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re: What would have actually killed the passengers on board AA5342?
Posted on 2/1/25 at 1:26 pm to Tuscaloosa
Posted on 2/1/25 at 1:26 pm to Tuscaloosa
quote:
unconscious
Nah, if they didn't die on initial contact, they were alive when they hit the water. Airliners being shot down at 35k feet and being depressurized immediately give them a chance to be knocked unconscious, but not at 400 feet. 6 or 7 seconds of total terror. And nobody fricking drowned being essentially dropped onto concrete from 400 feet.
Posted on 2/1/25 at 1:31 pm to John88
whoever didnt have a seatbelt on prob died on impact with the ceiling of the plane. but most prob died in their seats when their aorta detatched from their hearts before they hit the ground
Posted on 2/1/25 at 1:33 pm to BuckeyeWarrior
I would say between the initial explosion and the impact on the river after the fall, that's gonna cover close to 100%.
Posted on 2/1/25 at 1:37 pm to htran90
We should be able to hear the CVR soon. I imagine they were alive for the fall as the landing lights remained on until river impact (meaning leading edge of wings and forward was intact)
quote:
Can you imagine the pilots? You were right there. And then suddenly you feel and hear a crash and looking down at your death.
Posted on 2/1/25 at 1:41 pm to Spankum
quote:
I would imagine most died from the impact…either with the helicopter or with the water. Certainly a 200 mph impact.
The G-force from slamming into a body of water at 200 mph would probably displace the heart from the arterial system. Your brain would go into immediate shock and shutdown. Think of it like shaking a can of soup really hard. The outside is fine, but all of the contents on the inside are displaced.
This post was edited on 2/1/25 at 1:44 pm
Posted on 2/1/25 at 1:41 pm to Gravitiger
Zero died from drowning.
Posted on 2/1/25 at 1:47 pm to Lsuhoohoo
This shite was like something out of Final Destination. What a violent and brutal way to go
Posted on 2/1/25 at 1:54 pm to WavinWilly
Same. I pray they don’t don’t what even happened after the the initial jolt.
Posted on 2/1/25 at 2:00 pm to Tuscaloosa
quote:
They impacted the helicopter at ~160mph. I’d like to think they were all unconscious/deceased before they experienced anything else.
Very likely then they had a 400-foot plummet already going well over 100 MPH so I expect anyone who was simply unconscious was killed on impact if they were not killed by the explosion or fire. I would be at least moderately surprised if a single cause of death was drowning or hypothermia. Not impossible, I guess, but certainly unlikely.
Posted on 2/1/25 at 2:01 pm to BuckeyeWarrior
The thought of being alive after impact makes me wish for them that this wasn't science fiction.

Posted on 2/1/25 at 2:03 pm to BuckeyeWarrior
Blunt force injury. At a certain point, the human body just can’t survive.
And yeah I’d bet nobody died of drowning because the fall from 400 feet is unforgiving.
And yeah I’d bet nobody died of drowning because the fall from 400 feet is unforgiving.
Posted on 2/1/25 at 2:07 pm to mdomingue
I’m curious as to what the autopsies will reveal. If they find water in the lungs of any of the passengers, that probably means that some of them survived the collision and the impact briefly before succumbing to BFT injuries.
Posted on 2/1/25 at 2:08 pm to BuckeyeWarrior

This post was edited on 2/1/25 at 2:12 pm
Posted on 2/1/25 at 3:35 pm to BuckeyeWarrior
quote:
If they find water in the lungs of any of the passengers, that probably means that some of them survived the collision and the impact briefly
Yep. That is possible but I still think improbable. I also think it unlikely they would have survived long enough to be rescued in any case though there have been some amazing survival stories.
Posted on 2/1/25 at 7:33 pm to NOLALGD
quote:
This was a collision at almost 200 mph, and probably hitting the water at 100 mph, likely everyone was dead after they hit the water.
Consider that most were only wearing lap-belts and had seats less than two feet from their face.
Posted on 2/1/25 at 7:41 pm to BuckeyeWarrior
A few survived the Lockerbie bombing all the way to the ground before succumbing soon after. I’m sure a few made it all the way through impact but in a weakened and almost unconscious state drowned when they were unable to move.
This post was edited on 2/1/25 at 7:46 pm
Posted on 2/1/25 at 7:48 pm to BuckeyeWarrior
Not something I really want to know. RIP to all the lost souls.
Posted on 2/1/25 at 8:09 pm to WavinWilly
quote:
Hopefully they were all immediately knocked unconscious
Let's just go with that and call it a night.
Posted on 2/1/25 at 8:28 pm to mdomingue
Seeing the videos of the fuselage spinning into the river.. I bet some of them survived the impact (wasn't a concrete wall) and died from drowning, but they most likely were not conscious at the time.
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