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Pilots Survival kit and gear for pilots, aircrews and
passengers. Pilots survival kits like other
survival kits are there to save your life should you find yourself
in a bad spot. However, there are some risks inherent to flying that
require some additional planning. When things go wrong up in the
sky, it can get very ugly , very quickly. There will be no time to
start thinking about where you stuffed that darn strobe light you
remember buying a few years ago. Your gear needs to be ready, and
easily accessible.
Flying over water.
If you are flying over water, and you have to ditch,
your chances of surviving are not good unless you have prepared for
it, especially if the water is cold. FAA regulations regarding
flight over water are as follows:
(a) No
person may take off an airplane for a flight over water more
than 50 nautical miles from the nearest shore unless that
airplane is equipped with a life preserver or an approved
flotation means for each occupant of the
airplane.
(b)
Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section, no person
may take off an airplane for flight over water more than 30
minutes flying time or 100 nautical miles from the nearest
shore, whichever is less, unless it has on board the following
survival equipment:
(1) A life preserver, equipped
with an approved survivor locator light, for each occupant of
the airplane.
(2) Enough liferafts (each equipped
with an approved survival locator light) of a rated capacity
and buoyancy to accommodate the occupants of the
airplane.
(3) At least one pyrotechnic signaling
device for each liferaft.
(4) One self-buoyant,
water-resistant, portable emergency radio signaling device
that is capable of transmission on the appropriate emergency
frequency or frequencies and not dependent upon the airplane
power supply.
(5) A lifeline stored in accordance
with §25.1411(g) of this chapter.
(c) A
fractional ownership program manager under subpart K of this
part may apply for a deviation from paragraphs (b)(2) through
(5) of this section for a particular over water operation or
the Administrator may amend the management specifications to
require the carriage of all or any specific items of the
equipment listed in paragraphs (b)(2) through (5) of this
section.
(d) The
required life rafts, life preservers, and signaling devices
must be installed in conspicuously marked locations and easily
accessible in the event of a ditching without appreciable time
for preparatory procedures.
(e) A
survival kit, appropriately equipped for the route to be
flown, must be attached to each required life
raft.
(f) As
used in this section, the term shore means that area of the
land adjacent to the water that is above the high water mark
and excludes land areas that are intermittently under water.
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The FAA gets more specific about survival kit
contents in regulation FAR 135.167 - Emergency Equipment: Extended
overwater operations. They require the following items:
Pilots survival
kit:
One survival kit, appropriately equipped for the route
to be flown; or ,
(ii) One canopy (for sail, sunshade, or
rain catcher);
(iii) One radar reflector;
(iv) One liferaft
repair kit;
(v) One bailing bucket;
(vi) One signaling
mirror;
(vii) One police whistle;
(viii) One raft
knife;
(ix) One CO2bottle for emergency inflation;
(x) One
inflation pump;
(xi) Two oars;
(xii) One 75-foot retaining
line;
(xiii) One magnetic compass;
(xiv) One dye
marker;
(xv) One flashlight having at least two size “D” cells or
equivalent;
(xvi) A 2-day supply of emergency food rations
supplying at least 1,000 calories per day for each person;
(xvii)
For each two persons the raft is rated to carry, two pints of water
or one sea water desalting kit;
(xviii) One fishing kit;
and
(xix) One book on survival appropriate for the area in which
the aircraft is operated.
Other things to consider for a pilots survival
kit:
- In private aircraft wear a slim fitting PFD when over
water.
-
Wear a survival knife of some kind, like the ASEK(TM)
& a compass.
- Wear clothing appropriate to the area being
flown over.
- If you are transporting passengers, give them a
safety briefing.
- Always have a EPRIB or PLB with fully charged
batteries.
- Have a functioning carbon monoxide detector
installed in the cockpit.
- iridium phone, fully charged and in
watertight container.
- pryotechnic signaling device. (required
on commuter aircraft)
- Survivor locator light / strobe light.
(required on commuter aircraft)
If you are a passenger on an
aircraft, make it your business to know where the survival gear is.
Review the emergency procedures with the aircrew or pilot. Knowing
could mean the difference between surviving and becoming a
statistic.
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