Being in a car crash, or being in a plane crash?

[KillerKingBakudan 702]

If you're in the car, the brakes are busted, the gas is pedal stuck, the door locks are jammed, and you're forced to maneuver in broad daylight through a crowded street at the fastest speed until you inevitably lose control. If you're on a plane, the fuel tank has been leaked so you would plummet from the highest altitude, and there are no parachutes available.

Neither is a very desirable situation to be in of course. But if you had to travel, and these circumstances were just sprung on you at the last minute, which would you rather be in?

[kinda deleted 224]

Plane crash cuz I'll get famous...

breaking news: 100 people died in a plane crash

[Quinch 1,119]

Car. At the very least I'd be able to donut until I run out of gas or other options present themselves.

[Misty Shadow 7,084]

Car crash. It's less likely to die in a plane crash if what I've been told is true (1 in 11 million odds vs. 1 in 5,000 odds), but with the circumstance you described, I think I'd have better luck surviving trying to swerve the car in a way so that it stops by crashing against something on the passenger's side before I lose control of the wheel rather than hoping for something to cushion my fall to appear below me jumping out of a plane. I'd also rather have it be my own "skill" that saved me as opposed to luck. 

Edited March 7, 2019 by CloudMistDragon

[Monsoon 1,648]

Car, at least that way find the best place to crash and yeet myself from the vehicle

[Meson Bolt 2,647]

Eh... now what kind of plane are we talking about here?

If we're talking about a jet liner, like a Boeing 737 or something, I'd probably pick car, because there's a lot less people who would be hurt. That's the pretty obvious answer. I'd run myself off the road and try to run into a tree or something. Hopefully the air bag does its job.

If we're talking about a small plane, like a Cessna 172, I'd probably pick that instead. If we're falling from maximum altitude (13,000-15,000 feet above sea level, depending on the model), I'd immediately adjust my pitch to try and maintain a steady 68 knots. That should give me a 9:1 glide ratio (for every 9,000 feet I move forward, I'll drop 1,000 feet). That gives me 135,000 lateral feet, or about 25 statute miles to work with before I hit the ground. With that sort of distance, I can probably find something flat to try and land on; a field, or a beach, or an empty road.

[kinda deleted 224]

I prefer car crash. I'd crash into a pillow factory

[SparklingSwirls 21,261]

Car crash. Not nearly as scary as a plane crash, I think.

[Denim&Venöm 16,498]

As was mentioned, depends on the car and plane. Something like a commercial cesna or a bi-plane would be more survivable than a car. 

Then again I could be driving a two seater smart car packed w/ crumble zones and air bags or a model T which doesn't go very fast. 

Overall, i'd still pick the car. People survive car crashes every day. Heck, i'm living proof twice over. 

Not as many people survive plane crashes. 

 

[Dashy 4 Ever 4,832]

Well, I'd rather choose an airplane crash if it's a small one because I can still control the airplane in order to land.

If not, I'd go with the car crash because I'm less likely to die.

[Lucky Bolt 34,914]

I would much rather be in a car crash, cause at least I'd still have a higher chance at surviving a car crash on the ground rather than a plane crash from hundreds of feet up in the air. 

[SharpWit 2,472]

3 hours ago, Meson Bolt said:

Eh... now what kind of plane are we talking about here?

If we're talking about a jet liner, like a Boeing 737 or something, I'd probably pick car, because there's a lot less people who would be hurt. That's the pretty obvious answer. I'd run myself off the road and try to run into a tree or something. Hopefully the air bag does its job.

If we're talking about a small plane, like a Cessna 172, I'd probably pick that instead. If we're falling from maximum altitude (13,000-15,000 feet above sea level, depending on the model), I'd immediately adjust my pitch to try and maintain a steady 68 knots. That should give me a 9:1 glide ratio (for every 9,000 feet I move forward, I'll drop 1,000 feet). That gives me 135,000 lateral feet, or about 25 statute miles to work with before I hit the ground. With that sort of distance, I can probably find something flat to try and land on; a field, or a beach, or an empty road.

Interesting, I was thinking a bigger plane would be better for some reason. Glad someone knows what they're talking about.

[Anneal 2,194]

3 hours ago, Denim&Venom said:

As was mentioned, depends on the car and plane. Something like a commercial cesna or a bi-plane would be more survivable than a car. 

Then again I could be driving a two seater smart car packed w/ crumble zones and air bags or a model T which doesn't go very fast. 

Overall, i'd still pick the car. People survive car crashes every day. Heck, i'm living proof twice over. 

Not as many people survive plane crashes. 

Though comparatively, plane crashes are far less common and it's literally a hundred times safer to ride a plane than a car. Also, the plane accident described is actually quite survivable; the plane can still glide down and find a relatively flat area to land on as safely as possible. 

[Lucid_Nightlight 923]

Car. I could get off the road, and throw it into reverse and back it into something like a tree. This would keep me from taking worst of the impact.

The tree would keep the car from moving, I'd be able to bust the door down or roll down or break the window. Then I would just jump out.

[Dreambiscuit 8,024]

I guess I’d go with car crash. If nothing else I can maneuver into an embankment and try to slow myself down by driving through bushes or other small obstacles until I can stop. If I’m in a plane, having no means to pilot the thing, I’d have no control over my own outcome, and that’s not very desirable when my own life is on the line.  

[Venomous 18,813]

According to elitedaily.com, the chances of an individual experiencing a plane crash is 1 in 5.4 million. Other reports place the odds at 11 million. 

Even though the odds are in my favor, I am still terrified of flying. When I was a child, I watched the scene of the plane crash from the movie Cast Away. Ever since then, I have been nothing but afraid/paranoid on every flight I went on. I recently went on a trip to Mexico for my sister’s wedding and I was a mess the entire flight there and back. 

As for cars... I have been in 2 serious accidents. The first one was not my fault. My exe partner was driving me home and they were speeding. They lost control of the car at a sharp turn and the car swerved out of control, resulting in the vehicle rolling 3 times into a corn field, landing upside down. Thankfully, we both walked away totally unscathed. The second accident was my fault. I wasn’t paying attention and I drove through a red light, crashing into the passenger side of another car. I was going about 45 miles an hour so the impact was pretty rough. The airbags went off and everything. The man who’s car I hit was not injured and neither was I. I was taken to the hospital, however, because I complained of head pain (ya know, potential spinal/head injury). I was fine, though. 

My car:

Considering the two modes of transportation, I would choose a car accident any day. I have seen how some plane crashes have turned out and most, if not all passengers & crew, perish. I know that car accidents can be fatal but I don’t want to die from a plane crash because of the terror that happens prior to the impact. 

[Twiggy 2,965]

Car. I can drift it to where I can damage the rear axle enough that it can no longer turn, stopping the vehicle while minimizing damage to the cab.

Might choose the plane if this guy is my pilot.

 

[Here No Longer 5,270]

Car, definitely. I have a pretty bad fear of flying, not to mention plane crashes are much more lethal than car crashes.

[Cyclone 1066 3,616]

Car: Turn it off in gear. Stops but could very well damage the transmission. I actually had to do this one day when my accelerator stuck. Just reached up, and shut it off, came to a stop, unstuck the pedal, and went about my day.

I don't know if it's me being mechanically inclined or people just not having common sense but if you watch a news report on cars crashing due to stuck throttles or that big Toyota thing a few years back at a shop or at a tech school like I go to, everyone is screaming at the TV "just turn the ignition off dumbass."

Little lesson about car drivelines. If you stop the engine in gear, since the engine is directly linked to the transmission which is directly linked to the drive wheels, when you stop the engine, it stops the transmission, which stops the wheels. Yes it locks up the wheels most of the time but it is easier to control a skidding car to a stop than an accelerating car with no brakes.

[TBD 17,228]

After surviving three car crashes, I”ll take my chance on a car crash over a plane crash.

[Anneal 2,194]

1 hour ago, Cyclone said:

Car: Turn it off in gear. Stops but could very well damage the transmission. I actually had to do this one day when my accelerator stuck. Just reached up, and shut it off, came to a stop, unstuck the pedal, and went about my day.

I don't know if it's me being mechanically inclined or people just not having common sense but if you watch a news report on cars crashing due to stuck throttles or that big Toyota thing a few years back at a shop or at a tech school like I go to, everyone is screaming at the TV "just turn the ignition off dumbass."

Little lesson about car drivelines. If you stop the engine in gear, since the engine is directly linked to the transmission which is directly linked to the drive wheels, when you stop the engine, it stops the transmission, which stops the wheels. Yes it locks up the wheels most of the time but it is easier to control a skidding car to a stop than an accelerating car with no brakes.

Well, both of the accidents described in the original post are survivable with the right know how, so they aren't all that dangerous if you handle it correctly. For the plane crash, you have a good chance of making it through as long as you can glide down and find a flat and open space to land. Fuel exhaustion tend not to be the reason for most plane crashes. 

[RDDash 18,861]

Is there a choice? I'll take my chances with a plane.

 

Edited March 8, 2019 by R.D.Dash

[Props Valroa 26,029]

If I was going to die either way, I'd be damned wanting it to be impressive, so plane crash it is.

[Phosphor 11,522]

Car, because you will not catch me anywhere near an airplane. I'm terrified of flying!

6 hours ago, Cyclone said:

Car: Turn it off in gear. Stops but could very well damage the transmission. I actually had to do this one day when my accelerator stuck. Just reached up, and shut it off, came to a stop, unstuck the pedal, and went about my day.

I don't know if it's me being mechanically inclined or people just not having common sense but if you watch a news report on cars crashing due to stuck throttles or that big Toyota thing a few years back at a shop or at a tech school like I go to, everyone is screaming at the TV "just turn the ignition off dumbass."

Little lesson about car drivelines. If you stop the engine in gear, since the engine is directly linked to the transmission which is directly linked to the drive wheels, when you stop the engine, it stops the transmission, which stops the wheels. Yes it locks up the wheels most of the time but it is easier to control a skidding car to a stop than an accelerating car with no brakes.

I could see a push button start malfunction on cars preventing it from turning off, but yeah, turn it off in gear. 

If that doesn't work, start pulling fuses. It's just like texting and driving  

[kinda deleted 224]

If it's a toy car, then it will be alright