How does a wet cloth really help (scientifically) to survive an airplane crash?

"Ann Marie Brest" wrote in message ...
On Thu, 15 May 2014 20:16:19 -0400, Frank wrote:

What's the wet cloth (scientifically) doing?
http://www.faa.gov/pilots/safety/pil.../Smoke_Web.pdf

That nicely summarized FAA article explains:
- Smoke is a complex of particulate matter, invisible combustion gases & vapors suspended in the fire atmosphere.
- Inhalation of toxic gases in smoke is the primary cause of fatalities
- Carbon monoxide & hydrogen cyanide are the principal toxic combustion gases
- Carbon monoxide combines with the hemoglobin in blood and interferes with the oxygen supply to tissues
- Hydrogen cyanide inhibits oxygen utilization at the cellular level.
- Carbon dioxide is a relatively innocuous fire gas, increases respiration rate causing an increase in the uptake of other combustion gases
- Irritant gases, such as hydrogen chloride and acrolein, are generated from burning wire insulation
- Generally, carbon dioxide levels increase while oxygen concentrations decrease during fires.

And then finally, the article suggests:
- Cloth held over the nose and mouth will provide protection from smoke particulates;
- If the cloth is wet, it will also absorb most of the water-soluble gases (i.e., hydrogen cyanide & hydrogen chloride).

What's interesting is that the entire article doesn't discuss any dangers
of breathing smoke particulates, so, why it bothers to mention a dry cloth
is perplexing since we can safely assume that filtering out particulates is
merely a convenience, and not a safety issue.

So, now we're left with the a WET cloth absorbing water-soluble gases.
Of the two water-soluble gases, only hydrogen cyanide was listed in
the article as being a safety issue (the other water-soluble gas was
merely an irritant).

So, I guess we finally have the answer to "why the wet cloth?".

The WET CLOTH filters out (water soluble) hydrogen cyanide:
"Hydrogen cyanide poisoning signs & symptoms are weakness, dizziness, headache,
nausea, vomiting, coma, convulsions, & death. Death results from respiratory arrest.
Hydrogen cyanide gas acts rapidly. Symptoms & death can both occur quickly.

Logically, breathing through a wet cloth would also remove more particulate matter than through a dry cloth. Try blowing cigarette smoke thru a dry handkerchief and a wet one and you'll see a big difference.

On Fri, 16 May 2014 23:16:38 -0800, Guv Bob wrote:

Logically, breathing through a wet cloth would also remove more particulate
matter than through a dry cloth. Try blowing cigarette smoke thru a dry
handkerchief and a wet one and you'll see a big difference.

I have no problem with the logic - but it may also be an urban myth.

What should we conclude from the fact that absolutely ZERO articles have been
posted to this thread coming from the FAA to the airplane manufacturers to the
airline-safety fire departments to the airline-safety research universities
which back up this hypothesis?

To repeat clearly, absolutely ZERO articles have been posted to this thread
that report that smoke particles are a life-threatening danger to your
breathing in an airplane cabin fire and that a wet towel can ameliorate
that danger.

The purpose of this thread is stated in the subject line:
How does a wet cloth really help (scientifically) to survive an airplane crash?

To be clear here, I'd be *glad* to believe that a wet cloth helps save your
life by filtering out particles, but it's hard to believe that supposition
when not a single one of us (me included) can find a single reliable industry
reference that says so.