Smoking Kills, Except That One Time When It Saved The Lives Of 26 People In 1948
I don’t know why I came up with a title like this, but I was just as confused as you are right now when I first read an article that stated how smoking saved the lives of 26 people aboard a Norwegian domestic flight in 1948. We’ll get to that in a bit. A long time ago, getting on a plane meant that one had to suit up and wear polished boots for the occasion, but times have changed. Today we’d be lucky if the passenger sitting next to us keeps their shirt on. There was something soothing about the crew’s attitude, the food served and the sort of hospitality you received years ago. In the fast-paced world we live in today, most of the time we’re ushered into the craft like a herd of cows.
But what has really changed over the years is the quality of air circulating in the cabin. Before 1988 all United States-based airlines were filled with suited and booted passengers chain-smoking their trip away at 35,000 feet above the ground, but today that is an impossible thing to do. Not only is smoking not allowed, sometimes even carrying a pack of cigarettes leaves you at the mercy of the airport crew. But here’s an interesting fact, did you know that before 1988 people actually believed that smoking made flying safer? While this might make you question their commonsense, it is true – smoking does, in fact, make flying safer. How?
The aircraft’s main body tends to get tiny cracks when it’s speeding against the wind at 500 miles an hour, 35,000 feet above the ground. In order to fly safe, these tiny cracks and holes need to be detected and fixed almost immediately, and can you guess what helps detect these defects of doom? You guessed it – death sticks i.e. cigarettes. Before the ban of smoking in 1988, engineers could easily find these holes and cracks by looking for nicotine stains, because apparently, nicotine stained those holes and cracks where the smoke was escaping. I can’t even begin to imagine how flight attendants managed to smile through the flight while inhaling dangerous amounts of secondhand smoke. So, if smoking is banned, why do some planes still have ashtrays onboard?
Well, just because smoking is banned doesn’t mean that everyone would respect the law and stop smoking on the craft. Some planes still have ashtrays in case some outlaws decide to ignite a stick and then change their mind about puffing smoke into a closed cabin. Remember I told you about how smoking saved the lives of some people in 1948? While cigarettes have the potential to kill, for 26 people aboard a Norwegian domestic flight from Oslo to Hommelvik in 1948, they were a lifesaver. Due to high winds, the domestic flight crashed and 19 people died, but the 26 people who were sitting at the back of the plane, an area that allowed smoking, survived the catastrophe. How? Apparently, the back of the plane didn’t receive much impact and thus people sitting there survived the crash. Thanks to smoking, perhaps?
Then again, in 1973 a passenger aboard a flight to France from Brazil started a fire in the rear of the plane after he threw his cigarette butt into the trash can. The cigarette butt started a fire that crashed the plane about three miles from the runway. During that incident, everyone except 10 crew members and a single passenger survived the crash by escaping the burning craft through the emergency exit in the cockpit. So, how did the single passenger survive the crash? As weird as it sounds, he refused to remain in his seat and wanted to stretch his legs! Talk about coincidence!
Have you ever seen someone smoking in an aircraft? How do you handle the situation? Let us know in the comments below. Don’t forget to share this article with your friends!
