It’s a pretty frightening scenario for a man-made flying object weighing more than 100 tons to break down and head towards the ground with its passengers at a very fast pace. In fact, we wouldn’t be wrong if we say that such thoughts are the reason why most people are afraid of getting on a plane. Because of these fears, thoughts such as “if you jump when the plane is about to crash, you will be saved” have been circulating for a long time.
But is this really possible? If we jump right when these planes, which travel hundreds of kilometers per hour, are about to hit the ground, will we have a chance to survive? We can also apply the math of the situation in question to out-of-control elevators and vehicles. Now, let’s remove the question marks by adding physics to the work.
An object loses momentum when it comes to a sudden stop, but this lost momentum is transferred to other objects it is in contact with: Let’s give the Earth as a chaotic example
It is known that the rotation speed of the Earth is about 1600 kilometers per hour in the Equatorial region. When you go towards the poles, this speed decreases. There is no organ in our body that would allow us to notice this speed, but our planet is constantly spinning around at this speed. In other words, while you are reading this article, you are on an object that rotates around itself at a speed of 1,600 kilometers per hour.
If our planet were to stop even for just a second, this sudden stopping action would take the momentum from the planet and direct it towards the things it comes into contact with, namely us. There is no doubt that this speed, which is suddenly loaded on you, will turn things into chaos. We would be seeing structures, vehicles and people flying around. So what does this have to do with the plane crash?
A landing aircraft can cruise at over 200 kilometers per hour, and as long as you are in the aircraft you will be at the same momentum:
Together with our world, we are moving at the same speed. Just like when we get in the car, our body is moving at the same speed as the car. In this case, the fact that the car is carrying you does not change the fact that you are traveling at the same speed.
This is also the case with airplanes that travel much faster than cars. If an airplane is traveling at 800 kilometers per hour in the air, it means that you in the plane are moving at the same speed.
Now our plane crashes
Now let our plane crash. Since there are so many variables, it is impossible to say anything definite about the falling speed of the planes. In addition, it is known that although the engines of the planes do not work, they can glide for a considerable time thanks to their structure. Of course, this is up to the skill of the pilot. In this case, we assume that there is no skilled pilot and that the plane crashes.
Planes travel at an average speed of 800-900 kilometers per hour. During the decline this will decrease considerably, but it will still be well beyond ground vehicles. If you choose to jump just before our plane hits the ground, the speed it accumulates until it crashes will suddenly drop to zero due to the collision.
But the speed of you who are not waiting in your seat with your seat belt and preparing to jump remains the same as the speed at which the plane crashed. If you do the calculation wrong and forget to jump, when the plane’s speed drops to zero, you’ll retain the previous high speed and you’ll be fatally skimmed.
So if I calculate correctly and jump at the right time, can I survive?
No, you are unlikely to survive in the situation we give. Let’s put it simply like this: Let our plane fall at a very high speed. That high speed will still be on you. When you try to jump, you will be resisting this huge speed. But you can think of this resistance as coming with a plastic bottle to put out a forest fire.
Because if the plane -for example- is traveling towards the ground at 500 km/h, it means you are also traveling towards the ground at 500 km/h. In this case, your jump will have such a low impact that your fall speed will probably not even approach the 490 km/h level. That means you’re still at lethal levels.
In other words, contrary to popular belief, jumping just as the plane crashes to the ground will not create a simple effect as if you were jumping where you are.
What to do if jumping won’t work?
The safest thing you can do in this situation is to fasten your seat belts and sit in a safe position in your seat so as not to endanger the safety of other passengers. Because airframes and seats can minimize the impact that will reach you in the event of an accident.
Of course, in some cases, unfortunately, the inevitable will be waiting for those on the last plane. But with simple physics, we can tell you that most of the time the way out of a crashed plane will be to fasten your seat belt and sit in your seat. In addition, imagine that everyone is trying to jump. When this happens, it is obvious that there will be much greater chaos than usual.
The same logic can be applied to elevator and vehicle accidents. But as we said, there are too many variables to consider in such situations. We explained it under the simplest conditions. Your chances of surviving in elevators or vehicles where slower speeds may be involved may change.
Finally, we can say that there is no need to worry about the elevator. Because the current elevators are equipped with brake systems and shock absorbers.
References: 1, 2, 3, 4
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