What Happens if You Fall from 30000 Feet?

Picture yourself at an altitude of 9000 meters, peeping out of the window of the plane when without warning, you are in free-fall. Frightening isn’t it? Only a handful of individuals have ever walked away from such an impact and hold on a second there, you are probably asking: How on Earth do such people even , if any, survive? Is it something I can do? Let us think about what could happen if you dropped from an altitude of 30,000 feet (9 km) and what you could do in such.

The Few Who Made It

Vesna Vulovic is a name you should know. In 1972, this particular woman happened to survive a fall from the sky from 10 kilometers (33,000 feet). When one of the bombs went off on J.A. T. airways flight 367, Vesna the flight attendant was seated in the back of the plane. She was trapped behind a food service cart in the tail section which was largely undamaged when it hit the ground. The tail of the aircraft had to plow through the snow capped mountains of Czechoslovakia and the thick snow acted as cushioning which spared her life. She broke some bones, but wedged within one of the records, that of the world’s highest fall sans parachute.

And she wasn’t the only one to have a miraculous escape. Back in 1943, air gunner Alan Magee plummeted from approximately 6.7 kilometers (22,000 feet) after his plane came under fire in World War Two. Hitting this structure, disoriented, he further sank into a glass concourse of a railway station wider than a skylight, supporting above his weight. Certainly, glass does not appear to have much clarity when looking for a cushion; however, it was all that saved Magee from death.

Why Do Few People Survive At 30000 Feet

Now, this is the point whereby one sits up with their mouth agape. Leaping from 30000 feets (close to 9000m) is astonishingly different from simply stepping forward and missing a step on the stairs. The air pressure at this altitude level would be any where between -40 degree Colsius to -57 degree Colsius (-40 Fahrenheit to –70 Fahrenheit.) And within seconds after they put you at that pressure you feel cold and within a few seconds most people are going to start losing all their body heat and they are going to feel extremely cold very quickly.

The reduction in altitude also results in reduction of oxygen levels in similar proportions. While even air consists of an average of 20.9% for example being oxygen, due to low pressure of the air, it hardly feels as if there is any at all. In all likely, a person will go unconscious relatively part of time soon after a hypoxia state occurs after leaving the plane.

But don’t be afraid, after a few seconds later you will lose your consciousness as you are going in a head rush towards the earth where the compressing pressure air surrounds you. This might occur after about a minute of free fall. Now, you are fully conscious and everything is in a reverse direction as you fall towards the ground at high speed. What happens next?

Achieving Or ‘Reaching’ Terminal Velocity

As subjects to be criticized the speed should be touched upon. While falling, you will accelerate downward at a rate of 9.8 meters per second squared due to the force of gravity. In no time, you would achieve terminal velocity – the highest possible speed one can attain while in free fall. For an average human, this would be about 190 km/h (118 mph) from 30,000 feet (9 km). This is a result of the air resistance which acts on your body in opposition to your fall. The more forward speed you achieve the more air is pressed in front of you and beneath your body pushing upwards which eventually counteracts the force of body down towards the center of earth This is usually the point where your fall rate ceases to decline.

In your case your terminal velocity might slightly increase or decrease depending on your physical dimension. A more stout individual has a higher possibility of a faster descent. If you spread your arms and legs out, thereby increasing the surface area exposed to the air, it is possible to increase drag and slow the free fall down. Yet, it is still evident that coming down moderately will not give one the joy that jumping into a bed of cotton wool would.

Do you have the ability to stop your fall?

Yeah, at least to some level. Do you remember those stray flying scenes in movies where sky divers steer their bodies? That’s somewhat achievable. You can, to some extent, change your body posture in order to influence the angle of your descent and also change directions or spin. Your best move, however, is to self-rotate in a spread-eagle position — arms and legs stretched out. This increases drag and causes the body to slow down thus allowing you some more time to figure out the best landing position.

But here comes what you have all been waiting for: where is the ground? Certainly, in such situations you know you wouldn’t want to see anything hard — a floor, bare ground, rocks or some trees (yes, like in many cartoons). Snow and trees have been the Gibson clouds in many close encounter accidents. But then again, the trees are a double-edged sword. They may cushion the impact, but they may also turn against you. When there is no cushion, be prepared for a feet first landing.

Landing Tactics: The Proper 5-Point Impact Sequence

It’s impact time. So what is the best way to do a landing? As much as possible, concentrate on landing on your feet with legs close together and knees relaxed. This is called the ‘5 point impact sequence’. In this position, you aim to land on your feet, using your legs to absorb impact and then rolling to your side or back to spread out the momentum. It may very well help save your internal organs and more importantly, your skull.

Of course, it’s going to hurt − a lot − everybody understands that. But at this stage, surviving damage is all that matters, not preventing it. You are enduring pain and risk of injury to your process so that your vital organs can have a fighting chance.

Why Do Some People Survive 30000 Feet in Km Falls But Others Don’t?

But why do some people manage to survive, whilst others do not? Chance accounts for a lot. In all of the documented instances, more or less a survivor alighted on some soft structure or belt or was cushioned by some of the wreckage. A different consideration is how they met the ground. Survivors who land on their feet have better survival chances than those who land flat.

Our bodies are tough; however, there is no biological characteristic that prepares humans for falling from an altitude of 9 km. Even practiced jumpers would never take such leaps without a safety device. Still, there are fascinating stories about sheer human determination and will to live and that is why we are here.

Last Words: Is It Gloom And Doom For You?

The positive fact is that this kind of situation does not occur too often. These days there is very little threat when it comes to flying with commercial airlines and you would have to be very unlucky to be in a position where you are plummeting down from an altitude of 30,000 feet 9 km. Nevertheless, knowing a couple of tips on how to endure a plane crash will not hurt anyone. When one looks through the pages of history, a phenomenon of the sort sometimes, one dares to expect, takes place.

Thus, the next time you go out to board the plane, please settle in, calm your systems and get back to the flight. And perhaps be in search of some deep powdered snow, if it happens that way.