Water Survival and Rescue

AST2

UNITED STATES COAST GUARD

JasonAJennison

Water Survival

Water survival starts long before you are sitting in the water waiting for rescue. Survival

starts when you are planning your flight and follows a set of steps leading to you being in a

survival situation.

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Water Survival

It is my intention today to take you through the steps to finding yourself in a survival

situation. Assuring that you have the gear to survive and help others find you. Then to

address actions that will aid in your survival while help arrives and you are rescued.

Flight plan

Preflight the plane and yourself.

Weather.

Dress for the flight.

Make sure the necessary gear is on board.

Passenger brief.

Realization there is a problem and communication with ATC.

Make plane and self ready to ditch.

Ditching

Egress.

Safely out of the plane.

Steps We Will Be Addressing

Survival Situation

Action with a Raft

Actions with No raft

Psychology of survival

Seven steps of survival

Rescue

File a Flight Plan and Follow It.

File a flight plan and stick to it.. If you must change your plans, update the plan while enroute.

A complete flight plan gives rescuers every thing they need to locate you.

Use the remarks section of flight plan to give additional information about your gear.

vests, raft (be specific), signal devices,.

This information helps establish search parameters.

Make sure family knows your plans, inform them when you have landed.

Inspect Self and Plane.

Airplane condition, pre-flight

Only fly a well maintained aircraft.

Conduct a thorough pre-flight inspection, use check list .

Fuel load

Fill tanks to weight limit.

Do not fly into reserves.

Set reserves as required by FAR regulation.

Your condition

IM-SAFE

IM-SAFE CHECKLISTI - ILLNESS

M – MEDICATION

S – STRESS

A – ALCOHOL

F – FATIQUE

E – EMOTIONS

DO NOT FLY UNLESS

HEALTHY!

Weather

Get a weather briefing as part of pre-flight

Monitor in fight updates of weather.

Observe changing weather patterns during the flight.

Dress for the Flight.Based on weather enroute

Keep critical items on personKeep critical items on person

Preferred clothing

Nomex

Wool

Cotton

DO NOT WEAR POLYESTER.

Consider wearing an ADC.*

Make Sure the Necessary Gear Is on Board.

Life vests. Also called PFD’s are a must when flying over water. Even if you have a raft on board there is no guarantee you’ll get it out. Always wear your life vest while over water. Ideally a vest designed for regular wear. You may have no time to don a quick donning vest while in an emergency.

Raft. Packing the right raft can be difficult. Rafts come in a variety of styles, single tube or double tube, single cell or multiple cell, those with and without self-erecting canopies and insulated floors.

Survival gear. Make sure the right gear is in your vest and raft.

LPU 26PE

CO2 Inflation

Oral Inflation

LPU Survival Equipment

• Knife

• EPIRB

• Pyro

• Whistle

• Strobe Light

• Signal mirror

KNIFE

EPIRB 121.5 and 243.048 hours

Whistle

1000 Yards

Strobe

8 Hours

Signal Mirror

8 Million Candle Power

Heeds.The heeds is a spare air device used in all our helicopter vests. They are available on the open market from various suppliers. They cost several hundred dollars, but they give you up to 45 breaths of air to escape a submerged aircraft. Your supplier can give training in how to use them, but a water course that uses them in a simulated airframe is best.

LRU-20 Life raftLRU-20 Life raft

Raft Survival ItemsRaft Survival Items

POD 8

The POD 8 raft is now being used as our drop raft. It has an inflatable canopy and twin chamber design.

LRU-18The LRU-18 in our single person raft. It has an oral and CO2 inflations system.

This is not a raft for use when the person may be in the water for a long period of time. When used by the swimmers, they have marked our position and help is on the way.

The raft offers the bare minimum in comfort. It does offer a canopy, but getting and staying dry is hard at best.

Passenger Brief.Operation of aircraft exits and seat belts.

Location of survival equipment and how to deploy it. Pay special attention here to make sure they know how to retrieve the raft if its stored in the cargo compartment and not active it in the plane.

Use and donning of PFD. Emphasis the importance of not activating the PFD until after egressing the plane

Crash position and actions to take in case of ditching.

Emergency egress procedures.

Actions taken after clear of plane in a crash or ditch.

Realization There Is a Problem and Communication With ATC

Early recognition of the emergency and prompt contact with ATC are vital.

Curse

Don’t loose valuable time accept the reality.

The sooner ATC is notified, the quicker search and rescue forces can be on the way, and you are more likely to be rescued. Also, ATC can give you vital information that might help in ditch such and wind and sea condition..

The most important information to get out is your location. Know how to get your position on your nav aids. If not give the best fix you can.

ALWAYS KNOW YOUR POSITION WHILE FLYING

OVER WATER. IN AN EMERGENCY THERE

MAY NOT BE TIME TO TRY AND FIGURE IT OUT.

Make Plane and Self Ready to Ditch

Transmit MAYDAY.

Assure ELT is turned on.

Assure all seat belts have been fastened and are tight.

Tighten all Life Vest straps.

Remove shoes only if they are a egress hazard or may damage raft.

Secure or Jettison all loose items.

Doors unlocked and ajar if possible

Review emergency exits and how to operate them.

DitchingRemember, never inflate raft or PFD until clear of

the plane

Have passengers assume the crash position no more then one min before touchdown,

Read the wind and the seas. Touch down in such a manner as to have the minimum rate of deceleration

and what's best for your plane design.

The typical light plane will take only about 100 feet to stop, if that much.

Two Additional Things to Carry.

Seat Belt safety knife.Velcro knife to the vest of shoulder harness itself.

One hand open, or fixed blade knife.Keep in a place of easy access where it can be reached with one hand.

Getting Wet.How will the plane react to ditching.

The plane may skip on impact with the water. If this happens warn everyone to stay in crash position and keep flying the aircraft at all times.

The plane may nose into the water, briefly submerge and come to an abrupt stop. It is not unusual for the windscreen to cave in and water inundate the cabin. Be forewarned and don’t inadvertently swallow this water.

The aircraft may flip over ending up on its back.

No matter what happens, Maintain the crash position until all forward motion stops. Don’t panic. It is easy to become disoriented from the water rushing in.

Egress.Steps to egress

Establish good reference point.

Remove all gear except seat belt.

Locate exit doors and windows open if needed

Reestablish reference point.

Take deep breath if possible

Count to 8

Release seat belt

Hand over hand to exit.

NEVER GO BACK INTO TO THE PLANE TO HELP ANOTHER PERSON, REMAIN

OUTSIDE, REACH IN AND PULL.

Safely OutIf you exited the aircraft under water head for the surface follow your air bubble or inflate your vest. Remember to keep a hand above your head incase you encountering debris.

Get clear and upwind of the aircraft as soon as possible, but stay in the vicinity until the aircraft sinks.Get clear of fuel-covered water in case the fuel ignites.Try to find the other survivors

You are in a survival situation.

Life Raft

Inflate life raft First person inflate floor raise canopyHelp remaining crew members into raft Inventory gearEstablish leaderAssign response abilitiesFirst aid Keep busy and maintain positive attitude

Life raft not available

Muster with crew Tether yourselves together Inflate vest If water temp is below 98.6 assume the HELP

position Inventory gear and activate signaling devisesPost look out for predatorsMaintain positive attitude

Help Position.(Heat Escape Lessening Posture)

Hot Weather Considerations

• Cover your skin, wear possible use sun block

• Rig a sun shade or canopy

• Drink plenty water.

Cold considerations

• Rig a wind break or spry shield

• Give extra rations if available

• Huddle to maintain body temp.

• Put on anti exposure suit if available

• Apply ointment for wind burn

Psychology of Survival

• Tips to survival.

• Accept your situation.

• Act like a survivor.

• Don’t give up.

• Be positive.

• Pray.

•Survival is a state of mind between inaction and panic. Training drives us to action and

decreases fear.

Seven Steps of Survival

• Recognition.

• Inventory.

• Shelter.

• Signals.

• Water.

• Food.

• Play.Stranded 5 months on

the ice, 22 men survive on the Endurance..

Signals.You are pre-supplies with signaling devices, use them to get attention and get rescued.Turn on your EPIRB. Have flares ready.Use flares when target sighted. Use signal mirror and sea dye marker. Be creative to get your self found.In short do all the things that we wish people would do when YOU are looking for them.

Man in raft as seen at

night

RescueRescue is the final stage of your survival situation. Rescue can be a traumatic experience. Emotions on both sides of the missions can be high. You may be tired from your survival ordeal. Now that you have signaled for help and they have arrived relax and let the rescuers take the lead.

If there is more then one person in distress, the rescuer will take the neediest first and come to you in turn.

If rescued by a helicopter, there will be a lot of wind and confusion, don’t panic, close your eyes and experience a ride up the cable.

Conclusion.

•Ditching can be a very survival experience if you are prepared.

•Have the correct training.

•The correct gear.

•The correct frame of mind.

•And a will to survive.