# Would you die instantly in a plane crash? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 28, 2006, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-die-instantly-in-a-plane-crash/378218 "2006-10-28T08:12:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gus\_Handsome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@Gus\_Handsome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gus_Handsome)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2006, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-die-instantly-in-a-plane-crash/378218/1 "2006-10-28T08:12:43Z")
I always wonder about this each time I travel from Toronto to Frankfurt. If the plane crashed into the ocean (nose first) would we actually have a few moments to suffer and then die, or would it be like a light switch turning off “poof you’re dead” My biggest fear of a crash is the thought of languishing on the ground of the burning wreckage and not expiring right away. (or floating in the cold ocean water waiting to become shark food. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2006, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-die-instantly-in-a-plane-crash/378218/2 "2006-10-28T08:14:19Z")
Relatively few plane crashes have _no_ survivors, so I’d pack shark repellent in my carry-on, assuming the ban on liquids and gels isn’t still in effect. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2006, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-die-instantly-in-a-plane-crash/378218/3 "2006-10-28T08:49:02Z")
It depends on what kind of crash you are envisioning. If we’re talking about a perfect landing, where all of a sudden one of the wheels breaks off, then most likely most will survive. On the other hand if you’re talking about a (rather implausible) case where a plane goes into a vertical dive into the ocean at top speed… Well, safe-to-say it’s been referenced a few times on the boards here that in the case of a plane versus a concrete block, the plane flattens itself (literally) instantaneously–you’re safe to assume that you’ll be a wafer before you’ll care. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2006, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-die-instantly-in-a-plane-crash/378218/4 "2006-10-28T08:56:47Z")
There is a video of the Mt Erebus disaster of twenty or thirty years ago. The video was being shot inside the passenger compartment when the plane hit the mountain, and the tape survived. Basically, there were people just laughing and talking, and then there was a white flash that lasts half a second, and the tape ends. At those sort of speeds, I doubt you’d know much about anything. Of course, that’s a controlled flight at speed, straight into a mountainside. Falling from Flight Level 38 out of control, with the cabin looking like the hysteria scene in _Airport_ - now _that_ would be my fear. You’d have time to contemplate what was going to happen. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2006, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-die-instantly-in-a-plane-crash/378218/5 "2006-10-28T08:59:47Z")
[QUOTE=Gus\_Handsome] \*\*Would you die instantly in a plane crash? \*\* [/QUOTE] For you, I’d do anything. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2006, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-die-instantly-in-a-plane-crash/378218/6 "2006-10-28T10:23:09Z")
It all depends on the specifics of the crash in question. ---
**Author:** ![gabriela](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/db5fbb/32.png) [@gabriela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gabriela)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2006, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-die-instantly-in-a-plane-crash/378218/7 "2006-10-28T10:31:08Z")
I dunno about the moments before the crash, but I have spoken with some of the people who did the ValuJet crash and the bodies were just bits. Just bits. Instantaneous translation from intact human beings to bits. I won’t specify further. ---
**Author:** ![Sevastopol](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cdc98d/32.png) [@Sevastopol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sevastopol)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2006, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-die-instantly-in-a-plane-crash/378218/8 "2006-10-28T10:51:24Z")
[QUOTE=TheLoadedDog] There is a video of the Mt Erebus disaster of twenty or thirty years ago. The video was being shot inside the passenger compartment when the plane hit the mountain, and the tape survived. Basically, there were people just laughing and talking, and then there was a white flash that lasts half a second, and the tape ends. At those sort of speeds, I doubt you’d know much about anything. Of course, that’s a controlled flight at speed, straight into a mountainside. Falling from Flight Level 38 out of control, with the cabin looking like the hysteria scene in _Airport_ - now _that_ would be my fear. You’d have time to contemplate what was going to happen. [/QUOTE] I’ve seen the video of the aftermath, the cleanup. **Gabriela** , the word is ‘fragmentation.’ ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2006, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-die-instantly-in-a-plane-crash/378218/9 "2006-10-28T10:51:35Z")
I remember one news story about the crash that killed golfer Payne Stewart. The first man to reach the crash site said he didn’t see any pieces of human remanins larger than a baseball. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2006, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-die-instantly-in-a-plane-crash/378218/10 "2006-10-28T10:57:54Z")
As **TheLoadedDog** says, it’s not necessarily how long it takes _after_ impact, but how long you spend in a Spiral Dive of Doom beforehand ☹ My own personal nightmare is that the plane is ripped apart by an explosion and I am conscious while in freefall still strapped into my seat. I believe investigators reckon some of the victims of the Lockerbie bombing regained consciousness on the way down… doesn’t bear thinking about, really. By the way, morbid person that I am, is that Erebus video available online anywhere? ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2006, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-die-instantly-in-a-plane-crash/378218/11 "2006-10-28T11:07:15Z")
There are videos of commerical airliners crashing all over the Internet, for those who want to really know. For the most part, its hard to survive big plane crashes. If you don’t end up in pieces, the smoke will finish you off. There are exceptions, but big metal tanks of fuel free falling out of control is generally not on your side. ---
**Author:** ![gabriela](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/db5fbb/32.png) [@gabriela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gabriela)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2006, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-die-instantly-in-a-plane-crash/378218/12 "2006-10-28T11:08:48Z")
[QUOTE=Sevastopol] I’ve seen the video of the aftermath, the cleanup. **Gabriela** , the word is ‘fragmentation.’ [/QUOTE] Yeah, **Sevastopol** , I know. ID’s a bitch. ---
**Author:** ![Sevastopol](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cdc98d/32.png) [@Sevastopol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sevastopol)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2006, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-die-instantly-in-a-plane-crash/378218/13 "2006-10-28T11:25:08Z")
[QUOTE=Colophon] By the way, morbid person that I am, is that Erebus video available online anywhere? [/QUOTE] It’s is more a collection of still shots with commentary. Were it available to the public it’s notoriety would be legend. So no. ---
**Author:** ![mittu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@mittu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mittu)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2006, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-die-instantly-in-a-plane-crash/378218/14 "2006-10-28T11:29:45Z")
[QUOTE=Colophon] My own personal nightmare is that the plane is ripped apart by an explosion and I am conscious while in freefall still strapped into my seat. I believe investigators reckon some of the victims of the Lockerbie bombing regained consciousness on the way down… doesn’t bear thinking about, really. [/QUOTE] That may not be the worst thing, at least you can have a crack at formulating some kind of plan to survive the drop. People have survived failed parachute jumps into the ocean haven’t they? Personally I would go for unstrapping myself from the seat, entering the water in a pencil dive position feet-first with my arms stretched above my head then immediately after entering the water going into a starjump position. I recently watched a T.V. programme called something like “Surviving a plane crash” where experts were asked where the safest place to sit on a plane is. Statistics showed that it was basically down to your distance from the exit, the nearer the better. One crash investigator said he always got a seat as close to the exit as possible and counted the number of rows to the nearest exits in front of and behind him in case the lights on the floor failed and visibility was poor. Of course the nearest exit may not be of much use in a water “landing”, you would probably just be looking for the nearest hole in the fuselage and heading for that. One point that was made on the subject of water landings is that contrary to instruction some passengers inflated their life jackets before the crash and found that they were trapped inside the plane as the water level rose, those who hadn’t inflated could swim down and out of the holes to safety. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2006, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-die-instantly-in-a-plane-crash/378218/15 "2006-10-28T12:42:15Z")
Read the book “Alive.” ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2006, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-die-instantly-in-a-plane-crash/378218/16 "2006-10-28T12:47:24Z")
I think you’ll need to cover your nads and your face with your hands, mittu. And clench your 1/2 bodily holes down there VERY hard, so the water doesn’t enter them. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2006, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-die-instantly-in-a-plane-crash/378218/17 "2006-10-28T12:49:11Z")
Oh and don’t go into the pike position TOO soon, because your terminal velocity will increase from 120 MPH to 180 MPH… ---
**Author:** ![mittu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@mittu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mittu)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2006, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-die-instantly-in-a-plane-crash/378218/18 "2006-10-28T13:00:41Z")
Good point about terminal velocity, I suppose the starjump position should be used with your front facing the ground for as long as possible before preparing to enter the water. I’m not too sure how wise it would be to have covering the crown jewels and your face, I picture the impact with the water being sufficient to rip them out of position and force them above your head anyway. I think the angle of your head may be important as well, if you tucked your chin into your chest then the impact could whip your head back and cause you to lose conciousness, likewise if you tipped your head too far back. Having water enter the nose could be dangerous or at least very unpleasant but I don’t think that holding it shut with your hand would help, the forces involved would be too strong for you to hold on (in my opinion that is). ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2006, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-die-instantly-in-a-plane-crash/378218/19 "2006-10-28T13:03:03Z")
[QUOTE=gabriela] I dunno about the moments before the crash, but I have spoken with some of the people who did the ValuJet crash and the bodies were just bits. Just bits. Instantaneous translation from intact human beings to bits. I won’t specify further. [/QUOTE] I was riding in a helicopter over the crash site yesterday. My pilot, who saw the aftermath right after it happened, said there was very little left of the plane. Just random pieces of landing gear and other heavy parts. And yeah, little bits of human remains. He says a nearby fisherman saw the whole thing. The guy saw the plane going straight down as fast as a bullet and then hauled ass over to the scene. A few hundred yards away, he stood up on his boat to find absolutely nothing. To him, it was like the plane had disappeared into the ether. And in a way, it had. It had carved a 8 foot deep crater in the ground when it made impact. Most of the plane had completely disintegrated. I imagine that some people were conscious during the moments before impact, but that there was no awareness afterwards. I don’t see how there could have been. ---
**Author:** ![Ruffian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71e660/32.png) [@Ruffian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruffian)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2006, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-die-instantly-in-a-plane-crash/378218/20 "2006-10-28T14:18:30Z")
[QUOTE=monstro] I imagine that some people were conscious during the moments before impact, but that there was no awareness afterwards. I don’t see how there could have been. [/QUOTE] The final verdict is people were _not_ conscious when the ValuJet plane crashed into the Everglades. There had been a fire in the cargo hold and the smoke had overwhelmed the passengers and crew. (just saw this profiled on the National Geographic Channel’s _Seconds from Disaster_) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-die-instantly-in-a-plane-crash/378218.md?page=2)