Why are there life jackets under seats in planes and not parachutues?

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Marixza M

Believe it our nor Parachutes have a higher risk of killing you then saving your life, for the simple fact not everyone will know how to use it Properly, as appose to the Life-vest, (4) steps, Grab it, rip it from its compartment, put it over your head, fasten the belt clips around your waist & pull the Red tab to inflate, Only once your in the water, because if you do it before you reach the water the pressure and impact from the life vest on impact may push you under, and you could drown, or break your neck...

Munster

It's impossible to evacuate an entire airplane of people untrained in donning and using a parachute.
Then there's the weight penalty and cost penalty.

ribena

Because if you were that high, and jumped out, you would disintegrate. Also you are not allowed a parachute on board the aircraft in case you are mad and jump out through the emergency exit, and leave the rest to die with the door open.

trolleydolley

You have lifejackets because there is a reasonable chance that if your plane was to crash land you could survive and they would possibly come in useful. If, however, you tried to jump out of an aircraft, you would more than likely be sucked through the engine rendering your parachute completely useless. Also, it is a requirement of the CAA that aircraft carry lifejackets!

Meh

If a plane starts going down, it's going to be tough to fight time/gravity while trying to strap it on and both again trying to walk to the door. Not to mention trying to open the door, fight a large crowd of people trying to get out, and those falling, (those that might get out.)

life jackets float, and bounce off mountains better.

choy_daniel

good question, can suggest to Airlines for implementation.

1) Not all know when to use a parachutes
2) for life jackets, when the pilot is saving the plane, the passengers can put them on immediately.
3) parachutes are of a higher maintenance than life jackets.

absolved lemon

good question and the previous answers are correct, but another reason is because a plane flies at 35-40,000 feet and to bail out at that height is impossible, a pilot will always ditch in the sea if possible hence the life jackets.

robert_ranchero

Good Question, if I were in a plane going down, I would definetly leave. See ya later!

CRJPILOT

It is hard enough to get out of an airliner on the ground when the plane is standing still at the gate now imagine 300 idiots that did not listen to the flight attendant's briefing trying to figure out how to use a parachute for the first time then imagine that the airplane is moving around tossing you up and down and back and front now we come to the fact that in a pressurized aircraft you can not open the doors until it is depressurized oh yeah and you are flying at 400 MPH hope you don't hit the tail on your way out. More people would die attempting to exit the aircraft than if they rode it in during an emergency landing!!!!

bengo_uk

Because if you jumped out of the plane at the altitudes they fly at you would not be able to breathe and die anyway. also they are too expensive to provide everyone with. The life jackets are there in case of the plane ditching. (landing on water)

mellow~lisa

coz you might be above an ocean..

AvantG

It's quite impossible for all the passengers to jump out of the plane safely while it is in mid-crash. When the plane is on its way down you might not even be able to go all the way to the emergency exit. They will usually try to land the plane as safely as possible over water or an open area if a water landing isn't possible. In case you do land over water then you have a life jacket to keep you afloat.

Dee Dee

People don't know when to pull the parachute.
It could just be because it's cheaper.

miss_eyez

i dnt kno..i sure wish they had a parachute n the life thing..
cuz then i would feel alot safer..those cheap ppl..

achaminadefriend

Life Jackets appear underneath the seats of airplanes in the event that a plane experiences difficulties while over the ocean. Basically, if such an event occured, the pilot would, to the best of his or her abilities, land the plane into the water upon which a rapid evacuation would commence. Not everybody knows how to swim and it is unknown how long the passengers may be stranded at sea until a rescue team arrives. In addition to life vests, planes also have inflatable rafts.

The reason that a plane would not carry parachutes are because most people are not certified as paradivers and would undoubtedly not know how to operate a parachute. In addition, in the event of an emergency while in flight, the plane would present complications making it impossible to carry out a safe parachute evacuation. First off, the plane would generally be at too high an altitude and at too high a velocity. In addition, if there is something wrong with the plane, violent turbulence could be expected.

If passengers were issued parachutes, those who do not think straight under great stress may attempt to open the emergency exits which would immediately depressurize the cabin causing passengers to lose conciousness. In addition, while parachuting, each parachuter must be evenly spaced out to avoid collision during the chute opening section. In an emergency, as passengers having done no such emergency parachuting drills would probably all rush out the door in a disorderly fashion causing even more chaos.

Ultimately, parachuting is an ability that must be developed over time through training. Merely wearing a life vest takes no training at all. Parachutes on a plane would be more of a hazard than a solution, and that is all I have to say about that.

Indian

The assumption is that the plane will land safely in water.

brentmidger

the thig is all plane doors are in front of wings that house very big turbines. If 100 or so people jump out it tends to get very messy.
NOTE:how many planes land safely on water?

David

It is just not reasonable.

1) You are in an airplane, way too high in the air to safely parachute. You will lose consciousness almost instantly, thus having no control of a parachute.

2) You are in an airplane, speeding at like 500 miles per hour. No way you could parachute in those conditions.

3) Most likely if the plane is in an emergency, 100+ passengers will not be able to parachute the plane. If it's in the air - its on its way down fast.

4) Most people do not know how to operate a parachute. Training passengers is unlikely.

5) Planes rarely land on bodies of water, in fact I don't know of any big passenger jets ever doing that. But it's a more likely survival landing than crashing into a mountainside or something. I guess they assume that in that unlikely event, at least people would be able to float out of the plane.

Plane crashes are really uncommon. Surviving plane crashes is even more. Honestly, those life jackets are there just to make you feel safer. Odds are a life jacket isn't going to help you in an plane crash.

alvin

Cause the plane might be flying over the sea and besides, a parachute might kill you rather than save you!

Stephen H

Training is required for the correct use of parachutes, and passengers would be in far too much of a blind panic to put them on correctly. Pilots would also attempt to land on water in the event of a crash as there is a higher probability of survival when hitting water as opposed to hitting land.

tuna man

good question. maybe you should write the airlines.

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