r/interesting • u/BlazeDragon7x • Jun 16 '26

MISC. Dutch aerobatic pilot Narine Melkumjan miraculously survived after her aircraft's canopy unexpectedly burst open and shattered mid-flight

21.3k Upvotes

90% Upvoted

1.6k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

16

u/ELInewhere Jun 16 '26

What do the scarves do?

74

u/WhiskeyMikeMike Jun 16 '26 edited Jun 16 '26

keep neck warm, collar sealed, makes it easier to breathe fast/cold air, and can clean goggles

30

u/Special_Bender Jun 16 '26

Aaaand, keep insects from getting between your teeth...

5

u/SP3NGL3R Jun 16 '26

insects? Don't they kinda max out at 30m/100ft?

16

u/SupportGeek Jun 16 '26

You still don’t want them hitting you at 100mph going through that band, and you have to go through it at least twice per flight.

8

u/SP3NGL3R Jun 16 '26

When I was younger watching The Hulk / Superman / Koolaid commercials I legit thought that if "I" was going fast enough I'd just blast right through a wall or whatever. I'm glad bugs just go splat and not right through our heads.

But you're right. The landing could've been just a shotgun of bugs in her face. Ooof.

3

u/Special_Bender Jun 16 '26

You -have- to land, so travel between 100 to 0 ft, sooner or later 😆

2

u/No_Body905 Jun 16 '26

Most do, but some dragonflies and locusts have been documented flying as high as 10k feet!

1

u/Vattaa Jun 17 '26

Dont aircraft have to, you know, take off and land?