In the book, I describe how a launch abort system could end up killing the crew on an otherwise-nominal flight. Here’s a real-life example of someone who was killed by a safety device.
I recall that my late grandmother (she’d be almost a hundred and twenty now if she’d lived) refused to wear a seat belt, because she was afraid she’d end up being trapped in the car.
Safety is more about probabilities than absolutes. There have been cases of people surviving falls from great heights without a parachute or with a terribly chute malfunction but the odds are against it. Gravity usually wins. A launch abort system is similar to an ejection seat – attempted suicide to avoid certain death. You certainly never want to use one but if you need it, you need it bad and right now. Just as ejection seats have their failures and limitations, so will launch abort systems.
That’s the same area of Wales the SAS uses for its survival course. Even the SAS loses someone up there every few years. Rough country.
Aviation example c. 1970:
Marine A-4 lands, is taxiing in when throttle problem and traffic confusion leads to imminent collision with fuel truck. Pilot fires Zero-Zero ejection seat. Seat fails to separate at top of 200-foot arc, chute does not deploy, pilot is killed. (Collision does not result in explosion or fire.) Cause was eventually determined to be improper design of seat retention mechanism and failure to properly test it before production.
This incident was (like so many aviation accidents) a long chain of problems, but ultimately the pilot was killed by a failed safety mechanism.
It’s worth noting that, while ejection seats are usually very effective at saving aircraft crews, they kill quite a few engineers who don’t follow the correct maintenance procedures. They also kill aircrew now and again when they go off by themselves in flight.
Ejection is so violent that the person’s spine is seriously compressed. At high speeds, the windblast almost tears the body apart. There has been only a small number of survivable supersonic ejections. Still, if you’re facing certain death by remaining in the plane, the ejection seat offers a chance of survival.
I blew through a stop sign making a right turn in front of one of our five local cops. Thanks to my brother I know them all. I refuse to wear a seat belt so he was going to write me up for that. I told him, “No you aren’t… just give me the ticket for the stop sign.” Imagine my surprise when that’s just what he did.
Why doesn’t the law require us to all wear helmets? Wouldn’t that save some lives? We don’t because people would complain and we’ve forced manufacturers to include passive restraints (I will never own one of those vehicles.)
It’s just more nanny statism.
I have been in a number of accidents, a few of them even my fault, and each time I was thankful for a seat belt. The one accident I wasn’t wearing one could have been so much worse. Thankfully, it was only a small drop at a low speed or us kids would have been dangling from trees. Hmm I guess there was another time when we hit some Air Force genius who stopped his transam in the middle of the road during a snow storm. Might have gone through the windshield if I hadn’t been laying down in the back back seat. Instead I only got slammed into the seats in front of me.
A buddy of mine was cavalier about seat belts. When he wrecked his car, his childhood friend went through the windshield and was decapitated on a barbed wire fence.
Imagine if when you ran that stop sign, you got t-boned and launched out the window. Was that day really a good day to die? And what if you didn’t die…
I did get T-Boned once. Permanently lost several seconds of memory (from the moment I pulled out of the parking slot to facing the tree. Lost was entering the road in my green spider (not the Mazda, don’t remember maker.) Hit by truck in driver door above frame and hit tree a few feet off ground (a twofer.) Still holding bent steering wheel when I came to. 2/3rds of seat folded over me. Parking sticker in back window and I survived. Nothing else did. Nailed the tree forming a perfect V. It had passive restraints but reviewing accident (I hired a forensic guy) they didn’t do anything for me. Had green paint embedded in my shoulder from outside of car!
Most accidents I’ve been in my dad was driving and I never wore a belt. He had some doozies like the time we were hauling railroad ties that ended up on top of us. I’ve actually driven out of most potential accidents (I’ve had brakes fail on several of my old clunkers. Brake hoses don’t age well.)
I have seen helmets fly into the road (seen in rear view with other traffic.) Didn’t stick around to see if any heads were in them.
I’ve simply never been in an accident where flying out of the car occurred but I have been in enough that had enough force to do so.
The helmet song.
Article says that guy was told to keep the safety strap inside his vest but refused–had he done that he might be alive.
It also says he was exhausted. I wonder if this was at the end of a long run, or if he was doing something too difficult for his skill/energy level, or what?
Ken, if you wanna not wear your seat belt, that’s actually OK with me, but if you are ever hurt in an accident the insurance company should be able to not pay out.
I always tell people writing Helmet laws, that failure to wear a helmet may be excused
at any time by presentation of a signed organ donor card.
“It also says he was exhausted. I wonder if this was at the end of a long run, or if he was doing something too difficult for his skill/energy level, or what?”
Sounded like the strap was pulling him under. It takes a lot of effort to stay above water and swim against the current while your leg is stuck.
Could be, wodun. The article wasn’t heavy on details–for example it didn’t say how long he struggled; he could’ve been exhausted from that, or from partying too much the night before, or just from a long ride.
I’m not going to go so far as to say it was his fault, but not tucking in the safety strap sounds like it was dumb.
I’d say the largest contributing factor was recklessly taking on canoeing when the river was at a peak flow condition due to extreme rainfall induced by climate change.
River conditions were at a 1% probably flow conditions and the watercraft were unable to safely navigate it
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/apr/30/climate-change-extreme-rainfall-england-flooding
“when the river was at a peak flow condition due to extreme rainfall induced by climate change.”
Oh give us a fucking break! Stop pissing down our backs and telling us it’s rain.
Rick C,
Yep, it’s called liberty and responsibility. I’m for both.
That’s why people should have a knife handy.