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Forgive me if this is a dumb question, as I have no experience with helicopters or scuba diving. But wouldn't it be easier and dramatically safer to just keep

Forgive me if this is a dumb question, as I have no experience with helicopters or scuba diving. But wouldn't it be easier and dramatically safer to just keep emergency scuba equipment onboard that might give you ~15 minutes or so of breathable air to give you time to deal with the situation? Full scuba tanks might be impractical, but something with a small supply of air probably wouldn't take up that much space.

BoorishBears 9y ago
If you can barely remove your harness and get out, odds are you won’t be able to locate scuba equipment and use it
jetcata 9y ago
If you’re not scuba trained this is going to be pretty useless. Breathing from an oxygen tank whilst being unable to see (no mask), and constantly and steadily breathing as you descend and ascend take training. Not to mention the shock of the cold water and having to remember all this scuba training info. I think it would be useless for anyone that’s not an expert scuba diver, better to improve the harness so that passengers can actually release themselves.
lb1lf 9y ago
It is not a dumb question. Depending on where you're embarking from, equipment like this may already be available - though not with a 15-minute supply, more like a minute, perhaps. When I've flown from Norway in latter years, our survival suits (worn throughout the flight) have been equipped with a rebreather device - you bite down on a mouthpiece connected to a plastic bag integrated in your suit, and as you exhale into the plastic bag, you can then draw the same air back in again - no CO2 scrubbing. The mouthpiece is equipped with a valve which lets you breathe normally while above water; you then close it as you are submerged and breathe into the bag until you've reached the surface again. The idea being that this will do for a minute or two - and in that minute, you're either out of the wreck or dead. (I've asked the simulator instructor how long we spend underwater - he shrugged and said 'On average, six to fifteen seconds' - so a minute is a long, long time.)

BoorishBears 9y ago

If you can barely remove your harness and get out, odds are you won’t be able to locate scuba equipment and use it

jetcata 9y ago

If you’re not scuba trained this is going to be pretty useless. Breathing from an oxygen tank whilst being unable to see (no mask), and constantly and steadily breathing as you descend and ascend take training. Not to mention the shock of the cold water and having to remember all this scuba training info. I think it would be useless for anyone that’s not an expert scuba diver, better to improve the harness so that passengers can actually release themselves.

lb1lf 9y ago

It is not a dumb question. Depending on where you're embarking from, equipment like this may already be available - though not with a 15-minute supply, more like a minute, perhaps. When I've flown from Norway in latter years, our survival suits (worn throughout the flight) have been equipped with a rebreather device - you bite down on a mouthpiece connected to a plastic bag integrated in your suit, and as you exhale into the plastic bag, you can then draw the same air back in again - no CO2 scrubbing. The mouthpiece is equipped with a valve which lets you breathe normally while above water; you then close it as you are submerged and breathe into the bag until you've reached the surface again. The idea being that this will do for a minute or two - and in that minute, you're either out of the wreck or dead. (I've asked the simulator instructor how long we spend underwater - he shrugged and said 'On average, six to fifteen seconds' - so a minute is a long, long time.)