like the Air France one be like from inside the plane? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 6, 2009, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-plane-crash-like-the-air-france-one-be-like-from-inside-the-plane/498892 "2009-06-06T01:31:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![ecoaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/85e7bf/32.png) [@ecoaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ecoaster)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-plane-crash-like-the-air-france-one-be-like-from-inside-the-plane/498892/201 "2011-05-27T19:41:58Z")
I haven’t read through all the posts, but this is all over the NYTs today with an interesting comment section. So, did this aircraft have an secondary airspeed sensor independent of the “pitot” tube? ---
**Author:** ![MM07](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@MM07](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MM07)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-plane-crash-like-the-air-france-one-be-like-from-inside-the-plane/498892/202 "2011-05-28T00:25:37Z")
Link? ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-plane-crash-like-the-air-france-one-be-like-from-inside-the-plane/498892/203 "2011-05-28T01:49:58Z")
> [@MM07](#): > > Link? Okay. [Linky](http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.cartoonstock.com/lowres/wwe1084l.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/y/yellow_dog.asp&usg=__7IB0v6_N37E1vpcWpqnW-obwArY=&h=400&w=359&sz=24&hl=en&start=0&sig2=3zVFl07FmNP4zUcZBcp4Rw&zoom=1&tbnid=ufHtmTA_XSc4cM:&tbnh=160&tbnw=144&ei=rVPgTc2aFI_2tgOyu_i1Bw&prev=/search%3Fq%3D%2522yellow%2Bdog%2Bpic%2522%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DX%26biw%3D1015%26bih%3D630%26tbm%3Disch%26prmd%3Divns&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=306&vpy=27&dur=4304&hovh=237&hovw=213&tx=115&ty=148&page=1&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:6,s:0&biw=1015&bih=630) Just kidding. 😉 Nobody’s going to know what you want a link to, unless you tell us. And welcome! Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-plane-crash-like-the-air-france-one-be-like-from-inside-the-plane/498892/204 "2011-05-28T01:55:34Z")
> [@ecoaster](#): > > I haven’t read through all the posts, but this is all over the NYTs today with an interesting comment section. > > So, did this aircraft have an secondary airspeed sensor independent of the “pitot” tube? It has several pitot tubes, but if they all have a common fault and fail at the same time, you’re left with nothing. You can fly without reference to airspeed though. ---
**Author:** ![MM07](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@MM07](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MM07)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-plane-crash-like-the-air-france-one-be-like-from-inside-the-plane/498892/205 "2011-05-28T04:45:27Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > Okay. [Linky](http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.cartoonstock.com/lowres/wwe1084l.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/y/yellow_dog.asp&usg=__7IB0v6_N37E1vpcWpqnW-obwArY=&h=400&w=359&sz=24&hl=en&start=0&sig2=3zVFl07FmNP4zUcZBcp4Rw&zoom=1&tbnid=ufHtmTA_XSc4cM:&tbnh=160&tbnw=144&ei=rVPgTc2aFI_2tgOyu_i1Bw&prev=/search%3Fq%3D%2522yellow%2Bdog%2Bpic%2522%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DX%26biw%3D1015%26bih%3D630%26tbm%3Disch%26prmd%3Divns&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=306&vpy=27&dur=4304&hovh=237&hovw=213&tx=115&ty=148&page=1&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:6,s:0&biw=1015&bih=630) > Just kidding. 😉 > Nobody’s going to know what you want a link to, unless you tell us. > And welcome! > Peace, > mangeorge The link that shows "once your arm has been ripped off, you no longer feel the bear chewing on it. " J/K I was looking for the NYT link to the comments page that was mentioned earlier today. I think I found it though. [http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/28/world/europe/28flight.html?\_r=1](http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/28/world/europe/28flight.html?_r=1) ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-plane-crash-like-the-air-france-one-be-like-from-inside-the-plane/498892/206 "2011-05-28T04:59:07Z")
> [@MM07](#): > > The link that shows "once your arm has been ripped off, you no longer feel the bear chewing on it. " … I would like to see that link myself. ---
**Author:** ![mrsmcfall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mrsmcfall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrsmcfall)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-plane-crash-like-the-air-france-one-be-like-from-inside-the-plane/498892/207 "2011-05-31T17:56:07Z")
I read a great book by Dr. Nuland called “How We Die”, and the author describes the random murder of a little girl. The author tries to analyze what was going through the girl’s mind as she was dying and from a medical standpoint, he opined that in violent deaths, the human body releases a plethora of chemicals which allow our frail brains to be at ease with what is happening to us. This is not to say that a violent death would be pleasant; it isn’t. However, I do agree with the author that the human body is too marvelous a machine to just let us experience and process head-on the violence that is being inflicted upon us. I can’t remember the name of the chemical process, but there is a certain amount of peace and ease which comes along with a violent death. Think of it as “nature’s heroin”, something that helps us deal with the trauma…be it a horrific airplane crash, a stabbing death, the whole nine yards. The same can be said of all mammals when they are eaten or something else violent happens. I think about this when I picture people who have had severe trauma happen to them which causes them to expire. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-plane-crash-like-the-air-france-one-be-like-from-inside-the-plane/498892/208 "2011-05-31T18:32:28Z")
> [@mrsmcfall](#): > > I read a great book by Dr. Nuland called “How We Die”, and the author describes the random murder of a little girl. The author tries to analyze what was going through the girl’s mind as she was dying and from a medical standpoint, he opined that in violent deaths, the human body releases a plethora of chemicals which allow our frail brains to be at ease with what is happening to us. This is not to say that a violent death would be pleasant; it isn’t. However, I do agree with the author that the human body is too marvelous a machine to just let us experience and process head-on the violence that is being inflicted upon us. I can’t remember the name of the chemical process, but there is a certain amount of peace and ease which comes along with a violent death. Think of it as “nature’s heroin”, something that helps us deal with the trauma…be it a horrific airplane crash, a stabbing death, the whole nine yards. The same can be said of all mammals when they are eaten or something else violent happens. > > I think about this when I picture people who have had severe trauma happen to them which causes them to expire. It is one thing for your brain to block out physical pain and trauma. There is a lot of evidence of people who are severely injured not really feeling their injuries at the time they occurred. In this case though the passengers are not experiencing phsyical trauma byt mental trauma. The physical trauma at the end, when they hit the water, was probably mercifully short. It was the three minutes of terror prior to that which would have sucked and I doubt most people’s brains protect them from it. **LSLGuy** , a Doper and a large commercial jet pilot, posted the following in another thread. You can see the people on board were not blissfully unaware but rather losing their shit…sometimes literally. > [@No Sensation of Falling 38K Feet in 3.5 Minutes?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-sensation-of-falling-38k-feet-in-3-5-minutes/583499/46): > > Cabin experience. I have never personally stalled or gotten close to stalling a big jet. But I did talk, not 3 months ago, to one of our pilots who had been through a big jet near-stall while riding as a passenger. This was not on an Airbus, but the general picture will probably apply to an A330. > > For whatever combination of reasons, the pilots got slow enough at altitude that the aircraft \*almost \*stalled. They were in smooth air, not in clouds and it was daytime. > > From everything appearing completely normal, there was suddenly agressive short sharp banging turbulence. And mild wing-rock, 10-15 degrees each way. Wing rock doesn’t feel like just a mild S-turn. More like a juddering slap off to the left. Then to the right. etc. For the first few seconds there was gasping from the crowd. About the third time a wing dropped, a few people screamed. At each successive rock the screaming got louder & involved more people. > > The aircraft was in a recoverable situation when the problem started and the pilots did the recovery correctly. After about 30 seconds of the above experience and (WAG) 8000 feet of altitude loss (including ears popping a bit), the ride was over. > > There was no doubt in my co-worker’s mind that a sizeable fraction of the pax were in fear for their lives. This was a domestic US flight. There was lots of screaming of Jesus! & Oh God! etc. > > He said his own reaction was a mixture of “I know what’s going on”, “I know how badly this can end”, “I know these guys ought to be able to recover” and “But if they goofed up enough to get into this situation, how much can I beleive they’ll get back out?” He was real concerned at first (ironically before most of the pax had gotten excited) but as he felt the right pilot reactions happening he became optimistic it would come out OK, even as the rocking got worse. > > They changed an awful lot of seat cushions in that airplane. Many people had soiled themselves. > > Was the A330 accident exactly like this? Beats me. But I bet it was pretty similar; just 7 or 8 times longer and at night in the weather. Whether the night & weather made it scarier or better since there was nothing to see outside to measure the motion against is an open question. > > But I’d bet a paycheck nobody was sound asleep or reading their magazine by the time the ocean arrived. And I only get paid once a month. ---
**Author:** ![mrsmcfall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mrsmcfall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrsmcfall)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-plane-crash-like-the-air-france-one-be-like-from-inside-the-plane/498892/209 "2011-05-31T20:45:04Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > It is one thing for your brain to block out physical pain and trauma. There is a lot of evidence of people who are severely injured not really feeling their injuries at the time they occurred. > > In this case though the passengers are not experiencing phsyical trauma byt mental trauma. The physical trauma at the end, when they hit the water, was probably mercifully short. It was the three minutes of terror prior to that which would have sucked and I doubt most people’s brains protect them from it. > > **LSLGuy** , a Doper and a large commercial jet pilot, posted the following in another thread. You can see the people on board were not blissfully unaware but rather losing their shit…sometimes literally. I do agree with what you are saying. My post was just meant to illustrate what would happen at a violent end…physical trauma. I doubt there is anything that can comfort us during times of great psychological distress…such as the time it takes for a plane to crash from the sky to the earth/ocean. It’s really too bad. In ancient times, humans never had to deal with technology, just physical pain. ---
**Author:** ![Shmendrik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Shmendrik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shmendrik)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-plane-crash-like-the-air-france-one-be-like-from-inside-the-plane/498892/210 "2011-05-31T21:01:52Z")
> [@mrsmcfall](#): > > I do agree with what you are saying. My post was just meant to illustrate what would happen at a violent end…physical trauma. I doubt there is anything that can comfort us during times of great psychological distress…such as the time it takes for a plane to crash from the sky to the earth/ocean. It’s really too bad. In ancient times, humans never had to deal with technology, just physical pain. Huh? Psychological distress is the same whether it’s during the 3 minutes it takes for your plan to fall out of the sky or the 3 minutes it takes for a bear to finish mauling you. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-plane-crash-like-the-air-france-one-be-like-from-inside-the-plane/498892/211 "2011-05-31T23:55:47Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > They’re alive. Till they’re not. They feel their bodies being torn open, viscera ripped apart, limbs being bitten, face being torn off. They’re alive until they’re not. Until their heart stops or they die from exsanguination. > Welcome to real life. Horrible and sad. For me, personally, I always thought (hoped) that the “nature’s heroin” was going on when one animal eats another. The “victim” animal usually looks so accepting (I’m thinking of an antelope/lion thing here) that I hope that this is indeed the case. With people, it is always the exact opposite w/ me. Perhaps I think of desperately trying to imagine tortorous violence way too much. [Too many Auschwitz victims in my family…] Now let’s get back to our zany thread, shall we? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-plane-crash-like-the-air-france-one-be-like-from-inside-the-plane/498892/212 "2011-06-01T00:10:29Z")
Next trans-Atlantic flight, I’m gonna bring some of my own heroin, just in case. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-plane-crash-like-the-air-france-one-be-like-from-inside-the-plane/498892/213 "2011-06-01T02:54:21Z")
I used to have a tiny fear of flying until I knew that an airplane, in normal operation, could not _not_ fly, given the power of those engines. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-plane-crash-like-the-air-france-one-be-like-from-inside-the-plane/498892/214 "2011-06-01T05:19:47Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Really? My Garmin can’t get a signal inside the airplane. My phone (transmitting radios disabled, of course!) worked just fine as a GPS receiver when pressed against a window. I was actually a bit surprised that it showed the correct 500+ mph and 30k+ feet; for one thing, I wouldn’t think the software would get much testing in this regime; and for another, I thought I read that GPS units were supposed to disable themselves under these conditions for some anti-terrorism nonsense. Anyway–they do work if they can get a reasonable line-of-sight through non-conductive material. ---
**Author:** ![user\_hostile](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/user_hostile/32/474_2.png) [@user\_hostile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/user_hostile)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-plane-crash-like-the-air-france-one-be-like-from-inside-the-plane/498892/215 "2011-06-01T05:39:23Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > My phone (transmitting radios disabled, of course!) worked just fine as a GPS receiver when pressed against a window. I was actually a bit surprised that it showed the correct 500+ mph and 30k+ feet; for one thing, I wouldn’t think the software would get much testing in this regime; and for another, I thought I read that GPS units were supposed to disable themselves under these conditions for some anti-terrorism nonsense. Anyway–they do work if they can get a reasonable line-of-sight through non-conductive material. IIRC the limits are 60,000 feet altitude and 999 mph for most civilian GPSs. Obviously, better ones are available but they’re regarded as munitions by the US Department of State and fall under ITAR. GPS’s are being used by [amateurs for high altitude balloon trips](http://www.universetoday.com/11287/satellites-on-a-budget-high-altitude-balloons/), BTW. I’ve heard people hitting as much as 110,000 feet in altitude, so maybe the rules changed. I don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2011, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-plane-crash-like-the-air-france-one-be-like-from-inside-the-plane/498892/216 "2011-06-01T19:27:44Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Next trans-Atlantic flight, I’m gonna bring some of my own heroin, just in case. Or, like Aldous Huxley, author of Brave New World, you could inject intramuscularly 100mm of LSD moments before your demise. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-a-plane-crash-like-the-air-france-one-be-like-from-inside-the-plane/498892.md?page=10)