The Woodsman's Journal Online

Sunday, February 5, 2023

Winter Survival for Tommy...Part Four©

This is part four of a five part series, you can find part three, HERE – Author’s Note.

In most survival situations, according to the “Rule of Threes”, shelter is the next most important thing you need after providing first aid
and calling for help.

Fifth, find or build a permanent shelter, to protect you from the elements and the wind as soon as the conditions and weather permit.

Tip 7: Remember, if you or anyone with you is seriously injured, you do not want to move them anymore than is necessary, so as the FAA notes “staying put – once the threat of the fire is past – is normally your best bet”¹².

An excerpt from “Snow Bound”, Driver, October 1980, by the Department of the Air Force, HERE.

You will need to get out of the wind and the weather, and when it comes to permanent shelters, you really have only three options:

1. You can use the inside of the car or the plane’s fuselage if the wreckage is intact and safe.

2. If the wreckage is broken up, but still partially intact, you can modify the remains with materials from the wilderness around you. Any upright piece of debris could make a windbreak, to stop the wind from blowing into the remains of the wreck, if supplemented with other materials found around the crash site¹³.

3. If the wreck is destroyed or its location is unsafe, you can also use material, such as a door or wing sections, from the wreckage to build or improve on a shelter away from the crash site.

An excerpt from “Snow Bound”, Driver, October 1980, by the Department of the Air Force.

The most readily available shelter, obviously, is the fuselage of the plane, or interior of the car.

If you are sheltering in a functional vehicle, DON’T run the heater unless it is safe to do so. Many people, who are stuck in a snow-
bound vehicle die from carbon monoxide poisoning from the engine exhausts. Before you start the engine, clear the exhaust pipes, and open an upwind window (the side opposite from the direction the wind is blowing) a little bit to allow for ventilation.

“Surviving the Winter Emergency”, Flying Safety, November 1985, page 3, HERE.

If you are sheltering inside a non-functioning vehicle, or partially
destroyed vehicle, the only source of heat will be your body heat.

You will have to completely close-up the wreck, by plugging broken windows, cracks, or doors with anything that stops the wind. Then curtain off any areas that you aren’t using and insulate the walls and especially the floors of your shelter with dry pine boughs or leaves, newspapers, maps, cardboard, fabric seat stuffing, carpeting, plastic interior panels, dry clothing, floorboards, or virtually anything that is dry and nonmetallic, and have everyone huddle close together for warmth.

Two important considerations to keep in mind are, first the temperature will drop considerably after nightfall, usually between 10 - 20^o F (5 - 10^o C) if the sky is clear, and second metal, particularly aluminum, conducts heat very rapidly. If the temperature is below 10^o F (-12^o C), the metal of the car or plane will act as a cold sink and draw the heat from your body.

Tip 8: Remember the smaller the shelter, the less body heat that is required to raise the temperature inside.

If you have a candle, it can be burned inside the car, the plane’s fuselage, or your shelter, especially after nightfall, and it will provide
some important benefits.

“Surviving the Winter Emergency”, Flying Safety, November 1985, page 3.

If it is necessary to build a permanent shelter away from the wreckage, you can build a roof over the temporary shelter you made earlier or make a lean-to, snow-trench, or snow-cave.

Snow is a very good insulator, and your body heat alone will make the inside of the shelter warmer than the outside. Remember, the
smaller the area inside of your shelter, the easier it will be to warm it up with just your body heat.

For more on shelter building read “The Top Ten Wilderness Survival Skills...Number Five©”, HERE.

So, now that your need for shelter has been satisfied it is time to build a fire and get water to drink. Don’t forget to come back next week and read “Winter Survival for Tommy...Part Five©”, where we will talk about building fires, getting water and making signals to attract attention.

I hope that you continue to enjoy The Woodsman’s Journal Online and look for me on YouTube at BandanaMan Productions for other related videos, HERE. Don’t forget to follow me on both The Woodsman’s Journal Online, HERE, and subscribe to BandanaMan Productions on YouTube. If you have questions, as always, feel free to leave a comment on either site. I announce new articles on Facebook at Eric Reynolds, on Instagram at bandanamanaproductions, and on VK at Eric Reynolds, so watch for me.

That is all for now, and as always, until next time, Happy Trails!

Notes

¹² “Airman Survival in the Big Snow”, by Federal Aviation Administration

¹³ Stay in sight of the wreck, remember don’t go far from the wreck, particularly if the weather is bad, you might not be able to find your way back to it. If you must leave sight of the wreck, leave trail signs so you can find your way back or rescuers can find you.

Sources

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Airscoop; “Winter Survival”, Approach, Jan 1974, Volume 19, Issue 7, page 12 – 14, https://books.google.com/books?id=CJlUaA0_rtMC&pg=PP14&dq=snow+survival&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwimj8jA-Lb8AhU0MVkFHY-YBG8Q6AF6BAgHEAI#v=onepage&q=snow%20survival&f=false, accessed January 10, 2023

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Anderson, Ken; “How to Survive in the Desert” Popular Mechanics May 1971, page 108-111, https://books.google.com/books?id=htcDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA109&dq=Survival+uses+for+car+parts&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjiuquWmen8AhVQElkFHYzdBiQ4ChDoAXoECAQQAg#v=onepage&q=Survival%20uses%20for%20car%20parts&f=false, accessed January 27, 2023

Behar, Michael; “The Search for Steve Fossett: One tough job for the U.S. Civil Air Patrol”, Air & Space Magazine, March 2008, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/air-space-magazine/the-search-for-steve-fossett-24479611/, accessed January 26, 2023

Black, Marina; and Jonescu, Kaitlyn; “How to Survive a Plane Crash in the Arctic”, May 20, 2014, [© 2023 Prezi Inc], https://prezi.com/ceo1kdavlin0/how-to-survive-a-plane-crash-in-the-arctic/, accessed January 12, 2023

Calvert, John H., Jr. Colonel; “Frostbite”, Flying Safety, October 1992, Publication 127-2, Vol. 48, No. 10, [United States Airforce, 1992], pages 14 - 15, https://books.google.com/books?id=W2PU4Rad3JMC&pg=RA21-PA26&dq=survival+pamphlet&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwim-sLv-cT8AhWMKFkFHf9FA184PBDoAXoECAkQAg#v=onepage&q=survival%20pamphlet&f=false, accessed January 13, 2023

Coast Guard, Department of Transportation, A Pocket Guide to Cold Water Survival, CG 473, September 1975, https://books.googleusercontent.com/books/content?req=AKW5QafxNJBmiIml6O4jiudRpr2rz8pLfodQOiq-4gZNh4xa5uIN_rq05C2yAes1AYw67Ziq189QaQaFDHBHE0SJivfCxjMW1DReANLjFqw1qX6jEl2mz1HPKXj4BRQJv8zAOcO6oDE70Dcv__VE2uPh4tEqLSzMxDRiWOv3p6ssyQjE2bevJMX7-Ol2KDtIPQVcVuaJudJMLaOOuSUVs8qYS1Nlaxnm47GVOCXLR79KzL6nV3R0zZG4DxRt9hoYrIRGugXm6RVfbU2gxeix7JLKbxpvQsNB9w, accessed May 1, 2022

Combat Crew Training Wing; “Obtaining Water”, Flying Safety, October 1992, Publication 127-2, Vol. 48, No. 10, [United States Airforce, 1992], pages 26, https://books.google.com/books?id=W2PU4Rad3JMC&pg=RA21-PA26&dq=survival+pamphlet&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwim-sLv-cT8AhWMKFkFHf9FA184PBDoAXoECAkQAg#v=onepage&q=survival%20pamphlet&f=false, accessed January 13, 2023

Defense Mapping Agency; Sailing Directions (Planning Guide) for the Arctic Ocean, First Edition, [Defense Mapping Agency Hydrographic/Topographic Agency, 1983], page 286 - 293, https://books.google.com/books?id=dpUn0tHp7VMC&pg=PA291&dq=winter+survival+melting+snow+for+water&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjVjZ2T86n8AhUEp3IEHcZyAvY4KBDoAXoECAUQAg#v=onepage&q=winter%20survival%20melting%20snow%20for%20water&f=false, accessed January 10, 2023

Department of the Air Force; “Snow Bound”, Driver, October 1980, Volume 15, Issue 5, page 18 to 21, https://books.google.com/books?id=gfIKIZVSao8C&pg=PA20&dq=winter+survival+car+improvised&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwisus3HiuP8AhXjEFkFHSwLDwkQ6AF6BAgLEAI#v=onepage&q=winter%20survival%20car%20improvised&f=false, accessed January 25, 2023

Department Of the Air Force, [Air Training Command, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., August 15, 1969], page 2-7 to 2-10

Federal Aviation Administration; “Improvising for Survival”, FAA General Aviation News, January-February 1987, Volume 26, Number 1, page 11-12, https://books.google.com/books?id=QFUNlHfp4ccC&pg=PA11&dq=aircraft+parts+used+for+survival&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj14s320df8AhWrKFkFHQA9CGwQ6AF6BAgDEAI#v=onepage&q=aircraft%20parts%20used%20for%20survival&f=false, accessed January 23, 2023

Federal Aviation Administration; “At Home in The Snow”, FAA General Aviation News, November-December, 1983,Volume 22, Issue 6, page 11 – 12, https://books.google.com/books?id=BWX3xkpPHFUC&pg=PA11&dq=crashed+plane+winter&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjHn4jlr8D8AhXMGVkFHYOiCYcQ6AF6BAgIEAI#v=onepage&q=crashed%20plane%20winter&f=false, accessed January 13, 2023

Federal Aviation Administration; “Airman Survival in the Big Snow”, FAA Aviation News, March/April 1989, Volume 28, Number 2, page 5 – 6, https://books.google.com/books?id=bIgsnbWISb8C&pg=RA1-PA5&dq=survive+blanket&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjpjM7T0eH8AhXlEVkFHc7wDLE4ChDoAXoECA0QAg#v=onepage&q=survive%20blanket&f=false, accessed January 24, 2023

Federal Aviation Administration; Basic Survival Skills for Aviation, [FAA, Oklahoma City, OK], page 44-51, https://www.faa.gov/pilots/training/airman_education/media/CAMISurvivalManual.pdf, accessed January 12, 2023

Federal Aviation Administration; “Post Crash Survival”, FAA General Aviation News , November-December, 1979,Volume 22, Issue 6, page 8 – 10, https://books.google.com/books?id=Y0YPi63uDIcC&pg=RA5-PA8&dq=survival+snow&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiu8IfVu7n8AhW8EVkFHfW2BbY4MhDoAXoECAcQAg#v=onepage&q=survival%20snow&f=false, Accessed January 10, 2023

Gray, Robert; “Staying Alive in a Montana Wilderness”, Scouting, October 1984, page 33 and 76, https://books.google.com/books?id=qD06AQAAIAAJ&pg=RA6-PA75&dq=I+am+bringing+grandma+scouting&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj_i8HskOP8AhWGjIkEHbaMDLsQ6AF6BAgDEAI#v=onepage&q=I%20am%20bringing%20grandma%20scouting&f=false, accessed January 25, 2023

Hedblom, Captain Earland E. MC, USN; Polar Manual, Fourth Edition, [National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, MD, 1965], p. 37, https://ia800305.us.archive.org/33/items/PolarManual4thEd1965/Polar%20Manual%204th%20ed%20%281965%29.pdf, accessed 12/07/2019

Miller, Alyssa J.; “Survival Mode Training For The Unthinkable”, April 5, 2012, [©2023 Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association], https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2012/april/pilot/survival-mode, accessed January 27, 2023

Mullen, John, SSGT; “Surviving the Winter Emergency”, Flying Safety, United States Air Force, November 1985, Volume 41, Number 11, page 2-7, https://books.google.com/books?id=h9qH2OtBlcoC&pg=RA8-PA5&dq=winter+survival+car+improvised&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwisus3HiuP8AhXjEFkFHSwLDwkQ6AF6BAgGEAI#v=onepage&q=winter%20survival%20car%20improvised&f=false, accessed January 27, 2023

Nelson, Morlan W.; “Cold Weather Survival”, Popular Science, November 1971, pages 123-126, https://books.google.com/books?id=PQEAAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA123&dq=snow+survival&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwimj8jA-Lb8AhU0MVkFHY-YBG8Q6AF6BAgGEAI#v=onepage&q=snow%20survival&f=false, accessed January 12, 2023

Pinkerton, Paul; “Surviving A Plane Crash Pt3 – Using aircraft parts in survival”, December 16, 2016, [© 2023 Outdoor Revival], https://www.outdoorrevival.com/instant-articles/surviving-plane-crash-pt3-using-aircraft-parts-survival.html, accessed January 12, 2023

Schul, Dorothy; “Trapped in Hell’s Canyon”, Flying Safety, October 1992, Publication 127-2, Vol. 48, No. 10, [United States Airforce, 1992], pages 2 - 6, https://books.google.com/books?id=W2PU4Rad3JMC&pg=RA21-PA26&dq=survival+pamphlet&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwim-sLv-cT8AhWMKFkFHf9FA184PBDoAXoECAkQAg#v=onepage&q=survival%20pamphlet&f=false, accessed January 13, 2023

The Air Ministry, Arctic Survival PAM (Air) 226, 1953, https://ia801909.us.archive.org/2/items/ArcticSurvival/Arctic%20Survival%20and%20Jungle%20Survival%20combined.pdf, accessed January 12, 2023

United States Navy, Survival Training Guide, NAVAER 00-8OT-56, [Washington D.C., November 1955], https://books.google.com/books?id=yUBS6vKvubQC&pg=PP1&dq=%22survival+training+guide%22+1955&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwihzJTf6vz8AhXKKlkFHfinBNIQ6AF6BAgKEAI#v=onepage&q=%22survival%20training%20guide%22%201955&f=false, Accessed February 4, 2023

United States Marine Corps; Winter Survival Course Handbook, 2002, [Mountain Warfare Training Center, Bridgeport, CA, 2002], https://ia802602.us.archive.org/22/items/milmanual-us-marine-corps---mwtc-winter-survival-course-handbook/us_marine_corps_-_mwtc_winter_survival_course_handbook.pdf, accessed January 9, 2023

Way.com; “6.5 Million Cars Are Catching Fire – Is Yours One of Them?”, [© 2023 WAY.COM], https://www.way.com/blog/millions-of-cars-are-catching-fire-is-yours-one-of-them/#:~:text=How%20often%20do%20cars%20catch,according%20to%20the%20NFPA's%20statistics, accessed January 9, 2023

Sunday, January 29, 2023

Winter Survival for Tommy...Part Three©

If you asked ten pilots when they would least like to be stranded in the wilderness, most would say winter. And remember, depending on where you are, winter, can be year round. A car or plane crash is a frightening, traumatic experience, do you know what to do? For answers read Part Three of this five parts series, Part Two is HERE – Author’s Note.

Remember, STAY close to the wreckage; it may be hard to see, but it is far easier to see it, than it is to see a single person.

A crashed plane less than 900 feet (275 meters) below, would you have spotted it? Published in Air & Space Magazine, March 2008, photograph by Michael Behar, HERE.

Third, call for help, as soon as possible after the injured are cared for and everyone is sheltered from the wind and weather.

Whether you were in a car accident, or a plane wreck, as soon as all medical emergencies are cared for and everyone is temporally sheltered from the weather, pull out your cell phone, providing it is still working, and call for help. If your phone is broken, DON’T throw it away, you can use it for other survival chores later.

An excerpt from “Survive: Beyond the Forced Landing”, by the Air Safety Institute, AOPA, HERE.

If you are in a plane crash here is the good news, 35 years ago a law was passed requiring virtually all aircraft in the United States to carry an emergency locator transmitter or ELT, this beacon is activated by a hard jolt, such as a plane crash and immediately begins to transmit. ELTs come in either the older analog 121.5 megahertz model or newer digital 406 megahertz model. Radio direction finders, carried by search planes or ground based searchers can zero-on these emergency signals.

The newer 406 models, with an optional GPS unit, can give searchers a fix on the ELTs location in 5 to 15 minutes, although without the optional GPS unit, it might take three or more hours. ELTs are installed inside the plane near the tail, where they have the best chance of surviving the crash, their exterior antennas are mounted on top of the fuselage.

Now for the bad news, a NASA study showed that in 75% of plane crashes in which an older model 121.5 megahertz ELT was involved, the transmitter or their antenna were disabled or destroyed on impact or by the subsequent fire and never activated. And now for even more bad news, even if the ELT survives the plane crash and its antenna is intact, it can’t transmit if it is upside down, underwater, or in dense foliage. Now for the worse news, 90% of all ELTs installed in aircraft in the United States are the older 121.5 models. And because of their unreliability, as of February 1, 2009, this frequency is no longer being kept under observation by the multi-national organization charged with monitoring ELT transmissions!⁹ So, in the case of an airplane crash, DO NOT assume that your ELT is working and that its signals are being received.

An excerpt from “Improvising for Survival”, FAA General Aviation News, January-February 1987, HERE.

Fourth, once you are certain that there is no chance of fire, or the fire is out, it is time to approach the wreck to see what you can use to help you survive.

First look for a radio or a SPOT Satellite Messenger (HERE) or another similar device. If there is a working radio, or SPOT unit, use it to alert emergency personnel as soon as possible. The sooner you can get emergency services activated, the sooner they can begin looking for you.

Your second concern is shelter, and clothing has been described as “shelter close to the body”. Clothing keeps you warm by trapping your body’s radiated heat with dead air space and it protects you from the wet and wind. Extra clothing, if available, should be passed out to anyone in need, as soon as possible.

The actual survival gear found in wrecked plane or car is usually determined by its driver/pilot/owner, and the quantity will vary. However, in the case of planes flying over Alaska or the “sparsely settled” areas of Canada, the minimum survival gear is set by law. Alaska requires as a minimum, depending on the season, that an airplane carries, enough food for each occupant for one week, an axe, a first-aid kit, fishing tackle, a knife, some type of fire starter, etc., all sealed in metal containers. Additionally, for flights between October 15th to April 1^st of each year, the law requires a pair of snowshoes, one sleeping bag and one wool blanket for each occupant over four¹⁰.

Improvisation -- a Survivor’s Most Valuable Asset

Once you have found and inventoried all the survival gear in the wreck, it is time to improvise for survival!

Use your imagination, the wreckage and luggage of either a plane or a car are full of resources that can help you.

With a car wreck, the hubcaps, the car’s battery, that flashlight in the glove box, the car seats, car mats, the hood, wire, tires which can be burned to produce black smoke, gasoline, oil, wires, that Altoids® tin, etc., can all be used to help you survive.

“I used the lid from an Altoids can, reaching through an opening in the cockpit and flashing it”, Dennis Steinbock, Air & Space Magazine, March 2008

Plane wrecks are similar and are full of potential survival tools. Ailerons can be used as snow cutting tools, brake fluid that can be used as a fire starter, cables as cordage, disk brake plates as a signaling mirrors, the engine cowl as a snow shovel or fire reflector, the nose cone as a fire pot, wing sections, fuselage skin, charts and maps, doors, seat belts, vertical stabilizers that can be used as a platform or shelter support, the air filter that can be used as a fire starter, and etc.

Even a busted up cell phone can be used to create a fire by short circuiting the battery and creating a red hot wire that can ignite dry tinder, such as tampon cotton, #000 steel wool, toilet paper, or other fine and dry materials. Behind the phone’s screen is a shiny surface, which can be used as an improvised signal mirror, and the flexible wire of the headphones can be used cordage¹¹.

Oh, as you find supplies, if the weather is stormy, with drifting snow and wind, take care that they are not lost, damaged or blown away.

Don’t forget to come back next week and read “Winter Survival for Tommy...Part Four©”, where we will talk about getting out of the wet and the wind and finding shelter.

That is all for now, and as always, until next time, Happy Trails!

Notes

⁹ “The Search for Steve Fossett: One tough job for the U.S. Civil Air Patrol”, by Michael Behar, Air & Space Magazine, March 2008

¹⁰ Legally to fly over any of the sparsely populated regions of Canada (areas north of 52 degrees North latitude) or Alaska the pilot must have certain minimum survival supplies on board.

For information about Alaska, read “Flying in Alaska”, HERE, for more information on both Alaska and Canada read “Alaskan & Canadian Survival Kit Regulations”, HERE, by Doug Ritter, one of the elder statesmen of aviation survival.

¹¹ “Survive With Your Cellphone”, by Creek Stewart

Sources

Department Of the Air Force, Survival Training Edition, AF Manual 64-3, [Air Training Command, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., August 15, 1969], page 2-7 to 2-10

The Air Ministry, Arctic Survival PAM (Air) 226, 1953, https://ia801909.us.archive.org/2/items/ArcticSurvival/Arctic%20Survival%20and%20Jungle%20Survival%20combined.pdf, accessed January 12, 2023

About Me

I live near Buffalo, New York and have more than 25 years of experience in the outdoors. I enjoy being in the wilderness, paddling a canoe or exploring the woods, when I am not researching survival, woodcraft, camping skills or life on the Old Northwest Frontier of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. I am a published author and I have been a guide for Birchbark Expeditions and an Outdoor Skills trainer for the Boy Scouts since 2014. I am also a martial artist, having studied several different combat arts over the past 30 years. Currently, I am the author of The Woodsman’s Journal Online and BandanaMan Productions on YouTube.

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Sunday, February 5, 2023

Winter Survival for Tommy...Part Four©

Sunday, January 29, 2023

Winter Survival for Tommy...Part Three©

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