Survival & First Aid

Survival

Survival doesn’t just happen by chance, it is generally the result of good preparation and practice. First and foremost you should have yourself and your aircraft in ideal shape to prevent ever needing to survive.

However, even with the best planning occasionally emergencies arise. This section does not deal with emergency procedures inflight, other than we would like to reiterate, be ready, practice often and take proper precautions. So let’s assume you have done everything right and you are still put in the situation where you have a forced landing or accident and are required to survive until you are located.

  1. *Stay with the aircraft, aircraft are easier to find than people.
  2. *Activate ELT early immediately, and or use mobile phone.
  3. Conserve mobile battery incase location is not clear once emergency services arrive.
  4. *Always have water and first aid on board. Stop any bleeding immediately with pressure.
  5. Ration water, no use drinking it all only to urinate it back out. Carry more water in hotter weather.
  6. *Seek protection from the heat and cold, under a wing if it is your best option, or nearby shrubs
  7. Any physical work such as creating a shelter should only be done once the day cools significantly
  8. Hunger – you will survive without food for weeks so don’t worry about food and certainly don’t eat anything that may make you sick or poison you.
  9. If wreckage is hidden in vegetation find a nearby clearing to signal searching aircraft.
  10. If in cold weather find protection for hands feet and head, stay out of wind and keep dry.

 

First Aid

Please note this is not designed to be a first aid course. But these are the minimum you must know.

Escape danger from fuel or other hazards, but do not move injured patients if unnecessary as they may have broken limbs or spinal injuries.

Stop bleeding with pressure and elevation.

Monitor airways, breathing and circulation (skin colour and/or pulse)

Resuscitate if necessary with 2  breaths and 30 compressions per 30 seconds – refer to your first aid training