Every pilot considers the aftermath of having to put an airplane down other than where he or she desires. Every year some pilots are required to put such thoughts into action. Contemplating the worst and preparing for it is something pilots are trained to do-and part of being ready to implement an after-accident plan of action is having equipment available to carry it out. That means having a survival kit in the airplane.
There are dozens of commercially available aviation survival kits. We surveyed a cross section-they ranged from unacceptable to excellent, based on the quality and selection of items included as we’ll as weight and size. Because weight and space are at a premium in general aviation airplanes, the best kits did amazing jobs of shoehorning a lot of equipment into a small space and keeping weight under control.