Plane Crash-Case Study
Three of my closest friends and I take off from San Juan, Puerto Rico, heading for a down island on a flight expected to last 1.5 hours. The commuter plane is propeller powered and seats 8. The pilot keeps us informed during the trip. The pilot tells us that a tropical storm made an unforeseen shift in our direction and may interfere with the flight path. The pilot then decides to adjust for the storm. One hour into the flight a localized storm develops. Lightening hits the plane and partially disables it. The pilot attempts an emergency landing.
My friends and I wake up to the following scenario: We were physically okay, and on the beach of a small island. The plane, partially submerged offshore, is incapacitated both mechanically and electrically. The pilot and co-pilot are dead. The small island we are on is about a mile from a larger landmass across the water.
San Juan, Puerto Rico
English: Streets in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico.
San Juan, Puerto RicoThe island we are on contains vegetation.
Other than being a bit shaken up, we were in a panic state of mind. I decided it was time for me to take charge of the situation. I reminded everyone that last we heard a tropical storm was heading in our direction. We all then realized that we needed to come up with a plan of what we needed to do to survive until we can get rescued.
We knew that when the lightening had hit the plane the pilot never sent a "mayday". He was too busy trying to control the aircraft and the co-pilot was knocked unconscious from the shock. Right away an idea came to mind while I was brainstorming. I knew one of my friends was very good with electronics so we needed to attempt to get the radio...