Monday, February 05, 2007

oxygen masks

Before an airplane takes off, you are given instructions. If the oxygen masks deploy, and you have children, you must put your own mask on FIRST, then, after you have secured your own oxygen, you are to assist your child or children with their masks.
.
It just doesn’t feel right. What would you do?

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

I hope I NEVER have to find out!!!

Anonymous said...

If you don't put your mask on first, you won't have enough oxygen to put on all your children's masks. That's how I understood it. Kind of flies in the face of all those mothers who go without food so their children can eat, though. Doesn't it?

Llama Momma said...

I would put my own mask on first, and my kids right after. With three kids, who's to say I would get all of their masks on without oxygen myself??

I'd take a bullet for any of my kids. But I won't do anyone any good if I'm passed out on a plane only half-done with my kids' oxygen masks!!

Martin Stickland said...

I have three gate photos for you but I must be thick because I cannot find your email adess via your blog.....can you give me a clue?

M

Anonymous said...

I think your question parallels another.
If your wife and child are drowning and you can only save one of them, whom do you save?
At first, it seems to ask "whom do you love more?".
I believe these types of questions actually ask, "How big is your view?"
There's a difference between sacrifice and unecessary sacrifice.
If you don't put on your mask first, you may lose consciousness and won't be able to help your child.
If you put it on first, your child may momentarily lose consicousness, but will revive once air is re-introduced.

Lara said...

Don't you think that's exactly why they give those instructions? Because if they don't tell you to be prepared to do the opposite of what instinct tells you, you will follow your protective instinct. I wish more of the tough decisions in life were spelled out for us like that.

Even So... said...

Do as they say...
and as I pray...
get with it quick...
that is the trick ...

L.L. Barkat said...

Oh, don't make me think about flying.

Craver Vii said...

Is Even so… trying his hand at prestidigitation? That sounded like an incantation.

I’ve done alright in past emergencies. …Don’t panic. First things first. One step at a time. Everything’s gonna be fine…

When I’m on a plane and they give the instructions for the emergency exits, I find myself wishing that I could sit there, because I’m sure I could do the best job if someone needed to keep a cool head and stay until the last person was out. But since I’ve never experienced a major airplane problem, my confidence is built on an imaginary foundation.

It would be quite awkward though, since I’ve been trained to serve others before myself, to put my own mask on first. It feels like I ought to put my own mask on last. The procedure makes sense though.

We are planning another missions trip to the Philippines this year. Considering the whole oxygen mask thing, I will try to avoid sitting next to the younger guys… they’re liable to try and pull my mask off just for kicks.

jazzycat said...

While one can become unconscious in a matter of a minute or so depending on exactly how high you are, the pilot will immediately descend to a safe altitude where oxygen masks will not be needed. This of course could take a few minutes, so to avoid unconsciousness and death it is best to put the masks on. Barring any other problem with the aircraft, the problem is solved once the airplane is below around ten thousand feet.

Craver Vii said...

Yeah, great... 'cause I want to be fully aware of everything should that bird drop out of the sky.

Heyyyy, maybe they can print a gospel tract on the masks:
"When you die, do you know where you're going?..."

I know. It's tacky.

Martin Stickland said...

Hope you got the pics!

Anonymous said...

Remember that show with Leslie Neilson, Robert Stack, and Lloyd Bridges?........"I picked the wrong week to quit sniffin' glue....."

Anonymous said...

This reminds me of something my dad told me that made me feel a lot better about flying. My dad's a pilot for FedEx.

When you have a problem in a car, there's not much room for error. There are many things you can run into quite easily.

When you have a problem in a plane, there is usually a long time before you hit the ground. And during that time you can usually recover.

This may not make people feel better.

Craver Vii said...

Thanks for your comment, Friend of Craver. I must save that to prove that I have a friend. The question comes up a lot among my coworkers. Now I can say, “See!”

Your idea may not be so bad. It can be included with the “You’re about to die…” gospel tract. I don’t like spray glue though; it has a bad stigma. How ‘bout laughing gas?

Mark, it makes perfect sense to me. When I worked with murals, I used to say that I was not afraid of heights, only afraid of falling. Then someone told me he wasn’t afraid of heights OR falling… it’s the sudden stop after the fall that gets ya! (splat!)

Anonymous said...

I know this is over a year too late, but just found it on google and wanted to comment! In training, I believe they told us you have about 15 seconds after a decompression before you could lose consciousness due to the lack of oxygen. The plane would be shaking and making noises, and it would be a scary, confusing scene. So if you don't put your mask on first, you're all basically screwed. It would be tough though, but it is for the kids safety as well as your own :)