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That’s sad. I can only imagine the amount of panic they must have went through. I wonder what other fatal accidents have been caused by dropped electronics suc

That’s sad. I can only imagine the amount of panic they must have went through. I wonder what other fatal accidents have been caused by dropped electronics such as iPads and iPhones getting stuck under accelerators and brake pedals in cars and long haul trucks as an example. There’s obviously distracted driving as well which is a major problem.

criddell 3y ago
I flew recently and part of the pre-flight announcement now is if you drop a phone or other electronic device between seats, do not try to retrieve it. Call a flight attendant and let them retrieve it. Apparently, people have dropped their phone then while trying to retrieve it, moved the seat and bent the phone, puncturing the battery.
- edgineer 3y ago
  In this case it was not the attempt to retrieve the tablet that caused the accident, it was being unable to reach it to remove it from being jammed in the pedals.
- Edd314159 3y ago
  I did this a few years ago during taxi before take-off, in a business class seat on a flight to Tokyo (I’m not bragging, it’s literally the only time in my life I’ve ever not flown economy) I had to move to another seat when I wanted to recline it for sleeping, because the crew (quite rightly) didn’t want my iPhone getting chewed up in the mechanism. Despite me using my Apple Watch to make the “find me!” ping sound, nobody could find it during the flight, so they had to partly dismantle the seat when we landed. It was all very embarrassing, I had to stand there for 20 minutes watching ground crew take it apart. I didn’t dare tell anyone that I didn’t turn it onto airplane mode before I dropped it.
  - ghaff 3y ago
    While the consequences are less severe, losing them in the seat is one reason I absolutely will not use wireless earphones when flying. I did drop a phone once into a seat but the flight attendant was able to recover it. > didn’t dare tell anyone that I didn’t turn it onto airplane mode before I dropped it. I try to remember if only to preserve battery life but I'm willing to bet the vast majority of people don't.
    - cjrp 3y ago
      My wife dropped her engagement ring in to a China Airlines seat. Luckily, since it was a flight to Taiwan, we were able to use chopsticks to retrieve the ring from inside the seat!
  - Scoundreller 3y ago
    Don’t feel bad. I once almost superglued my hand to a seat while deplaning. (And partly superglued my pants to my leg). Pressure changes have interesting impacts on “sealed” containers!
    - jacquesm 3y ago
      Imagine walking around for a while with a Lego 2x4 glued to your palm... not that I would know anything about that.
HeyLaughingBoy 3y ago
In most cases with highly trained professionals, panic is very unlikely. Too busy working the problem in front of them to panic.
fullstop 3y ago
My neighbor, a photographer, was on a tour group which took three helicopters up and only two returned. [1] They had an aftermarket restraint system to tether the passengers in and they were required to cut the restraint to free themselves in case of emergency, or unbuckle the tether from behind them which was time consuming. One passenger's restraint accidentally engaged the emergency fuel shut off lever, and by the time the pilot figured out what had happened it was too late to correct things and he was forced to land in the river. None of the passengers were able to cut the restraint to free themselves, and all five drowned. It's not really the same as dropped electronics but it's an example of a safety system gone awry. 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_New_York_City_helicopter_crash https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_New_York_City_helicopter_...
- fouc 3y ago
  > ground crew were responsible for attaching and detaching a locking carabiner to the back of each passenger's supplemental harness at the start and end of each flight. ugh, so short sighted!
  - oh_sigh 3y ago
    Not only were the supplemental harnesses nearly impossible to get out of by yourself in an emergency situation, but the supplemental harness is what triggered the crash in the first place, by getting stuck on the fuel shutoff lever. I wonder how many lives those supplemental harnesses have saved, versus the 5 they cost here.
    - fullstop 3y ago
      > I wonder how many lives those supplemental harnesses have saved, versus the 5 they cost here. If the story were changed and a handful of people accidentally fell out of a helicopter, we'd be asking why they weren't strapped in.
- msie 3y ago
  Ugh, the location of the fuel shutoff lever. It should be within easy reach of the pilot but not the passenger!
sirshmooey 3y ago
Tangentially related, there’s Eastern Air Lines Flight 401. The flight crew unwittingly crashed the plane while preoccupied with a burnt out landing gear confirmation light. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Air_Lines_Flight_401 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Air_Lines_Flight_401
13of40 3y ago
Can't remember where I read it, but I heard a theory a long time back that people freaking out about spiders and insects in their cars could account for a significant number of unexplained car accidents. I wonder if we've ever had an aircraft accident because of that.
- smilespray 3y ago
  Last month, I got a speeding ticket because I was distracted by a mosquito...
  - partdavid 3y ago
    That must have been a fast mosquito!
    - smilespray 3y ago
      Fast and bloodthirsty.
- whinenot 3y ago
  I once had a wasp hiding near my center console start stinging my arm as soon as put my arm down as I started driving. Fortunately, I was still in my residential neighborhood so I was able to pull over and jump out of the car without causing an accident but it's easy to imagine the poorer consequences had I been a little further in my journey.
  - jacquesm 3y ago
    > it's easy to imagine the poorer consequences had I been a little further in my journey. The wasp would have been fine. Makes you wonder how many cause unknown single vehicle crashes where the driver dies are the result of insects.
    - whinenot 3y ago
      Some people may view this scene[0] as overly dramatic, whereas I think it's perfectly understandable once it happens to you. [0]https://youtu.be/nJ_pVgV1EZQ?t=216 https://youtu.be/nJ_pVgV1EZQ?t=216
interestica 3y ago
> I wonder what other fatal accidents have been caused by dropped electronics such as iPads and iPhones getting stuck under accelerators and brake pedals in cars and long haul trucks as an example. Toyota recalled 38m cars because of potential for mats stuck under gas pedals. With at least one fatal incident: https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2009/09/toyota_recalls_38_million_cars.html https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2009/09/toyota_recal...
- duckmysick 3y ago
  The linked article says 3.8 million, a difference of one order of magnitude.

criddell 3y ago

I flew recently and part of the pre-flight announcement now is if you drop a phone or other electronic device between seats, do not try to retrieve it. Call a flight attendant and let them retrieve it. Apparently, people have dropped their phone then while trying to retrieve it, moved the seat and bent the phone, puncturing the battery.

edgineer 3y ago
In this case it was not the attempt to retrieve the tablet that caused the accident, it was being unable to reach it to remove it from being jammed in the pedals.
Edd314159 3y ago
I did this a few years ago during taxi before take-off, in a business class seat on a flight to Tokyo (I’m not bragging, it’s literally the only time in my life I’ve ever not flown economy) I had to move to another seat when I wanted to recline it for sleeping, because the crew (quite rightly) didn’t want my iPhone getting chewed up in the mechanism. Despite me using my Apple Watch to make the “find me!” ping sound, nobody could find it during the flight, so they had to partly dismantle the seat when we landed. It was all very embarrassing, I had to stand there for 20 minutes watching ground crew take it apart. I didn’t dare tell anyone that I didn’t turn it onto airplane mode before I dropped it.
- ghaff 3y ago
  While the consequences are less severe, losing them in the seat is one reason I absolutely will not use wireless earphones when flying. I did drop a phone once into a seat but the flight attendant was able to recover it. > didn’t dare tell anyone that I didn’t turn it onto airplane mode before I dropped it. I try to remember if only to preserve battery life but I'm willing to bet the vast majority of people don't.
  - cjrp 3y ago
    My wife dropped her engagement ring in to a China Airlines seat. Luckily, since it was a flight to Taiwan, we were able to use chopsticks to retrieve the ring from inside the seat!
- Scoundreller 3y ago
  Don’t feel bad. I once almost superglued my hand to a seat while deplaning. (And partly superglued my pants to my leg). Pressure changes have interesting impacts on “sealed” containers!
  - jacquesm 3y ago
    Imagine walking around for a while with a Lego 2x4 glued to your palm... not that I would know anything about that.

HeyLaughingBoy 3y ago

In most cases with highly trained professionals, panic is very unlikely. Too busy working the problem in front of them to panic.

fullstop 3y ago

My neighbor, a photographer, was on a tour group which took three helicopters up and only two returned. [1] They had an aftermarket restraint system to tether the passengers in and they were required to cut the restraint to free themselves in case of emergency, or unbuckle the tether from behind them which was time consuming. One passenger's restraint accidentally engaged the emergency fuel shut off lever, and by the time the pilot figured out what had happened it was too late to correct things and he was forced to land in the river. None of the passengers were able to cut the restraint to free themselves, and all five drowned. It's not really the same as dropped electronics but it's an example of a safety system gone awry. 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_New_York_City_helicopter_crash https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_New_York_City_helicopter_...

fouc 3y ago
> ground crew were responsible for attaching and detaching a locking carabiner to the back of each passenger's supplemental harness at the start and end of each flight. ugh, so short sighted!
- oh_sigh 3y ago
  Not only were the supplemental harnesses nearly impossible to get out of by yourself in an emergency situation, but the supplemental harness is what triggered the crash in the first place, by getting stuck on the fuel shutoff lever. I wonder how many lives those supplemental harnesses have saved, versus the 5 they cost here.
  - fullstop 3y ago
    > I wonder how many lives those supplemental harnesses have saved, versus the 5 they cost here. If the story were changed and a handful of people accidentally fell out of a helicopter, we'd be asking why they weren't strapped in.
msie 3y ago
Ugh, the location of the fuel shutoff lever. It should be within easy reach of the pilot but not the passenger!

sirshmooey 3y ago

Tangentially related, there’s Eastern Air Lines Flight 401. The flight crew unwittingly crashed the plane while preoccupied with a burnt out landing gear confirmation light. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Air_Lines_Flight_401 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Air_Lines_Flight_401

13of40 3y ago

Can't remember where I read it, but I heard a theory a long time back that people freaking out about spiders and insects in their cars could account for a significant number of unexplained car accidents. I wonder if we've ever had an aircraft accident because of that.

smilespray 3y ago
Last month, I got a speeding ticket because I was distracted by a mosquito...
- partdavid 3y ago
  That must have been a fast mosquito!
  - smilespray 3y ago
    Fast and bloodthirsty.
whinenot 3y ago
I once had a wasp hiding near my center console start stinging my arm as soon as put my arm down as I started driving. Fortunately, I was still in my residential neighborhood so I was able to pull over and jump out of the car without causing an accident but it's easy to imagine the poorer consequences had I been a little further in my journey.
- jacquesm 3y ago
  > it's easy to imagine the poorer consequences had I been a little further in my journey. The wasp would have been fine. Makes you wonder how many cause unknown single vehicle crashes where the driver dies are the result of insects.
  - whinenot 3y ago
    Some people may view this scene[0] as overly dramatic, whereas I think it's perfectly understandable once it happens to you. [0]https://youtu.be/nJ_pVgV1EZQ?t=216 https://youtu.be/nJ_pVgV1EZQ?t=216

interestica 3y ago

> I wonder what other fatal accidents have been caused by dropped electronics such as iPads and iPhones getting stuck under accelerators and brake pedals in cars and long haul trucks as an example. Toyota recalled 38m cars because of potential for mats stuck under gas pedals. With at least one fatal incident: https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2009/09/toyota_recalls_38_million_cars.html https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2009/09/toyota_recal...

duckmysick 3y ago
The linked article says 3.8 million, a difference of one order of magnitude.