This is insane.
At least 5 redundancies failed: the Ram Air turbine, primary and secondary ejection sequences, the parachute, and his survival pack went missing. And yet Mr. Judkins survived maybe because he had spleen removed. Amazing.
I Fell 15,000 Feet and Lived
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Re: I Fell 15,000 Feet and Lived
#12Awesome read.
Can anyone explain the quote below? I don't really understand how the minesweeper understood the signal.
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The Coast Guard amphibian gained altitude and flew off. (I learned later that he headed for a squadron of minesweepers that was returning to the United States from a tour of the Western Pacific. He was unable to tune to their radio frequency for communications. But this ingenious pilot lowered a wire from his aircraft and dragged it across the bow of the minesweeper, the USS Embattle. The minesweeper captain understood the plea, and veered off at top speed in my direction.)
Re: I Fell 15,000 Feet and Lived
#13This is insane. At least 5 redundancies failed: the Ram Air turbine, primary and secondary ejection sequences, the parachute, and his survival pack went missing. And yet Mr. Judkins survived maybe because he had spleen removed. Amazing.
Actually the RAT worked (the emergency electrical generator).
My team is working on building one of these auxiliary generators right now, fun project.
Earlier this year I deployed a RAT by mistake (poor mechanical design) and I believe it died as we were flying too fast for it (poor electrical design)
Re: I Fell 15,000 Feet and Lived
#14What about Luke Aikins, who jumped without a parachute into a net from 25000 feet. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qF_fzEI4wU
Re: I Fell 15,000 Feet and Lived
#15As with almost everyone who survives, note the missing spleen
What is this referring to?
Re: I Fell 15,000 Feet and Lived
#16What about Luke Aikins, who jumped without a parachute into a net from 25000 feet. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qF_fzEI4wU
Not parachute related, but the story is Juliane Koepcke, sole survivor of a plane crash, is worth a read as well: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juliane_Koepcke
Re: I Fell 15,000 Feet and Lived
#17What about Luke Aikins, who jumped without a parachute into a net from 25000 feet. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qF_fzEI4wU
Jesus christ
Re: I Fell 15,000 Feet and Lived
#18Awesome read. Can anyone explain the quote below? I don't really understand how the minesweeper understood the signal. --- The Coast Guard amphibian gained altitude and flew off. (I learned later that he headed for a squadron of minesweepers that was returning to the United States from a tour of the Western Pacific. He was unable to tune to their radio frequency for communications. But this ingenious pilot lowered a…
My guess was that the signal was an inprovised “hey! follow me”. But, I have precisely zero expertise.
Re: I Fell 15,000 Feet and Lived
#19Awesome read. Can anyone explain the quote below? I don't really understand how the minesweeper understood the signal. --- The Coast Guard amphibian gained altitude and flew off. (I learned later that he headed for a squadron of minesweepers that was returning to the United States from a tour of the Western Pacific. He was unable to tune to their radio frequency for communications. But this ingenious pilot lowered a…
I think it was mostly a matter of people asking "what is that Coast Guard amphibian rescue plane trying so hard to tell us?" and that question having a very short list of likely answers.
Re: I Fell 15,000 Feet and Lived
#20As with almost everyone who survives, note the missing spleen
What is this referring to?
> If your spleen has ruptured, you may need a splenectomy immediately because of life-threatening internal bleeding. A rupture may be caused by a physical injury, such as being hit by a car, or by an enlargement of your spleen.