Airway emergency - what would you have done.

While flying between Gallup N.M. and Winslow, A.Z., my passenger
pulled out a peppermint candy, handed it to me and retrieved another
for herself. I popped mine in my mouth, took a gulp from my water
bottle and went back to enjoying the view. Shortly thereafter, my
passenger starts gagging. When she had tossed the lozenge in her
mouth we hit a bit of turbulence and the candy tried to enter her
windpipe whole. A look of distress crossed her face as I quickly
realized what had happened. Her involuntary gag reflex went into
overdrive as she struggled to breathe. A feeling of helplessness
crossed over me as I realized we were 35 miles from the nearest
airport and it would be several minutes at best before we could land.
Even if I set the airplane down on I-40 it would be at least 5-6
minutes. That would lead to me risking the lives of others. With no
autopilot and while flying in rough air, an attempt at the Heimlich
maneuver would undoubtedly lead to an out of control aircraft over
mountainous terrain. What would you have done.
--
Joe Schneider
8437R
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X-No-archive: yes

I suppose it depends on what type of aircraft, but in my Cherokee, it
is stable enough that you could do the Heimlich and still maintain
control of the plane.


On Sat, 15 May 2004 08:23:36 -0500, "JJS" jschneider@REMOVE
SOCKSpldi.net wrote:

While flying between Gallup N.M. and Winslow, A.Z., my passenger
pulled out a peppermint candy, handed it to me and retrieved another
for herself. I popped mine in my mouth, took a gulp from my water
bottle and went back to enjoying the view. Shortly thereafter, my
passenger starts gagging. When she had tossed the lozenge in her
mouth we hit a bit of turbulence and the candy tried to enter her
windpipe whole. A look of distress crossed her face as I quickly
realized what had happened. Her involuntary gag reflex went into
overdrive as she struggled to breathe. A feeling of helplessness
crossed over me as I realized we were 35 miles from the nearest
airport and it would be several minutes at best before we could land.
Even if I set the airplane down on I-40 it would be at least 5-6
minutes. That would lead to me risking the lives of others. With no
autopilot and while flying in rough air, an attempt at the Heimlich
maneuver would undoubtedly lead to an out of control aircraft over
mountainous terrain. What would you have done.

JJS wrote:

With no
autopilot and while flying in rough air, an attempt at the Heimlich
maneuver would undoubtedly lead to an out of control aircraft over
mountainous terrain. What would you have done.

It is possible for a person to perform the Heimlich maneuver on him or
herself. Assuming the passenger was not panicking, my first thought
would be to talk her through the maneuver.

--
Peter

Peter R. wrote:

the Heimlich maneuver

May I ask what it is?
--
TThierry __|__
http://flyinfrance.free.fr \___(x)___/
! ! !

TThierry ) wrote:

Peter R. wrote:

the Heimlich maneuver

May I ask what it is?

Here is one of many websites that explains what it is and how to perform
it:

http://www.heimlichinstitute.org/howtodo.html

--
Peter

Push her out and save yourself !

In article ,
"JJS" jschneider@REMOVE SOCKSpldi.net wrote:

While flying between Gallup N.M. and Winslow, A.Z., my passenger
pulled out a peppermint candy, handed it to me and retrieved another
for herself. I popped mine in my mouth, took a gulp from my water
bottle and went back to enjoying the view. Shortly thereafter, my
passenger starts gagging. When she had tossed the lozenge in her
mouth we hit a bit of turbulence and the candy tried to enter her
windpipe whole. A look of distress crossed her face as I quickly
realized what had happened. Her involuntary gag reflex went into
overdrive as she struggled to breathe. A feeling of helplessness
crossed over me as I realized we were 35 miles from the nearest
airport and it would be several minutes at best before we could land.
Even if I set the airplane down on I-40 it would be at least 5-6
minutes. That would lead to me risking the lives of others. With no
autopilot and while flying in rough air, an attempt at the Heimlich
maneuver would undoubtedly lead to an out of control aircraft over
mountainous terrain. What would you have done.

I would attempt to clear her airway...unless in severe turbulence you
shouldn't go "out of control".

--
Dale L. Falk

There is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing
as simply messing around with airplanes.

http://home.gci.net/~sncdfalk/flying.html

I think this story points out the need for pilots to have some
rudimentary first aid training. It has been 20 years since I took a
class, and I feel somewhat less than prepared. Heimlich is one thing,
but there are other scenarios that could pose a much greater problem.

I'm in the middle of creating a good long-distance first aid and
survival kit right now, and in doing research it surprises me the things
I never thought about. (http://www.aeromedix.com has some great
articles and products---no affiliation, just a happy customer!) One of
the things I really hadn't thought about was my first-aid skill set,
which can not be purchased.

And I'm surprised no one has asked---what happened on the airway!? I'm
assuming the passenger dislodged the candy from her windpipe.

You missed one of my posts or at least part of it. She coughed it up
after an eternity went by.

Joe Schneider
8437R


And I'm surprised no one has asked---what happened on the airway!?
I'm
assuming the passenger dislodged the candy from her windpipe.

In article , JJS
jschneider@REMOVE wrote:

While flying between Gallup N.M. and Winslow, A.Z., my passenger
pulled out a peppermint candy, handed it to me and retrieved another
for herself. I popped mine in my mouth, took a gulp from my water
bottle and went back to enjoying the view. Shortly thereafter, my
passenger starts gagging. When she had tossed the lozenge in her
mouth we hit a bit of turbulence and the candy tried to enter her
windpipe whole. A look of distress crossed her face as I quickly
realized what had happened. Her involuntary gag reflex went into
overdrive as she struggled to breathe. A feeling of helplessness
crossed over me as I realized we were 35 miles from the nearest
airport and it would be several minutes at best before we could land.
Even if I set the airplane down on I-40 it would be at least 5-6
minutes. That would lead to me risking the lives of others. With no
autopilot and while flying in rough air, an attempt at the Heimlich
maneuver would undoubtedly lead to an out of control aircraft over
mountainous terrain. What would you have done.

You tricycle gear pilots need to learn what your feet are for.
You have rudder peddles, use them!