Surviving a Plane Crash: There’s an App for That

Prepare for Impact.

That’s the name of a new smartphone app from the HCI Lab at the University of Udine in Italy. And the name says it all.

From the app’s website:

Flying is safe!
Aircraft accidents are unlikely events
But what if…
Are you prepared to cope with emergencies?

It’s an interactive video game, but one that aspires to educate rather than amuse.

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The app takes users through computer-generated visual simulations of several emergency flight situations—an onboard fire, a collision, a forced water landing, a crash, and so on—challenging them to “try your abilities in the worst-case scenarios.” According to the app’s creators, “people can familiarize themselves with aircraft emergencies by playing ‘what-if’ scenarios, choosing their own actions, and seeing their positive or negative consequences realistically depicted by a 3D game.”

The app is available free, for the iPhone and Android devices.

It’s certainly more entertaining than the current crop of preflight safety announcements. And it might even save lives.

Reader Reality Check

How prepared are you for a flight emergency?

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After 20 years working in the travel industry, and 15 years writing about it, Tim Winship knows a thing or two about travel. Follow him on Twitter @twinship.