Question about aircrash safety measures from female friend

[ntg]

Alright,

A female friend of mine just asked me the following (she was 100% serious):

In the case when an airplane is up in the air and about to crash, why doesn't the airline give passengers something like a huge bodybag with 3 big layers of bubblewrap to soften their collision, and enough oxygen for about 10 mins to keep them alive inside the bag.

I said I would post this on the internetz before I respond to her question.

 

[Amp34]

Cost...
Space...
safety...

First things to come to mind anyway.

If the plane caught fire on landing without destroying itself there would be a lot of nicely char grilled plastic coated people who couldn't get out because of the suits. On the other hand if the plane went headfirst into the ground then the suits wouldn't really protect anyone.

 

[orderoftheflame]

Alright,

A female friend of mine just asked me the following (she was 100% serious):

In the case when an airplane is up in the air and about to crash, why doesn't the airline give passengers something like a huge bodybag with 3 big layers of bubblewrap to soften their collision, and enough oxygen for about 10 mins to keep them alive inside the bag.

I said I would post this on the internetz before I respond to her question.

Where do they store said huge bodybags and Oxygen tanks?

 

[Liampope]

Because it would do sweet fa good in a crash?

 

[A.N.Other]

Basically all said already.

 

[Spit]

Explain to her that she is basically a big bag of water and no form of protection will help when hitting the ground at 500mph!!

 

[cheets64]

The impact alone would shatter most peoples spines and rupture vital organs. A bit of bubble wrap is not going to help.

 

[PhillyDee]

Op, stay out of the kitchen, and avoid the hoover. That will stop the, quite frankly, ridiculous questions.

 

[Stumble Bum]

I have a plane question. Why has no-one invented a giant parachute to strap to the top of a plane in the case of an emergency???

 

[RomanNose]

Ask her if she has ever tried to wrap a egg in bubble wrap and flung it at 500mph.

 

[Energize]

I have a plane question. Why has no-one invented a giant parachute to strap to the top of a plane in the case of an emergency???

They have, it's called a ballistic recovery system. There are a few different variations for use in light aircraft.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballistic_Recovery_Systems



Better yet, why don't they put springs on the aircraft?

 

[ntg]

Thank you for your responses, I will be showing these answers to her instead of explaining it myself.

 

[RomanNose]

I have a plane question. Why has no-one invented a giant parachute to strap to the top of a plane in the case of an emergency???

I have a serious question, do you understand that attaching parachutes to heavy objects will never work?

 

[Derek W]

I hope the answer is you're going to slap her?

 

[Nix]

Apart from Chaosdestro0's beautiful analogy, how would this bubble-wrap protect individuals from the inevitable fire?

 

[Derek W]

In a similar vein:

My friend and I seem to have picked up two theories about the purpose of the brace position.

Me - Brace position is used to protect the face to help identification of the dead (think I got this from QI...)

Him - The brace position is used to snap your neck thus ensuring a quick death (pretty obviously ********).

...Or does it really actually serve to protect you in a crash?

yes, do this and you will survive after traveling up to serveral hundred miles per hour coming to a sudden stop

 

[d_brennen]

Bubble wrap will not save you from 500MPH+ to 0 in 0.5 seconds

 

[ntg]

Apart from Chaosdestro0's beautiful analogy, how would this bubble-wrap protect individuals from the inevitable fire?

Assume they would fall into the sea. Quote "so they can float/swim afterwards as well".

 

[Stumble Bum]

I have a serious question, do you understand that attaching parachutes to heavy objects will never work?

even a REALLLLLY big parachute????