"vincent p. norris" wrote in message
...
Or, perhaps something is jammed against the release, or against the
harness
so you just can't access the release. Or the harness is tangled with
something or the release is mangled somehow. Or your hand/arm that
should
operate the release is broken, or, your passenger can't get to his
release
and you can only reach some other part of their harness ...

Sorry to sound so stubborn, but those just don't strike me as
realistic hyptheses.

Well, the topic is Survival Gear. When do you need Survival Gear?
It suggests to me that you've maybe had to do a forced landing somewhere
you didn't intend. Might be into water, trees, or rough terrain. Its not
inconceivable that the plane is bent, maybe a lot, seats jammed together,
trees, branches or rocks, parts of the airframe or wing intruding, who
knows?
Even granting that you've lived through it so far, the hypotheses don't
sound that unrealistic to me.

I can suggest as many "maybes" that would prevent my using a tool
to cut my seat belt.

Sure. No guarantees. But the question is not whether you should or
shouldn't carry such a tool, but what kind of circumstances would
prevent you from simply unlatching your harness ...