3 Push your legs forward and brace for impact by placing your feet or knees against the chair in front of you.
If you are over water, loosen your shirt (and tie) so that your movement is not restricted when you attempt to swim. Be ready for two jolts: when the plane first hits water and when the nose hits water again.
4 Stay calm and be ready to help yourself.
The vast majority of crash survivors were able to get out either under their own power or with the help of someone already on the plane. Fire and rescue personnel are unlikely to enter the airplane to pull you out.
5 Do not take anything with you.
If you have something you absolutely cannot part with, you should keep it in your pocket and not in your carry-on baggage.
6 Stay low if the plane is on fire.
Follow the exit procedures described in the safety briefing. Illuminated floor lights should indicate the exits: the lights are red where exit rows exist.
HOW TO DEAL WITH A CANCELED FLIGHT
Do not stand in line.
When a flight is canceled, for any reason, hundreds of people line up at the ticket counter for rebooking. Ignore them and find a telephone.
Go to the airline’s Web site.
Find another flight online. If you do not have access to the Internet, call the airline or your travel agent to find a seat on the next flight going to your destination.
Book a new flight.
Carry a list of all airlines that fly to your destination. The airline on which you are ticketed may not be able to rebook you on a later flight or might not be the airline with the next available flight. Go to the Web sites of other airlines, or call them to book a seat on a convenient flight. Depending on the ticket you originally purchased and its restrictions, it might be simpler and faster to purchase a new ticket on a different airline and not use your original ticket. If you purchase a new ticket, proceed directly to the new airline’s gate.
Have your ticket endorsed.
If you have made a reservation on a different airline but have not purchased a new ticket, you will need to get your existing ticket endorsed over to the new carrier. You will have to stand in line at the counter of the airline that canceled the flight, but you, unlike others in line, will already have another flight arranged.
Save unused ticket information.
Unused reservations, one-way or round-trip, may be credited toward another flight on the same airline or, in some cases, refunded.
WARNING!
When flying within the United States, know Rule 240, which covers what an airline will do for you in the event of a fight delay or cancellation. Legally, airlines must compensate only ticketed passengers who arrive on time but are denied a seat. In the event of a lengthy fight delay or cancellation, airlines as a matter of good public relations generally will provide passengers a hotel, a meal, a free phone call, and other amenities (be sure to ask if they’re not offered) or arrange fights on another airline. Check each airline’s Web site for its delay/cancellation policies.
If you know you will be traveling on a busy holiday weekend to a very busy airport, and especially if there is the possibility of severe weather, book a room in an airport hotel; you will be ready if your fight is canceled. Check the hotel’s cancellation policy, so that you are not charged for an unused room, and be sure to cancel the room if you don’t need it.
Do not use electronic tickets if there is a chance of bad weather, labor problems, or security delays. The computer systems of different airlines cannot communicate with one another, so e-tickets cannot be endorsed from one airline to another. A paper ticket must first be issued, extending the amount of time you will have to spend at the ticket counter.
Carry on your bags whenever possible. If your luggage has been checked through to your final destination but you encounter delays, you may not be able to switch your luggage’s fights and airlines as easily as your own.
8
Oh S#&%t!
EXTREME
EMERGENCIES
FALLING FROM GREAT HEIGHTS
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HOW TO SURVIVE A FALL DOWN A FLIGHT OF STAIRS
1 Lower your center of gravity.
When you sense yourself falling, crouch low to the floor.
2 Do not attempt to break your fall.
Avoid using your hands to try to break your initial fall. The weight of your body, in conjunction with the gravitational forces of the fall, may break your wrists.
3 Move to the inside wall.
As you fall, keep your body close to the wall of the stairway, if there is one. You are more likely to catch an arm or a leg in the banister (or fall through or over it) than to injure yourself on the wall.
4 Tuck.
Move your arms, legs, hands, and knees in close to your body. Tuck your chin to your chest. With your elbows tucked in, place your hands on the sides of your head.
5 Roll in a zigzag pattern.
Concentrate on rolling on your major muscle groups: lats (back), deltoids (shoulders), quads (thighs), and gluteus maximus (rear end). Avoid rolling head over heels, straight down: your increasing momentum may cause injury, even with your body positioned correctly. Instead, roll in toward the wall on one shoulder, then out toward the banister on the other. Repeat the pattern until you reach the bottom. A zigzag roll will help you reduce speed and maintain control. Do not attempt the zigzag roll on a stairway with an old, rickety banister, an open railing, or no banister at all.
6 Check for injury.
Do not get up immediately. Slowly move each limb in turn to make sure nothing is broken. If you are in extreme pain, yell.
HOW TO SURVIVE IF YOUR PARACHUTE DOESN’T OPEN
1 As soon as you realize that your chute is bad, signal to a jumping companion whose chute has not yet opened that you are having a malfunction.
Wave your arms and point to your chute.
2 When your companion (and new best friend) gets to you, hook arms.
Roll in toward the wall on one shoulder, then out toward the banister on the other.
3 Once you are hooked together, the two of you will still be falling at terminal velocity, or about 130 miles per hour.
When your friend opens his chute, there will be no way either of you will be able to hold on to one another normally, because the G-forces will triple or quadruple your body weight. To prepare for this problem, hook your arms into his chest strap, or through the two sides of the front of his harness, all the way up to your elbows, and grab hold of your own strap.
Hook arms with your companion. Then hook your arms into his chest strap, up to the elbows, and grab hold of your own.
4 Open the chute.
The chute-opening shock will be severe, probably enough to dislocate or break your arms.
5 Steer the canopy.
Your friend must now hold on to you with one arm while steering his canopy (the part of the chute that controls direction and speed). If your friend’s canopy is slow and big, you may hit the grass or dirt slowly enough to break only a leg, and your chances of survival are high. If his canopy is a fast one, however, your friend will have to steer to avoid hitting the ground too fast. You must also avoid power lines and other obstructions at all costs.
6 If there is a body of water nearby, head for that.
Of course, once you hit the water, you will have to tread with just your legs and hope that your partner is able to pull you out before your chute takes in water.
How to Prepare
Check your chute before you jump. The good news is that today’s parachutes are built to open, so even if you make big mistakes packing them, they tend to sort themselves out. The reserve chute, however, must be packed by a certified rigger and must be perfect, as it is your last resort. Make sure of the following:
The parachute is folded in straight lines—that there are no twists.
The slider is positioned correctly to keep the parachute from opening too fast.
HOW TO SURVIVE IN A P
LUMMETING ELEVATOR
1 Flatten your body against the car floor.
While there is disagreement among the experts, most recommend this method. This should distribute the force of impact, rather than concentrate it on one area of your body. (Standing may be difficult anyway.) Lie in the center of the car.
2 Cover your face and head to protect them from ceiling parts that may break loose.
WARNING!
Hydraulic elevators are more likely than cable elevators to fall. These elevators are pushed from the bottom by a giant piston, similar to car jacks at service stations. Because the jack is subject to ground corrosion, it can rot, which could eventually cause the car to fall. The height of hydraulic elevators is limited to about 70 feet, so a free fall would probably result in injury—but not death.
Elevators have numerous safety features. There have been very few recorded incidents involving death from plummeting elevators. In general, it is highly unlikely for a cable (also called traction) elevator to fall all the way to the bottom of the shaft. Moreover, the compressed air column in the elevator hoistway and the car buffers at the bottom of the hoistway may keep the forces of the impact survivable.
Jumping just before the elevator hits the bottom is not a viable alternative. The chances that you will time your jump exactly right are infinitesimally small. Besides, the elevator will not remain completely intact when it hits—it will likely collapse around you and crush you if you are in the middle of your jump, or even if you are still standing.
Lie flat on the floor in the center of the elevator, covering your head for protection.
CHEMICALS
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HOW TO DEAL WITH A SUSPICIOUS WHITE POWDER
Hold your breath.
As soon as you see suspicious white powder, stop inhaling. Anthrax spores are generally fatal only when inhaled in large numbers.
Do not crouch on the floor.
Unless aerosolized as a bioweapon, anthrax spores fall to the ground and stay there when released. Stand on a table or chair when handling the envelope or other container of the spores to reduce the chance of inhalation—when the spores fall to the floor, you’ll be farther from them.
Stay upwind of the letter or parcel.
Anthrax spores travel on wind gusts. Hold the envelope or container away from you and downwind of any air vents or room fans. If outside, leave the envelope in place and get inside. Close all windows and doors.
Cover your nose and mouth.
For the best protection, wear a gas mask capable of filtering particles of one to five microns in size. If no gas mask is available, use a surgical mask or bandanna to cover your nose and mouth.
Do not wash clothes or disinfect surfaces.
Detergents may increase the virulence of anthrax spores.
Call the authorities to report the incident.
WARNING!
Anthrax cannot be transmitted from person to person, so it is safe to warn people around you of the danger.
Anthrax spores may cause localized infection if they enter the body through the skin, especially through a cut. Wear rubber gloves when handling a suspect letter or parcel.
HOW TO SURVIVE ACID RAIN
Stay covered
When walking in rain or fog in a heavily industrial area, wear several layers of clothing, as well as a poncho and face mask. Carry an umbrella.
Cover your car.
Keep your car under a tarp or other protective coating anytime you are not driving it, to prevent acid etching the paint. Wash and hand-dry the car immediately after you drive it and after every rainstorm.
Stay above and upwind of a suspicious white powder.
Eliminate fish from your diet.
Lake-dwelling species such as bass, perch, and crayfish are directly affected by the lowered pH balance and increased aluminum in their habitats created by acid rain, and this toxicity is passed on to the humans who eat them.
Add limestone to the soil.
Human food crops such as corn and wheat can be severely damaged when acid rain lowers the pH balance of the soil. To counter these effects, add lime and fertilizers to your fields to restore nutrients leached out by acid rain.
Get an inhaler.
A high incidence of acid rain has been correlated with high incidences of respiratory ailments such as bronchitis and asthma.
Wear night-vision goggles.
Areas with a lot of acid rain are also hazier, due to high concentrations of particulate matter in the atmosphere. To see long distances through the haze, use an infrared viewing device.
Switch to wind power, and tell your neighbors to do likewise.
The burning of fossil fuels for heat and energy releases sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide into the atmosphere, creating acid rain. Mass shifting to alternative forms of energy, such as wind and solar power, would drastically alleviate the problem of acid rain.
WARNING!
Acid rain is the result of elevated levels of nitric acid and sulfuric acid in the atmosphere, almost always as a result of pollution from the burning of fossil fuels. There is no strict chemical definition of “acid rain,” but a pH balance of less than 5.7 is generally considered acidic.
Regions of the world heavily affected by acid rain include the northeastern United States, Central Europe, and eastern China.
Acid rain cannot directly impact human health. The presence of acid rain, however, signals the presence of particulate matter in the air, which causes a raft of respiratory problems in humans.
HOW TO DRIVE THROUGH A CHEMICAL SPILL
1 Extinguish any cigarettes.
Many hazardous chemicals are highly combustible. If you are smoking, stub out the cigarette completely in your ashtray. Make sure all embers are fully extinguished. Do not throw a lit cigarette out the window.
2 Turn off the air circulation systems.
Make sure the heat, air-conditioning, and all blower fans are off and vents are closed. These systems will bring contaminated outside air into the car.
3 Shut the windows.
Make sure all windows (and the sunroof, if you have one) are fully closed.
4 Cover your mouth.
Tie a handkerchief, cloth napkin, or bandanna around your head so the fabric covers your nose and mouth. Do not wet the fabric beforehand: some gases and vapors are attracted to water and may combine with it to form dangerous and/or unstable compounds.
5 Monitor your speed.
In most cases, you should drive though chemical hazards at a moderate speed. However, when driving through a dry chemical spill, move extremely slowly (less than 15 mph) to avoid kicking up plumes of toxic dust.
6 Drive uphill and upwind of the spill site.
Once through the spill, continue driving away from it. Many dangerous gases are heavier than air and will tend to settle in low-lying areas. Get to a higher elevation immediately.
7 Abandon your car.
When you are uphill and upwind of the spill, at least half a mile away and in an unpopulated and low-traffic area, leave your car, which is now contaminated. Use caution when getting out, and do not touch any external surface.
8 Run.
Proceed uphill and upwind of your car as quickly as possible. Do not crawl.
9 Inform authorities that your vehicle and possibly your person are contaminated.
WARNING!
It is always safer to turn around and drive away from a spill rather than through it. Do not drive through a spill unless you are instructed to do so or have no other choice.
HEPA and other microfilters used in the air circulation systems of some cars are not effective protection from toxic substances.
Household Chemical Poisons
SUBSTANCE RECOMMENDED TREATMENT
Ammonia Administration of humidified oxygen; dilute with milk and water.
Rat poison Injection of vitamin K.
Sodium hypochlorite (common in household cleansers, bleach) on skin or eyes Flush with wate
r for minimum of 15 minutes.
Sodium hypochlorite swallowed Water or milk, unless person is choking.
Chemical burns Remove clothing; flush with cold running water.
Rubbing alcohol Keep upright until stomach can be pumped.
Never give ipecac syrup or otherwise induce vomiting, regardless of what has been consumed.
EXPLOSIVES
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As soon as you realize you are in danger, do not proceed. Back up slowly in your own footsteps.
HOW TO NAVIGATE A MINEFIELD
1 Keep your eyes on your feet.
2 Freeze—do not move any farther.
3 Look for spikes, detonators, wires, bumps, or discoloration in the ground around you.
4 Avoid spikes, detonators, wires, bumps, or discoloration in the ground, and back up slowly in your own footsteps.
Do not turn around. Walk backward.
5 Stop when you are certain you are safe.
HOW TO IDENTIFY AND AVOID MINEFIELDS
Ask locals.
Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) technicians, and local women and children are the best sources of information (in that order) for where danger zones are located.
Observe animals.
Field animals are considered de facto minesweepers. Fields with large quantities of mutilated animals, untouched by people, may indicate a minefield.
Ultimate Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook Page 38