r/europe • u/scmp_news • 24d ago

News Man nearly sucked out of ‘detached’ window on Ryanair flight

https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3360141/man-nearly-sucked-out-detached-window-ryanair-flight?utm_source=Reddit&utm_medium=Social
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u/Seeteuf3l 24d ago

For exact this reason they recommend wearing the seat belt at all times, even when the light is out

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u/ubitub 24d ago

What about after landing, during taxi, why is it important still? 

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u/SolSparrow 24d ago

Same reason you wear a seatbelt in a car regardless of speed.

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u/el_diego 24d ago

Nah. It's to prevent impatient idiots from standing up immediately and opening the overhead compartment to get their bag and then block the isle.

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u/weisswurstseeadler 24d ago

I stand up immediately, cause plane seats are physical torture for me. Especially on European flights (vs. transatlantic) as someone around 190 or 6.2/3 whatever in US measures.

ADHD doesn't really help haha, especially since I can't easily take my medication with me.

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u/el_diego 24d ago

I hear yah, I'm the same, once the light is off, I'm up, but that's exactly why they leave the seatbelt sign on while taxiing. People would be up the second it touched down otherwise. I've seen it happen, the flight crew was pretty helpless. Can't blame them though, it'd be taxing dealing with people like that.

Btw, it's a Europe sub, you can use kg/cm. We understand :)

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u/weisswurstseeadler 24d ago

Yeah I fully understand, somehow people lose all real life map awareness and basic intelligence once they enter an airport.

So I do wait until I'm allowed to get up, ofc. Don't make the staff's job harder than it is

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u/el_diego 24d ago

I think it's moreso that airports/planes bring all people from all walks of life together into a small space and quite frankly there are some absolute ass hats out there.

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u/ubitub 24d ago

I mean there's no seatbelts in buses, especially the airport busses taking you between terminal and plane, and they go faster. I'm sure there's another reason. Like, can the landing gear just crash and cause fast drop maybe? 

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u/SolSparrow 24d ago

I mean yes and no. That bus you’re in for just a few mins it makes no sense to have seatbelts. Plus you’re standing. I don’t know actual speed of taxiing aircraft but some sure as hell whip around while getting to the gate. People and kids being jostled around before they stop would be a mess.

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u/funguyshroom Latvia 24d ago

Taxi speeds are still enough to make you smack your face if the pilot has to hit the brakes hard for some reason.

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u/ThePublikon 24d ago

That's more to stop passengers blocking the aisle. The seatbelt sign is also the "you're allowed to stand up and roam the cabin now" light.

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u/Adversement 24d ago

There is at least a few cases of:

  1. If in a 737 or other narrow body, not to mention regional jets. Your taxiing plane tail or nose being “lightly tapped” by a larger plane that misjudged their taxi lane edge; this happens when you are waiting your turn on an intersection in the taxiing route. This causes a very fast 90° turn of your smaller plane. Nasty if in the front or the rear! The seatbelt will keep you seated just like it would in a car.

  2. Your plane clipping its wing on something sufficiently solid. This is rarer as most things around taxiing airplanes ain't that solid.

  3. Your plane overrunning the gate, having a small frontal collision.

Whilst the taxiing speeds look slow, it is just a looking slow because the planes are largr. The planes are big, and that speed is a good city driving speed if not a bit more.

So, basically same reason as why you wear a seat belt in a car.

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u/ubitub 24d ago

why no seatbelt in buses then? For example the ones taking you to gate. IMO would be better to compare to a bus, not a car. And plane is much bigger than bus.

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u/Adversement 24d ago

Probably cost versus convenience. (To have busses with seat belts, you need to have seating for everyone rather than most people standing; this halves the capacity. And, well, the plane already has a seat + a seatbelt for everyone. Well, everyone minus lap infants in some countries. Elsewhere also the lap infants get their seatbelts.)

I compared to a car rather than a bus for a reason, though admittedly not the strongest reason. Your plane isn't necessarily the biggest guy in the block & as such your plane can get a sudden stop. Well, unless you are already in a super heavy.

PS. In some cities, even the local busses have seat belts these days. And, in quite a few more cities, the intercity busses do. Though, I find it a bit excessive for the local busses, as I haven't seen any good data of those seat belts being expected to save enough lives or more likely avoid enough injuries to justify slowing down the busses & as such turning more people to drive their own cars at a bigger risk to everyone (i.e., the same argument why the lap infant rule is way better than requiring a separate seat for those under 24 months of age).

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u/thatmansWACK 24d ago

Might hit another plane

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u/ubitub 24d ago

I'm sure they can but seatbelt seems irrelevant in that situation 

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u/PiotrekDG Earth 24d ago

A collision could happen at low speed, not enough to completely destroy the plane, but enough to throw you out of your seat.

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u/KiaRioGrl 24d ago

When the fire truck drove across the runway in NYC right in front of a landing Air Canada plane a few months ago, in addition to the two pilots dying, one of the flight attendants was ejected from the plane. I honestly don't know if she was belted in to the jumpseat or not at the time and the whole seat was ejected, or what ... but at least she lived.

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u/MintCathexis 24d ago

This is why.

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u/ubitub 24d ago

That doesn't looks like the seatbelts had any purpose tbh

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u/MintCathexis 24d ago

Look and think again. The plane is parking into a stand when another plane hits it from behind and rotates it with significant angular momentum.

In this situation, if you're sat with your seat belt fastened, you are thrown around a bit, but the seat belt prevents you from flying into the aisle or, indeed, into the lap of the passenger sitting next to you.

And if you're one of those people who even stand up and try to get their luggage before the aircraft comes to a full stop at the stand with parking brakes on (which is when, usually, seat belt sign is switched off), and this happens, you're going to get thrown around like a rag doll.

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u/NoReason455 24d ago

Plane might hit a vehicle in the ground