Why are there no emergency parachutes in commercial airplanes?

solo

OK lot of different answers - kudos to those with decent information :-)

Reasons why not (in the order they fell out my brain, not importance):

1. It takes room and time for experienced people to put parachutes on - even if folks were given vintage chest mounted parachutes it isn't a practical proposition in an emergency (what about kids, the ederly and infirm?). Also - are we expecting freefall or will there be time to hook up a static line?;
2. Even dropping folk out of two sides of the plane, to get a significant amount of people out in a stick type drop (like WWII parachutists) would take way too long even if you don't allow for a huge number of folks freezing/freaking in the queue;
3. Storing that amount of even chest mounted parachutes is problematic (although not impossible);
4. Assuming you had emergency opening doors (rather than the normal ones) the depresurisation (lack of oxygen plus cold) at normal altitude would kill most folks before you could get them out. If you wait until (say) 17,000 ft you are going to have very little time in an emergency to do anything;
5. Depresurising the aircraft will make any aircraft problem worse;
6. perversely available parachutes might make hijack/terrorims more likely ... Google "DB Cooper" for more information;
7. The speed of exit would make the ride 'interesting for even experienced jumpers' - imagine a giant grabbing your back and throwing you like a toy (this is from personal experience);
8. I could mention the amount of injures/deaths due to malfunctions, bad landing, collisions (with each other ... you are very very unlikely to hit the aircraft or engines) especially if a night jump or water landing but I suppose if the failure is catastrophic enough it is better than nothing.

If I think of more I will add them.

Bottom line, although it is possible to jump from a commercial jet, even at 40,000 feet (if you have supplimentary oxygen; cold weather clothing and freefall gear [unless you want to open immediately and land sometime the following day]) staying with the plane is going to be a much better bet, whatever the situation.

As a side-note, parachutes exist for entire aircraft (mostly microlights and small aircraft but their are test versions for big jets) - I suspect the sticking point is reliability combined with economics (such parachutes take space and weight quite a bit which equals money in air transport).

Blue skies =8-)

phoenixmaximus

First off, total panic and chaos would envelope the passengers in the event of an impending crash. Secondly, commercial planes travel far too fast (350 - 500 mph) to jump out of and successfully deploy your parachute. Don't forget that most commercial flight fly at heights anywhere between 30,000 and 40,000 feet high (~ 8 miles high) and it is EXTREMELY cold up at that height not to mention the lack of oxygen in the Stratosphere. Remember, the average person is not going to be ready to jump out of a plane even with the knowledge of an impending crash. Can you imagine how long the pre-flight training would be? It takes 5-10 minutes just to explain how seatbelts and emergency exits work. A parachute training speech would just not be feesible...ever. Good question though.

Anna

It's probably not very cost effective. That's a lame reason, but that's how big businesses like airlines think. The bottom line is more important than lives that might be saved.

Some people might say parachutes are not very practical. But like those life vests are? I'm sorry, but if your plane crashes in the ocean, you're going to die, life vest or not.

chuck norris can divide by zero!

it would be impractacal for that many people to try to put on chutes, and leave the plane safely. Also that many parachutes in the air at one time is very dangerous even when you are experianced. If some one passes under you, their chute steals the air from your chute which means your chute buckles, adn now you are falling. I don't doubt that chutes might save some lives, but chances are they would cause more accidents than they would save. Life vests are a good idea, but they would add too much weight to the plane, thats why the seat cushions can be used as flotation devices.

Jon

Firstly you would have to train everyone to use a parachute. Secondly they are very heavy therefore need more fuel therefore more expensive. Thirdly only a few would get out, and those few would be the ones to fight their way to the door. Finally at 30-40000 feet the air is not breathable

DreamWeaver

It is a safety issue.Both of the above answers were good.Everyone would need some training before being allowed to use a chute.I also wouldn't want some maniac opening a door to try and jump during mid-flight.The safety of the passengers come first.I am truly sorry for the lives lost during the 911 terrorist attacks.

Stray Kittycat

Modern passenger aircraft do have life vests and inflatable dingys if they have routes over large bodies of water. Planes are generally cruising at over 32,000 feet above the ground and at speeds in excess of 500 mph. Modern passenger aircraft do not really bother with parachutes because the planes operate at extreme high altitudes that parachuting is not a viable option as passengers will die from lack of oxygen or extreme cold before they can float down to earth and they may not be conscious shortly after leaping. The planes are also travelling too fast to make jumping an option so the only real option is to hope that the plane can make a landing.

Without proper parachute training, passengers would be as good as dead regardless.

I â™¥ Evil

the altitude is too high and the speed is too great.

jlaidlawy

Since most commercial planes fly between 30,000ft and 40,000ft, jumping out at this altitude would kill you due to the lack of oxygen (only under 15,000ft can we survive without supplemental oxygen). Also, during most accidents, there wouldn't be enough time to don a parachute, open the door and get everyone out. Odds are the plane won't be level, which further adds to the impracticality of emergency parachutes

attila

im sure the terrorists would have stopped them. i know i saw someone answer this question before on a boeing website.. sorry i cant be of more help though... those slide things i know is one reason.. you slide down not parachute.

green is clean

Parachutes are expensive for one, but also need to be checked on a regular basis. There is then a liability if a chute doesn't open right. You would think that extra time, money, and liability threats would be worth a life.

jareihart

because at that height you would black out from no oxygen then ...SPLAT!!!

mugenhunt

The problem is that teaching someone to use a parachute is difficult, and if people parachute without proper training they are more likely to get injured than survive. It's also a case that parachuting from high altitudes (such as where airplanes spend most of their times) isn't that safe at all, and that not everyone who rides on a plane is capable of parachuting. (The elderly, children, the handicapped.)

It's a nice idea, but one that fails in practice. They've considered it.

haru2086

I agree it would be good to have parachutes in commericial airplanes but the average passenger not knowing how to properly secure a parachute would be a problem

+ pulling the string @ the right to release the chute + everyone jumping out and releasing their chutes would just be chaos

BuT! the cabin door is under so many tons of pressure so how are you going to open it? You dont want crazies opening it in midair.

Nolo_8

Maybe its a waste? It looks good on paper, but woudl failr in a reali life situation. People panicking would just be crazy.

bignchunky20

because you are too high up to use one.you wouldn't have time to put them on before you died.

J.D.

There are no safe exits on commercial jetliners. You'd hit an engine or other part of the fuselage and that'd mess your day up even worse than it was already.

fazerbucky

No. Opening the door wouldve created a significant drop in cabin pressure, destabilizing the aircraft.

jacobplano

Im not sure when it was but when an airliner removed 1 olive from each salad they served the saved 45,000$ Personally I think its because they would have to have one for each person on the plane, they would have to work properly because if they don't somebody will sue them, and they would probably have to have at least a 30 min teaching sesion before each flight.

liliy

Wrong.Commercial airplaines fly very high. Maybe you can jump from that hight in "007" movies, but not in real life.

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