Do you have a survival kit?

[Threefingeredjack]

A question on another thread asking about smoke signals made me think the OP hadn't thought much about survival equipment for his aircraft. I put together a simple homemade job after seeing the prices for commercially assembled ones. My last employer gave me LOTS of survival stuff, but they wanted it back when I left.

My kit includes: 1st Aid kit complete with Ace bandages, cable saw, roll of duct tape, 300ft of parachute cord, 6 disposable space blankets, a snow camping dome tent, MREs for 4 people for five days, hunting knife, hatchet, compass, backpacking altimeter, strobe, signal mirror, PLB, 2 day/night pyrotechnic flares, 2 gallons of water in foil pouches.

 

[Jim Logajan]

This is a fact. I keep the signalling gear, 2 disposable space blankets, and two pints of water in my vest. Part of the forced landing checklist is to position the go bag on the lap of the person by the door. My wife and I have tested that the bag does not interfere with full motion of the controls, and is packed with the sharp and hard stuff surrounded by the tent.

I think you and Wayne are both making the mistake of planning based on worst-case anecdote, rather than most probable scenarios. Using worst-case anecdotes as a planning guide rather than probability makes you run the risk of absurdities in preparation, or even counter-productive actions.

For example, putting a bag on the lap can impede egress. As can wearing a vest puffed out and weighted down by excessive amounts of gear.

 

[Jim Logajan]

For those of use who pack extensive survival kits for all your flights, I'm curious what you carry in your cars?

I just rent airplanes (but do fly over plenty of remote mountainous terrain,) so I limit my survival equipment to the modest number of things I can fit comfortably in my flight bag.

For a car my survival kit is a credit card with an optional cell phone.