View Full Version : Swimming
Tony_Soprano17
1st May 2006, 17:53
Just wondering do you have to be able to swim to be a professional airline pilot? I heard you have to do a roll and dunk in a swimming pool to train i.e. your rolled over in a recreated cockpit and dunked into a swimming pool then u must free yourself and swim to safety. The thought is quite frightning, wondering is there any merit to. I can just about swim, i dont really have a natural comfort in the water, but i really want to become pilot so getting over this is something i would force myslef to do.
Any help much appreciated.
scroggs
1st May 2006, 18:24
You must be able to swim. As part of your training, you will be required to swim to and board an aircraft liferaft in a swimming pool. You will probably have to be fully clothed for this swim, which may be 50 or 100 metres. You may also be required to right an upside-down liferaft, which must be done from underneath the raft. Obviously, for this you need to be comfortable in water.
The overturned cockpit scenario is normally restricted to helicopter crews; I've not heard of a UK airline requiring such a test.
Scroggs
It depends on the type of aircraft you are training for!
We dont have life rafts but we were required to swim in shorts and tshirt with a lifejacket on, and do other exercises....as scroggs said, that dunking thing wasn't required!
itsbrokenagain
1st May 2006, 21:44
In my most recent case for a biz jet it was about a 10 m swim to a liferaft with and without a lifejacket on, once was bail out the water from the raft , the other was to turn it over and reinflate it with the pump, and another scenerio we have to go thru was to rescue a unconcious person, drag them into the raft and then collapse in a heap from exhaustion ! They also just for the fun of it made you wear a pilots outfit complete with leather shoes ( very wet ones at that, but you were allowed to peel off clothes and shoes when in the water if you wanted), and they also had a sprinkler system at one point spraying you ! and its not a one off, at my company its a once every 2 year event.
So better go find a pool and get swimming!
Remember that ad on TV many years ago for the Royal Navy Dunker, used to scare the sh1t out of me, and the instructor always finished with "And now you're gonna do it all over again!" ahh the memories.
The other one was in the movie "An Officer and a Gentleman" with the high speed ditching simulator and one of the pilot's lost his nerve.
Maude Charlee
12th May 2006, 08:34
It all depends on your operator. My wet drill consisted of nothing more than jumping in a swimming pool, in swimming kit not clothing, inflating the life jacket and doing a few simple exercises while gently bobbing around.
No dunking, no life rafts, nothing tricky or difficult at all. Shame really, because I love messing about in the water.
However, I would suggest that learning to swim, or improving your standard is a useful exercise. If nothing else, it is a good aerobic workout.
Wertzy
26th May 2006, 21:00
Is there a JAR-OPS requirment saying that pilots has to be able to swim?
TolTol
26th May 2006, 21:03
Whether there is or there isn't, don’t you think it would be a good attribute for a pilot to be able to swim?
Wertzy
26th May 2006, 22:27
Well, I am a pilot, and I dont swim. Would be interesting to know if this is stated in JAR-OPS, or if its just desireable from the operators point of view.
It has never been an issue during my training at least.
BEagle
27th May 2006, 07:27
In pre-JAA days, a mate of mine described the Virgin Atlantic requirement as being particularly challenging....
It involved being 'rescued' in a nice, warm pool by a bevy of lovely bikini-clad Virgin stewardesses and assisted into a life raft.
Needless to say, it took quite a few attempts before the exercise was satisfactorily completed!
scroggs
27th May 2006, 08:40
It was hard, BEags, believe me! :p ;)
Scroggs
Flying Farmer
27th May 2006, 09:16
As posted before it depends on the airline.
I did mine this week. We donned lifejackets, jumped in and inflated jacket swam two lengths. That was it, no life rafts to worry about because our aircraft dont carry them.
Hmmm no cabin crew either to mop our furrowed brows :{
Megaton
27th May 2006, 09:24
Top tip in our company is always be last in the life raft ie after helping and watching all the cc get in first ;) ;) ;)
BigGrecian
27th May 2006, 16:37
All JAR Ops-1 states is :
(c) Water Survival Training.
An operator shall ensure that water survival training includes the actual donning and use of personal flotation equipment in water by each cabin crew member. Before first operating on an aeroplane fitted with life-rafts or other similar equipment, training must be given on the use of this equipment, as well as actual practice in water.
(1) Emergency evacuation training includes the recognition of planned or unplanned evacuations on land or water.
So looks like most operators go beyond the legal already.
Whether it's sensible to be able to swim anyway is another issue.
BEagle
27th May 2006, 18:42
It was hard, BEags, believe me!
From what I've seen of the lovely Virgin Atlantic ladies, that doesn't surprise me!
Bealzebub
27th May 2006, 20:47
Most airlines would epect you to be able to swim. In an emergency you are expected where possible to be an integral part of the solution not an additional problem. Obviously very embarrasing if the Captain or First officer couldn't help much because they couldn't swim themselves. Likewise downroute there is ample opportunity for a sea or pool related incident to arise where your ability in this regard might actually prove to be a lifesaver.
Best not to be embarassed by this but to get down your local swimming pool and sign up for lessons for your own benefit. As regards being dunked in submersible simulators. I think that was something reserved for military training and oil rig workers etc. Airline training tends to be limited to life jacket and raft training in the local swimming pool.