Comments on: Episode 37: Escape Slide Parachute

By: Mrmot

Mrmot — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 10:11:28 +0000

Not only did Vesna Vulović survived, but she recovered from her injuries. Although she had three broken vertebrae, she was only temporary paralyzed.
Bizzar fact was that she was not sheduled for that flight, but due to some clerical mixup, she was there instead of another attendant with the same first name.

By: Wild Cobra

Wild Cobra — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 04:49:51 +0000

I finally saw a rerun of episode 37. They buted the myth wrong. The 5 PSI pressure is absolute pressure, not gauge. They used guage pressure with is about 4 times higher than absolute. You see, the atmosphere is about 14.7 PSI at sea level. At that height, it is about 5 PSI. To simulate that pressure at sea level, you need a pressure of -9.7 PSI. Not +5 PSI!

The primary difference I can thing of is how the flammable hair gel reacts at lower pressure. the vapor point is far different, and may become even more explosive.

By: Buzz

Buzz — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 19:22:05 +0000

I’d like to see Mythbusters revisit the falling tail episode. The posted “myth” info is here.

On January 26, 1972, a Yugoslav Airlines DC-9 departed from Copenhagen for Belgrade (via Zagreb) with 28 passengers and crew. At an altitude of approximately 33,000 feet, a bomb in the cargo section planted by the Ustashe Croatian separatist group exploded. The plane disintegrated and fell into the mountains below. In what must be one of the greatest survival stories of all time, stewardess Vesna Vulovic survived the 33,000 foot descent in the tail section of the plane. She had a fractured skull, two broken legs, and three broken vertebrae – one of which was crushed and left her paralyzed from the waist down.

I was a tail gunner (B-52) and I remember the other falling without parachute stories in training. However we were told that the tail is the safest part of any aircraft. It’s light and has no fuel or other combustibles.
The error that Adam and Jamie make is cutting off the stabilizers or fins.
The fins are what allow the tail to flutter of fall into a flat spin when disconnected from the aircraft. Slowing its decent.

By: Flight

Flight — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 14:57:21 +0000

Does anyone else have any experience with this?

By: dewey

dewey — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 01:09:47 +0000

Hey ask jamie to try a diete plan your friend dewey tackett.

By: Justin

Justin — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 04:45:28 +0000

There is a number of WW2 myths, not sure how confirmed or not they are, about the tail gunners in the large bombers, ie B17 Flying Fortresses, B24 Liberators, B29 Superfortresses, etc, having survived the fall from flight hight after the tail section was separated relatively cleanly, usually from impact from another aircraft, or from ack ack (antiaircraft) fire. Maybe the mythbusters might want to check this one out again?

By: Andrew

Andrew — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 08:31:30 +0000

I’m a licensed pilot and it’s part of my training that petroleum products, lip balms being the primary offenders, are not to be mixed with pure oxygen at any time. Apparently, the petroleum reacts with the supplemental oxygen in a way that is dangerous, or at least very painful, to the wearer.

Could this possibly be a part of the hair gel myth? Did the tested products products contain petroleum? Thanks.

By: mike g

mike g — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 22:57:14 +0000

A columbian girl survived falling in a swamp strapped to a seat from a airplane that desintegrated mid-air, if I recall properly, slim…