Here.
In this case, 2.5 hours after the ditching, they were in the helicopter.
I was surprised at the value the report put on something as simple as a light. Might be a good idea to have a portable strobe attached to the life vest.
eurogaguest1980 wrote:
Might be a good idea to have a portable strobe attached to the life vest.
https://oceansignal.com/products/plb1/
I’d rather have a PLB than an ELT for various reasons, but this is one of them. It also features a strobe.
It’s a very instructive report, in full spirit of Annex 13.
So all they had to carry was life jackets, but they fortunately did carry a life raft as well. I suppose this saved their lifes. Interesting that the instructor undid her seatbelt out of fear of being blocked in the airplane, but paid a hefty price for that decision by being hurt.
Yes, a PLB is a very good idea. I wonder if my Breitling Emergency would also help, even tough it’s only 121.5. But I also own a PLB which I carry on each flight and sometimes even when I go somewhere I might need assistance.
Even after 2 hours they were massively undercooled and suffered from hipothermia.
I think carrying a life raft is a very good idea, also for stretches of water where it is not required by law. E.g the channel or certainly when overflying the sea. Likewise, carrying a PLB and flares as well as possibly a flashlight will help at night.
I good reminder about the risks of hypothermia. Despite a raft, water temperature of almost 14°, and only 2.5 hours of exposure, they still ended up hypothermic.
