RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (CNN) -- A woman who survived a weekend plane crash in Brazil that killed 24 told Monday of struggling to reach a square of light in the submerged plane, while another said she had no doubt she owed her survival to God.
There were a total of 28 people aboard the flight, which crashed in an Amazon Basin river. Only four survived.
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The four passengers were rescued by emergency teams after the Brazilian-made Bandeirante turboprop aircraft went down Saturday afternoon in the Manacapuru River, a tributary of the Solimoes River, reports said.
"Before the fall, I was looking at the emergency door, but what sustained me was God," Brenda Dias Moraes told the local O Coariense newspaper. "I saw many people shouting, 'Open the emergency door.' I could not see anything in front of me. I am certain I was guided."
Another survivor described the struggle to get out.
"When I opened my eyes and released the seat belt, I saw that all the chairs were in front," said Ana Lucia Lauria. "I turned toward the square that I managed to see, which gave the light of day. I guided myself there and left the aircraft."
Fisherman Edmilson Viana was one of the rescuers.
"The great desire was to rescue more lives," he told O Coariense. "I could not do anything because I had no breath."
The plane took off from Coari, about 225 miles (362 kilometers) southwest of the state capital of Manaus, where the flight was headed.
The Aviation Safety Network, a resource center for aircraft accidents and civil aviation safety issues, posted a summary online that stated: "Press reports indicate that the pilot contacted Manaus [air traffic control] about one hour after takeoff. He stated his intentions of returning to Coari due to heavy rainfall en route. Contact with the flight was lost shortly afterward."
Civil Defense Coordinator Daniel Guedes told O Coariense the airplane was trying to make an emergency landing on a make-shift landing strip but crashed into the river.
"The survivors said they saw one of the plane's motors shut down. We thought he would try to land on a deactivated landing strip, but he couldn't make it," Guedes said.
There were unofficial indications that the airplane may have been overloaded.
The airplane involved, an EMB-110P1, has a certificated maximum of 19 passenger seats, the Aviation Safety Network said. On Saturday's flight, 26 passengers had boarded the plane, including eight small children.
Brazil's Folha de Sao Paulo, a national daily newspaper, said a 9-year-old child was among the survivors.
Embraer, the Brazilian company that manufactured the airplane, has expressed its sorrows and has sent a specialized team to help in the investigation, the official Agencia Brasil news agency said.
Likewise, the airline, Manaus Aerotaxi, expressed condolences in a message on its Web site and said it was assisting in the investigation. The airline also said it was offering assistance to the survivors as well as the families of the deceased.
lunedì 9 febbraio 2009
lunedì 2 febbraio 2009
Lesson is Survival
Grateful for lesson in survival
By Chase Binder For the Monitor
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The images of USAirways Flight 1549 floating on the Hudson on Jan. 15 were real shockers for Bud and me. First, we've been flying USAirways almost exclusively for the past 15 years or so. We're accustomed to seeing their planes on the tarmac or in the air - not in the water. Second, we've always assumed that if our plane went down, we'd be . . . well, toast. But Flight 1549's successful water landing got me thinking. If survival is possible, maybe we should know a bit more about increasing our odds.
Assume survival: If you look at the stats, flying is the safest way to travel. Of course it's also the scariest way to travel. You know, the whole thing about being stuffed in a pressurized aluminum tube flying 6 miles above the earth at 500 mph. But the numbers don't lie - your chances of dying in a plane crash are about 1 in 10 million. In fact, according to government statistics, 76.6 percent of people involved in the most serious plane crashes survive, and the survival rate zooms to 95 percent when all plane crashes are included. Want proof? Faa.gov has a fascinating section of accident/incident data, complete with stunning photos, lessons learned and more. So, assume you can survive and plan accordingly. It's part attitude and part planning.
Before you board: Can selecting the right seat help assure your survival? Perhaps. Statistics show that passengers in the rear third of the plane have higher survival rates than those in the front. But it depends on the type of crash - an unpredictable element. What you can predict is that you'll need to get out of the aircraft, fast! One British researcher found that passengers seated within five rows of an exit were most often among survivors. So, before selecting your seats, locate your aircraft seating plan (seatguru.com is the best source if your booking website doesn't provide it). Look for exit rows and go for the aisle seats instead of the windows for easy egress. The numbers also show that fire and smoke are lethal hazards, so try and wear clothes made of natural fibers. Man-made fibers can melt to your skin. Visit wikihow.com/Survive-a-Plane-Crash for more details.
Be alert: During a network interview, one of the Flight 1549 passengers admitted she was unprepared - and she is a frequent flyer who logs 100,000-plus miles a year in the air. The point hit home. Bud and I have flown so often that we tune out the flight attendants and rarely bother with the safety card - big mistake! It is vital to know where the exits are, how to find your life jacket and how to work the oxygen masks. It is vital to know the brace position: head down and forward, protected by folded arms braced against the seat in front of you. Your legs should be extended out in front of you - tucking them underneath your seat can mean two broken legs and significantly diminished chances of getting out. Your seat belt can literally save your life - but only if it's buckled tight and low. And after reading the stats on the most dangerous portions of a flight (take-offs and landings, with a fairly hefty edge to take-offs), I am now going to listen carefully, keep my shoes on and remain alert and focused for the first eight to 10 minutes. Once we reach cruising altitude, I'll relax - but still keep my seat belt snug.
Will I forget all this by the next time we fly? Perhaps I'll tuck this column in my suitcase, just to jog my memory when I start packing. How about you?
martedì 27 gennaio 2009
Johnson and Family year in the Utah Wilderness
With little more than the clothes on their back and a good wool blanket, Rich Johnson and his family spent a year in the Utah wilderness.
His goal: honing survival skills based on real-life experience.
In the last of this series, Johnson shares his insights for winter survival based on his book, "Rich Johnson's Guide to Wilderness Survival" (McGraw Hill, 2009).
The moment you least expect to be in a survival situation is exactly the moment you'll find yourself in one.
Being able to assess and prioritize needs is the basis for making a plan for survival. What is the most urgent need at the moment? Prioritizing threats allows you to increase your chances of survival by methodically eliminating them one by one.
Maintaining your psychological bearing is critical to survival. "I start the book intentionally on the psychological side of things," Johnson said. "If you lose your psychological strength and balance, you start making mistakes. You can't panic and let things go from bad to worse."
During the winter, Johnson advises never to go out alone under any circumstances. "When you're alone you become psychologically weak faster," he said. "If you have someone there to help you as a backup, to help you with judgment calls, that's always better. If you're injured, you'll have someone who can help you. Poor judgment also comes with hypothermia."
Stick to a plan.
"Before heading out, let people know where you are going and when to expect you back," Johnson said. "Make sure you are there and don't deviate from your plan. If you do deviate from your plan, contact the people who know about your plans if possible. If you don't turn up at the time you're supposed to, they know where to begin looking for you."
Johnson also recommends maintaining a line of communication either by cell phone or two-way radio. "Have everything charged up and have extra batteries," he said.
Lost? Don't wander.
"If you don't know where you are, you're not going to make the situation better by continuing to walk around," Johnson said. "You don't know where you are in the first place. If people come looking for you, you may move out of the range of the searchers, reducing your odds of being found before the elements do you in. So stop where you are and make camp the best you can. You should continually improve that camp for survival and set up some signaling devices to call for help. Smoke signals during the day or a fire at night are good ways to signal your location to searchers. Use your whistle and mirror to signal, as well."
Wear the right winter clothing. "There's an old adage: There is no bad weather, only bad clothing," Johnson said. "Your clothing is your primary shelter and first line of defense against the elements. With the right clothing, you can survive an extreme environment like cold weather. For the average outdoorsman, wools and synthetics that don't hold moisture against the skin are the only way to go. Avoid cotton because it's like a sponge that soaks up moisture. Dress in layers that can be added or removed easily."
Carry high-calorie, high-fat foods to ensure you stay as physically strong as possible in a survival situation.
For a free copy of the full interview with Johnson, which includes more on winter survival strategies, send an e-mail to dirksoutdoors@hotmail.com.
Upcoming events
The second annual coyote hunt will take place Feb. 13-15. There is $2,000 prize for the heaviest coyote killed. Registration and entry fees required. For information, call 570-798-2998 or 845-292-4807 .
On DirksOutdoors radio
Join us as turkey hunting expert and author Mike Joyner discusses his latest turkey hunting book and shares his top strategies for bagging spring gobblers from 7-8 a.m. Saturday on www.WTBQ.com, 99.1-FM or 1110-AM.
David Dirks' outdoors column appears weekly. Contact him through his Web site, www.dirksoutdoors.com, or write P.O. Box 87, Westtown, NY 10998.
venerdì 19 dicembre 2008
sabato 15 novembre 2008
"Stranded", Tale of Survival
'Stranded: I've Come From a Plane That Crashed on the Mountains': A compelling tale of survival
By Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
"Stranded: I've Come From a Plane That Crashed on the Mountains" is an exceptional film, at once disturbing and elevating, deliberate yet powerful. It takes a story that we all think we know, one of the 20th century's most familiar tales of resilience and survival, and demonstrates that we haven't really known it at all.
"Stranded's" narrative is familiar because, under the title "Alive," it was both an internationally bestselling book and a Hollywood movie starring Ethan Hawke. Who doesn't have at least a vague knowledge of the story of the Uruguayan airliner that slammed into the Andes in 1972 and of the 16 young men who survived an unheard-of 72 days in part because they did the unthinkable and ate the flesh of those who died?
But it is only now that all the people who made it out alive agreed to talk on camera with breathtaking candor and startling detail about the nature of their experience, about what they went through and what their thoughts about it are today.
These stories do not shortchange the horror of the situation, but under the direction of Gonzalo Arijon, "Stranded" understands that out of disaster can come the purity of transcendence. Against all expectation, the survivors' experience turns out to have been a surprisingly spiritual one.
As "Alive" author Piers Paul Read noted in the book's acknowledgments, some survivors have felt that "the faith and friendship which inspired them . . . do not emerge in these
pages. . . . Perhaps it would be beyond the skill of any writer to express their own appreciation of what they lived through." Now, with this film, that appreciation has taken tangible form.
One reason these men felt safe unburdening themselves was that veteran documentarian Arijon, born in Montevideo but a resident of Paris for nearly 30 years, was a boyhood friend of many of those who got on that plane on Friday, Oct. 13, 1972.
And what persuasive, articulate talkers the "Stranded" survivors turn out to be. We hang on their every word as these voices combine to remember every moment with a vividness and an immediacy that is overwhelming.
In addition to doing the interviews, director Arijon had other ways of making his narrative especially effective, starting with using the film's delicate, otherworldly score by composer Florencia Di Concilio-Perrin to add a disturbing air to the proceedings.
Since no film exists of the "Stranded" experience (with the exception of newsreel footage of the rescue), Arijon made the risky decision to use re-creations to help tell the story.
Although this technique can be heavy-handed, as shot by cinematographer Cesar Charlone (Oscar nominated for "City of God" and, unbelievably, nearly a passenger on that plane) the scenes are quietly effective.
Quiet is the operative word here: Because no one in the re-creations talks on camera, the sequences come off as dreamlike and haunting, which is as they should be.
The re-creations are also an effective companion piece to "Stranded's" contemporary footage, which follows the adult survivors as they take a summertime trip back to the Valley of Tears in the Andes, the crash site, and try and convey to their children the nature of the experience.
These men were just 19 years old themselves in 1972, members of a rugby team associated with a Catholic school, headed for a game in Santiago, Chile, and what they thought would be a weekend "full of adventure and excitement"
The crash itself killed 12 of the 45 passengers, and numerous others gradually died from injuries and starvation. When those alive heard on their still-functioning radio that the search for them had been abandoned, they came around with tremendous reluctance to the notion of what they had to do to survive.
"Stranded" emphasizes that what kept this deeply Catholic group together was its "strong sense of unity and solidarity" and that the decision to eat human flesh was done in the respectful spirit of the most serious religious ritual. Instead of feeling exploitative, the scenes in which the decision and its consequences are discussed are the most deeply moving of the film.
Also stirring are the descriptions of how the group was finally rescued, how two of their number walked for 10 days before reaching help, going so far (44 miles over peaks that reached 13,000 feet) that the rescue helicopter pilots they guided back to their friends thought they couldn't possibly have covered so great a distance.
By Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
"Stranded: I've Come From a Plane That Crashed on the Mountains" is an exceptional film, at once disturbing and elevating, deliberate yet powerful. It takes a story that we all think we know, one of the 20th century's most familiar tales of resilience and survival, and demonstrates that we haven't really known it at all.
"Stranded's" narrative is familiar because, under the title "Alive," it was both an internationally bestselling book and a Hollywood movie starring Ethan Hawke. Who doesn't have at least a vague knowledge of the story of the Uruguayan airliner that slammed into the Andes in 1972 and of the 16 young men who survived an unheard-of 72 days in part because they did the unthinkable and ate the flesh of those who died?
But it is only now that all the people who made it out alive agreed to talk on camera with breathtaking candor and startling detail about the nature of their experience, about what they went through and what their thoughts about it are today.
These stories do not shortchange the horror of the situation, but under the direction of Gonzalo Arijon, "Stranded" understands that out of disaster can come the purity of transcendence. Against all expectation, the survivors' experience turns out to have been a surprisingly spiritual one.
As "Alive" author Piers Paul Read noted in the book's acknowledgments, some survivors have felt that "the faith and friendship which inspired them . . . do not emerge in these
pages. . . . Perhaps it would be beyond the skill of any writer to express their own appreciation of what they lived through." Now, with this film, that appreciation has taken tangible form.
One reason these men felt safe unburdening themselves was that veteran documentarian Arijon, born in Montevideo but a resident of Paris for nearly 30 years, was a boyhood friend of many of those who got on that plane on Friday, Oct. 13, 1972.
And what persuasive, articulate talkers the "Stranded" survivors turn out to be. We hang on their every word as these voices combine to remember every moment with a vividness and an immediacy that is overwhelming.
In addition to doing the interviews, director Arijon had other ways of making his narrative especially effective, starting with using the film's delicate, otherworldly score by composer Florencia Di Concilio-Perrin to add a disturbing air to the proceedings.
Since no film exists of the "Stranded" experience (with the exception of newsreel footage of the rescue), Arijon made the risky decision to use re-creations to help tell the story.
Although this technique can be heavy-handed, as shot by cinematographer Cesar Charlone (Oscar nominated for "City of God" and, unbelievably, nearly a passenger on that plane) the scenes are quietly effective.
Quiet is the operative word here: Because no one in the re-creations talks on camera, the sequences come off as dreamlike and haunting, which is as they should be.
The re-creations are also an effective companion piece to "Stranded's" contemporary footage, which follows the adult survivors as they take a summertime trip back to the Valley of Tears in the Andes, the crash site, and try and convey to their children the nature of the experience.
These men were just 19 years old themselves in 1972, members of a rugby team associated with a Catholic school, headed for a game in Santiago, Chile, and what they thought would be a weekend "full of adventure and excitement"
The crash itself killed 12 of the 45 passengers, and numerous others gradually died from injuries and starvation. When those alive heard on their still-functioning radio that the search for them had been abandoned, they came around with tremendous reluctance to the notion of what they had to do to survive.
"Stranded" emphasizes that what kept this deeply Catholic group together was its "strong sense of unity and solidarity" and that the decision to eat human flesh was done in the respectful spirit of the most serious religious ritual. Instead of feeling exploitative, the scenes in which the decision and its consequences are discussed are the most deeply moving of the film.
Also stirring are the descriptions of how the group was finally rescued, how two of their number walked for 10 days before reaching help, going so far (44 miles over peaks that reached 13,000 feet) that the rescue helicopter pilots they guided back to their friends thought they couldn't possibly have covered so great a distance.
martedì 11 novembre 2008
EXTREME CHANNEL on Yahoo Eurosport
Mpora.TV to launch extreme channel on Yahoo Eurosport
by Tristan O'Carroll, mediaweek.co.uk
LONDON - Online sports channel Mpora.TV is to launch an extreme sports section on joint venture sports portal Yahoo Eurosport.
The extreme sports section will form part of the broader Yahoo Eurosport offering, with exclusive footage from the extreme sports calendar. Content will include video highlights packages, daily news and features. Users will be able to watch highlights from key extreme sports events, including the Billabong Air and Style in Innsbruck in January and the Vans Triple Crown of surfing in Hawaii this December.
The content will be delivered by Mpora.TV, which claims to be one of Europe’s leading extreme sports online channels. It is owned and operated by Factory Media, the online sports broadcaster.Darryl Newton, managing director of Factory Media, said: "Extreme action sports no longer only appeal to a niche audience, but are becoming part of a mainstream lifestyle as more and more people get into snowboarding, surfing and skating."
sabato 8 novembre 2008
Surfer takes on 41-foot wave!
The moment surfer takes on 41-foot monster wave... and lives to tell the tale
By Wil Longbottom
A daredevil surfer is pictured tackling a giant 41 foot wave in a bid to win himself a prestigious award.
Kerby Brown took on the monster during a session at a top secret reef, and nearly didn't live to tell the tale.
Moments after these pictures were taken, he suffered a devastating wipeout which nearly killed him.
The big one: Kerby Brown starts his run with his brother Courtney looking on from his jetski as the wave gathers momentum
He said: 'Usually the wave never steps out or goes evil like that one, but it just went dry - the hardest wave I've ever had to surf.
'I went straight over the lip and did about 10 backflips and then pulled a muscle in my shoulder.
The daredevil surfer is dwarfed by the giant wave
'It felt like I ripped my arm out of its socket, my leggie snapped and then I felt like I was the deepest I'd ever been.'
The unbelievable pictures have been entered into the prestigious Oakley Surfing Life Big Wave Awards, which rewards the riders of the biggest waves in Australasian waters.
Wipeout: The massive wave begins to break and Kerby is seconds away from his biggest ever wipeout which left him with torn shoulder muscles
By Wil Longbottom
A daredevil surfer is pictured tackling a giant 41 foot wave in a bid to win himself a prestigious award.
Kerby Brown took on the monster during a session at a top secret reef, and nearly didn't live to tell the tale.
Moments after these pictures were taken, he suffered a devastating wipeout which nearly killed him.
The big one: Kerby Brown starts his run with his brother Courtney looking on from his jetski as the wave gathers momentum
He said: 'Usually the wave never steps out or goes evil like that one, but it just went dry - the hardest wave I've ever had to surf.
'I went straight over the lip and did about 10 backflips and then pulled a muscle in my shoulder.
The daredevil surfer is dwarfed by the giant wave
'It felt like I ripped my arm out of its socket, my leggie snapped and then I felt like I was the deepest I'd ever been.'
The unbelievable pictures have been entered into the prestigious Oakley Surfing Life Big Wave Awards, which rewards the riders of the biggest waves in Australasian waters.
Wipeout: The massive wave begins to break and Kerby is seconds away from his biggest ever wipeout which left him with torn shoulder muscles
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