If 90% of aircraft fatalities are due to fire, why are there no smoke hoods like you can buy fron Sporty's?

Question

90% of the people killed flying die from fire or smoke, What would you rather have? A floating seat cushion or a smoke hood?

Answer 1

Interesting theories above, only a couple of them have any merit at all however. The fact is, the smoke hoods that you speak of (called EPOS) are aboard every single military transport aircraft for every single passenger. The fact is, they will save your life. They will protect you from inhaling smoke and this is indeed the number one cause of death in all of aviation. The pilots' (in both military transport aircraft and airliners) have smoke goggles (that cover the eyes) and pressure-demand regulator masks (that cover the nose and mouth) that can give them 100% oxygen, regardless of whether there is smoke in the aircraft or not. The pilots' pressure-demand regulator masks can also be set to an emergency setting that gives them slight positive pressure to ensure that if there are any leaks in the mask, that they are still only breathing 100% oxygen and none of the smoke laden air in the cockpit. Furthermore, the smoke goggles also have an oxygen line leading to them to clear out any smoke that is inside of them. The oxygen line leading to the goggles provides a very slight positive pressure of 100% oxygen to ensure the goggles clear themselves of smoke, and remain smoke free, so that the pilots can see and so that their eyes aren't irritated by the smoke. However, passenger oxygen masks don't do any of this.

Ideally, every single passenger seat in an airline would be equipped with both the drop-down type mask for pressure problems, such as a rapid decompression or other such emergencies, as well as with an EPOS hood, to be used anytime there is smoke in the cabin. Pilots do have aircraft smoke clearing checklists, however, there is frequently a delay at which time you could be breathing fatal smoke. That is when an EPOS hood could be used. Interestingly, when there is smoke in the cabin and the pilots conduct the smoke clearing checklist, usually the smoke is cleared away very rapidly. However, in the event of a crash, the EPOS hoods could remain on each passenger while they egress the airplane.

Every single airliner could very easily equip every single one of their passenger seats with EPOS hoods, however, there is one simple reason why they don't; they cost more than airlines want to pay for them. The way airlines see it, every single person that dies aboard one of their airplanes in an accident costs them about $250,000. People die so infrequently aboard their airplanes, however, that they view the several million dollar investment that it would take to equip each seat in each one of their airplanes as costing more than the rare $250,000 that they have to pay out when one or more people die from smoke inhalation. That is THE ONLY REASON why they don't equip their airplanes with EPOS hoods.

Answer 2

well, i could see have a fire hood handy if you were some how able to avoid death by impact/ejection from aircraft upon impact/drowning in 50k lbs of jet fuel/being incinerated by the 1600 + degrees of heat said fuel produces when ignited/being smothered to death by the fat lady in the seat next to you. chances of survival in a crash senario involving fire are almost none, with or with out the smoke. That, and the seat cusion is a placebo, a security blanket. If the plane hits deck in water there will be no survivors, i can almost 100% garuntee that.

Answer 3

Fine, your protected from the smoke, but alrighty...can you see your instruments and still fly? Nevermind the fact that your plane is on fire to begin with. The fire fatality figure is based on the fact that the plane crashed and caught on fire, you most likely wont survive the impact forces in a crash to worry about the fire, your dead already or unable to put on the hood due to being unconcious, or your hood being fired across your aircraft at 200 knots and out of your reach. If you have a control yoke imbedded in your skull, I think you are already a fatality. Buy a Cirrus like I did at least I can pull the parachute and hit gently. Hopefully it never happens to me, but at least I can walk away with my life.

Answer 4

i read somewhere that the reason most people die from fire/smoke in a plane crash is because the seats on a plane, if shifted properly (and unfortunately), can break your legs and therefore there's no way to get yourself off the plane. and even if you had a hood, you still couldn't move and would have to rely on luck with the firefighters coming and the fire not reaching you.

Answer 5

The airlines cant make money with a smoke hood. You can take your own if you wish. There are lots of things available to make flying even safer that it already is but the bottom line is all any airline can think about if it is to survive.

Answer 6

90% of aircraft fatalities are NOT due to fire. They are due to impact.

Answer 7

In order to survive a fire, you would need a fire proof suit. They weight too much and wouldn't be able to fit everyone and would only be usefull if you knew there was going to be a fire.

Answer 8

There are I have seen them advertised in magazines.

Answer 9

fire loves oxy and its hard to see through smoke.

Answer 10

The cabin would decompress and lose alttitude if you open it up.