Just a thought...

[per_solo]

But, after the plane landing in the Hudson River, all news articles are talking about how "Rare" it is for a plane to successfully ditch like that...

So, why do seats double as flotation devices? Is this yet another thing to make us feel "safe" until we notice articles like that? WTF?

Comments

[crysthewolf.livejournal.com]

Is it that a water landing is rare, or is it that a SUCCESSFUL water landing is rare? 'Cause I always figure by "in case of a water landing" they really mean "in case we crash our asses into the ocean".

[mihrimah.livejournal.com]

Because not all people have neutral buoyancy.

So are the news articles saying that it's rare for a plane to land in the water and not break up on impact, or that it's rare for a plane to land in the water at all? aviation-safety.net has a database of various events, and even though the "forced landing - ditching" category has 200 recorded, it does go back to 1944 and it's global. How many planes across the world take off and land every day with nothing more dire happening than the cabin crew running out of chewing gum?