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New ‘ditching procedures’ for 737s instruct cabin crew to tell passengers to jump into the water and “swim away” if a plane goes down and life rafts are not used.
The document comes as a war of words has erupted between Qantas and South Australian Senator Nick Xenophon, who is critical of the airline because it is considering getting rid of life rafts on some flights.
According to the regulations, life rafts are not needed on 737s unless they travel more than 400 nautical miles out to sea.
However, pilots and cabin crew are concerned that if a plane goes down 300 miles out, for example, people would die of hypothermia without a raft.
