“She was in the water for half an hour before the first responders arrived, and life vests are made to keep the survivors head OUT of the water, unless of course the airline only supplied flotation devices, which do NOT work that way and only assist the survivors to FLOAT. I doubt if flotation devices would serve the applicable safety regulations.”
The article I posted above has the testimony of the pilot, who said he tried to get the seat cushion flotation devices, but lost them in the ocean. He gave his life jacket to one of the passengers, so they must not all have been wearing life jackets, if that was necessary.
I believe Fuddy was wearing one, but that doesn’t mean she was just idly bobbing in the ocean, like the poster I was responding to seemed to be suggesting. The oceans were rough, and even with a vest, they were struggling to stay together. Also, we have testimony that she was panicked before she got separated, so she surely was more panicked after being separated, so I doubt she was just floating along, not swimming or treading water.
“Better make sure you know the difference before you describe how about a quarter of the people that drown every year are, in fact, found wearing life vests.”
I was just pointing out that it’s not even rare for people to drown while wearing life vests, which is a fact. The suggestion was made that, since the vests are designed to keep someone’s head above water, they’d be fine not treading in rough seas, and relying on the vest. Obviously, if so many people are drowning while wearing the things, they are not so foolproof.
Your language suggests to me that you are a slippery character who is capable of bending circumstances and words to suit the ends. The pilot gave his life jacket to a passenger who was exiting the aircraft without one. And then the pilot attempted to use the seat cushions as flotation devices, he threw them in the water, but they floated away. Had he held on to them, he would have been able to use them. Instead, he held onto one or more of the other passengers to help him stay afloat.
And don't add IF THAT WAS NECESSARY. The pilot obviously thought it was nescessary, that's why he gave his lifevest to the passenger who didn't have one.
Check the regulations. What kind of life vests it is mandatory for aircraft to carry. That will tell you if it's possible to drown wearing one after stepping into the water from an undamaged aircraft after a belly landing in choppy water without any visible whitecaps, in such a short period of time.
So what are the circumstances of these ppl who are dying while wearing life vests? Are they floating in frigid water? Are they battling storm seas of fifteen or twenty feet? How long do they remain in the water prior to drowning?
You’re really not providing much info. If a person, for example, fell into Lake Superior wearing a life vest, he/she wd die in a fairly short space of time, barring a very quick rescue. The water is frigid even in summer. If they fell in during heavy seas, the odds of survival are close to zero. Unless & until you provide more info re: the circumstances under which the life-vest-wearing ppl are drowning, your statistics have little to no bearing on the Fuddy case.
Fuddy’s deputy director, Keith Yamamoto, told the priest (who gave last rites to Fuddy afterwards)that he had held Fuddy’s hand to help calm her down, until she let go and became unresponsive. She was distressed before she had any time to have physical effects from the water. She did not die of drowning. She died or became responsive BEFORE drifting off, so no, she was not treading water at any time and the drifting happened without any action on her part.