Why aren't there parachutes in civilian commuter aircraft?

Question

This seems to defy common sense but has been in practice for as long as I know. In certain instances when the hull of the aircraft is breached without impact to the passengers inside, parachutes could be a lifesaver.

Answer 1

To be effective and to aid in a proper landing and learning to steer them all require careful training and no doubt practice. Even if you did manage to find 160 people all going to the same place and were trained, I don't think you could get them all out of the doors in time.

A preponderance of crashes occur on take off and landing. There is little to no time to get out, nor sufficient altitude for the chute to deploy. You'd need an ejector seat - which would be a whole other story!

I understand your point... Parachutes bring people to safety, but this is usually a controlled situation. And there's way too many people, especially some who would just freeze up or freak out at the door, holding others back on typical passenger aircraft.

Answer 2

At the cruising speed and altitude of modern aircraft a hull breach is not survivable. You'd be blown to bits by the wind. If that didn't get you then the cold and the lack of oxygen would. By the time you could freefall to a survivable altitude you'd be dead anyway.

Then there's the weight, then there's the training, then there's the lack of a suitable exit.

No point, any circumstance under which you might need the parachute wouldn't allow the passengers to get out.

Answer 3

There has only been ONE case of a hull breach without impact -- the Aloha Airlines incident of several years ago. And nearly all of the people on board actually survived by staing in their seats. I believe the sole fatality was one cabin attendant. No parachutes were needed. But, here's my stock answer for this question which really belongs in the "Dumb FAQ List" along with the one about building airliners out of the same stuff that the "Black Boxes" are.

1. At altitude, you'd freeze to death instantly upon exiting the aircraft. The temp is typically -40F to -70F. At normal cruise of 500 - 650 MPH, every bone in your body would be shattered when you hit the slipstream; most people's arms and legs would be ripped off by flailing injuries. Think of all of the crushed and frozen arms, legs, and bodies with unopened parachutes attached hitting the ground at terminal velocity -- about 125 MPH.

2. Most accidents happen during the transition period of takeoff and landing. You're too close to the ground for parachutes to be effective and there isn't enough time to get everyone out anyway.

3. There are no doors on an airliner that can be opened in flight, so there is no way to get out anyway.

4. Parachutes need to be donned before getting on the airplane. You'd need to show up 5 hours before departure to get everyone suited up. Connections would be 5 - 7 hours.

5. The bulk of the parachutes would require the airlines to remove half of the seats to make room. Add the cost of parachute riggers and staff to help passengers put them on, and airfares would quadruple at least.

6. The typical airline passenger isn't trained in the use of a parachute; it would be akin to handing a 5-year-old a loaded AK-47.

Answer 4

If the plane has sustained enough damage as to be un-flyable, then the passengers are a) already dead, or b) going to be dead soon. Remember that the airplane is cruising at 36,000 feet or more. You can't breathe above 13,000 without a tank of oxygen. Thats 23,000 feet of free-fall (or parachute, in your case) of no breathing. It takes a long time to fall 23,000 feet.
If you mean "commuter" as in the smaller jets/twin turbo-prop, then there is a similar reason. Panic. Think about the average person during something as traumatic as a plane becoming un-airworthy mid-flight. It takes a lot of training to get strapped into a parachute while the plane is "not-flying" around you and calmly jump out and remember to pull it.

Answer 5

Most accidents happen that there is still time to glide to safety for some airliners. However, because if something major happens, the chances of having time to jump out is 0 because it'll fall like a piece of brick..a huge one. Also, the economical profit feedback is not so good for the accountants working for the airlines, therefore simply a life jacket or floatation device is given instead

Answer 6

Keith H is a dumbass. Airlines are privately owned and do not receive tax dollars. To answer your question, the benefit of not putting them on board simply out weighs the possibility of using them in terms of cost and convenience. Would you really want to listen to some flight attendant explain how to use a parachute?

Answer 7

You ever notice how long it takes people to get off an airplane when it lands, how long do you think it'll take for everyone to egress for a skydiving lesson? Not to mention, the 3 stooges like pileup at the exits, as everyone's trying to pull the person in front of them back out of the way so they can exit.

Answer 8

A completely untrained person using a parachute would most likely die trying to use it. You do safety training before your first jump for a reason.

Answer 9

In most situations, it's safer for the passengers to stay on the plane while it attempts an emergency landing than it is to have 100 or so individuals attempt to sky-dive for the first time with no training in what is most likely the most terrifying experience of their life.

Answer 10

Its simple the it cost to much for airlines to have and maintain the parachutes its not just the cost to buy them but if they where to have them they would have to all be repacked every couple flights to before every flight which would take a lot of man hours they would have to pay for so if they tried they would quickly go out of business but there is also the factor of if people saw them it would get them thinking about crashing and it would freak people out