Stuf4 wrote:

Helmets, parachutes, seat belts didn't work? *What kind of a
conclusion is that? *Didn't work to do what? *I hope that someone on
this investigation team had a flash of insight that the reason why the
crew didn't bother with putting on a helmet, putting on gloves,
closing visors and locking inertial reels was because they were all
well aware that these actions would only *prolong their death* in a
situation where the vehicle fell apart above 200kft.

You forgot, one standing up no helmet (and gloves), two more with no gloves.
The guy standing up (Shuttle Surfing) was one end of the spectrum. What
about the other end of the spectrum, the safety conscious types, a couple
of the four that were ready?

Sad, but true, no real need for helmets, glove, parachutes in the Shuttle at
that point of the entry in this Disaster. Just prolong the Disaster
slightly, but it was pretty much a slow motion crash anyway.

Although, reading the report, it looks like it's debatable, and there
probably were debates, that two of the crew did close and lock their
visors. Page 3-53...
http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/298870main_SP-2008-565.pdf
...."Mechanical separation of the bailer bar would be accompanied by fracture
of the latch assembly if the visor was down and the bailer bar was locked.
The other two helmets experienced latch mechanism separation due to failure
of the fasteners that attach the latch mechanism to the helmet...

followed by some hand waving about how the latch failure wasn't...

When I heard the none, zero, of the occupants had the presents of mind to
close their visors, it just sound right. A real time, new, procedure
implemented as a last ditch effort to get hydraulic pressure, while working
formal procedures to restart two APUs? And, the passengers with nothing to
do, other than lock your visor and pray, don't?

Impressive presents of mind by some, yet a lack of it by all, just doesn't
sound right.
--
Craig Fink
Courtesy E-Mail Welcome @