> Let's say your jet blows apart at 35,000 feet. You exit the aircraft, and you begin to descend independently. Now what? First of all, you're starting off a full mile higher than Everest, so after a few gulps of disappointing air you're going to black out.
Not mentioned is the fact that at 35k feet, the average temp is around -40 to -55 degrees Celsius. I don’t know if it would kill you, but you’d probably freeze some skin, and if you try to look you might freeze your eyeballs. It will be hard to move muscles after sixty seconds of 120mph freezing wind.
I’m curious if the passing out part is true. It certainly might be. My experience skydiving is that I would get light headed and seeing stars at 18k feet unpressurized, and the instant I jumped out of the plane, everything got better. Seemed like the force of the air in my face somehow packed all the oxygen I needed. 35k is very different from 18k, obviously.
* Oh yeah, and speaking from experience, I know it’s hard to see straight without wearing goggles when in free fall. I forgot to put them on once before jumping. Never forgot again after that.
>I don’t know if it would kill you, but you’d probably freeze some skin, and if you try to look you might freeze your eyeballs. It will be hard to move muscles after sixty seconds of 120mph freezing wind.
Thanks, what a crazy story! I started it, and they mention this incident happened at 17k feet, so isn’t subject to the kind of freezing temps you’d see at cruising altitude, right? People skydive from 18k feet all the time. Haven’t finished yet because it’s long, but does it say something later about surviving cold at higher altitudes? (Edit I did hear now that it was -17C at the start before they dove lower… wild!!)
You have 30-60 seconds at 35k. At 18k you'll feel it but you'll be down long before it's serious. (Although if it was unpressurized for the climb I wonder how much of the time you used up that way.)
Real world data--a guy punched at such altitudes and lost his oxygen in the process. Blacked out, came to on the way down. Amazing survival--he was supersonic at the time and punched without blowing the canopy.
Not mentioned is the fact that at 35k feet, the average temp is around -40 to -55 degrees Celsius. I don’t know if it would kill you, but you’d probably freeze some skin, and if you try to look you might freeze your eyeballs. It will be hard to move muscles after sixty seconds of 120mph freezing wind.
I’m curious if the passing out part is true. It certainly might be. My experience skydiving is that I would get light headed and seeing stars at 18k feet unpressurized, and the instant I jumped out of the plane, everything got better. Seemed like the force of the air in my face somehow packed all the oxygen I needed. 35k is very different from 18k, obviously.
* Oh yeah, and speaking from experience, I know it’s hard to see straight without wearing goggles when in free fall. I forgot to put them on once before jumping. Never forgot again after that.