One of the coolest stunt series of all time has to be the Indiana Jones raft escape in
Temple of Doom, where Indy and company jump from an airplane, drop for fifteen seconds,
land on a snow field, slide down a mountain, fly off a cliff and finally splash down in
a river.
But, could you actually pull all this off in real life?
Would a raft act like a parachute?
Could you survive this impact?
And did Steven Spielberg actually marry Willie?
Let's find out in seven elements.
From the top, the trio of Indy, Willie and Short Round move as one smooth group from
inside the plane, to out the door, and inside the falling raft.
Problem is this opening is really small.
You'd probably have to jump one at a time and meet up mid-air or something.
It doesn't derail the whole escape, but it'd certainly make things more complicated--which
is bad when your falling toward the ground.
Number 2
Would a raft actually slow you down in a fall?
Yes.
A raft's surface area is bigger than your body--or three bodies combined--and more surface
area equals more air resistance on the way down which equals a slower descent.
It's not going to slow you nearly as much as a parachute would, but it's still better
than nothing.
Number 3
Could you keep a raft right-side-up and stay inside during a fall?
Maybe.
Staying inside would be tricky.
Simplifying here, but if you can keep your collective center of gravity close the raft's
center of lift you'll be okay.
Otherwise it's going to spin, rotate, tumble and spill you out.
Still, these dummies manage to stay right-side-up, so we'll say the odds are good enough.
Number 4
This landing would probably kill Indy.
And you.
And anyone else.
Here's why:
On the plus side, you've got three things going for you.
Yes, the raft is slowing you down.
Also, you're landing on snow, which has a little bit of give as opposed to a more rigid
surface like dirt or cement.
Third, you're landing on a LITTLE bit of a slope, so some of your speed or kinetic energy
can continue with you, rather than being totally absorbed in a complete stop.
So much the bright side--here's why none of this matters much.
That snow we talked about?
It's not very deep or fluffy.
After less than a frame, our groups bouncing back up.
It's better than landing on dirt but not much.
Second, body position.
If your going to survive any sort of fall from height your best bet is a feet-first
landing--like a parachuter--so the muscles and joints in your legs
can take the brunt of the impact.
But our group lands lying down, which exposes your head and vital organs
to the full force of impact.
Third and most problematic: impact speed.
They're moving pretty quick.
Exactly how fast are they falling?
If you run the math and make some measurements, turn out Indie, Willie and Short Round are
falling at 44 miles- or 71 kilometers-per-hour right before impact.
So... what does that mean?
If it's been a while since your last mid-flight ditching of a Ford tri-motor airplane using
a raft-as-parachute alongside an archeologist-turned-adventurer,
this speed might feel a bit arbitrary. Is it fast?
Or Slow?
Would it hurt a little?
Or a lot?
For the answer, we gathered data from a whole bunch of sources and created this chart.
It shows your odds of surviving an impact with the ground based on how fast you're traveling
right before you come to a sudden stop.
For instance, if you land at 25 miles per hour--which would be like falling off a two-story
building--your odds are pretty good.
You're probably looking at bruises or broken bones, but you're likely going to survive.
An impact at 38 mph and your odds drop to 50-50.
Which means about half the time this speed is fatal.
And the other half, you're looking at severe injuries.
Our crew clocks in about here: 44 miles-per-hour.
Chance of survival? Say 15%. Not good!
So, don't try this at home.
Or in the Himalayas.
But, it gets even worse.
For obvious reasons they used dummies in this shot--and these dummies are lighter
than their human counterparts.
With more weight (the correct weight) the raft's gonna fall even faster.
It'd approach its terminal velocity and speeds of 65 miles- or 105 kilometers-per-hour
at impact, which is off the charts for survivability.
So yeah, it's gonna hurt.
Or, you might not even feel a thing.
Number 5
After touchdown the crew slides their way for 28 seconds without ripping their raft
or being stopped by a tree.
And there's a lot of 'em.
Sure, a clean slide is possible but it's really unlikely.
Number 6 The trio drop in a second free-fall this time
to the bottom of a canyon.
The raft's only moving about 25 miles or 40 kilometers per hour in this shot.
But remember, its actual speed would be closer to 65 miles-per-hour.
So, what would happen in the real world?
This one's trickier because water's involved.
Without recreating this landing at this location,
there's no way to be certain how Indy would fare.
Best guess: this landing is more survivable than the first but not by much.
Finally, did Spielberg actually marry the actress who plays Willie?
True story.
Spielberg and Cate Kapshaw met in auditions, married a few years later,
and are still together today.
So if you're a lonely bachelor whose figurative hearts been ripped out, all you have to do
is direct a movie about literal hearts being ripped out to meet your sweetheart.
And it probably doesn't hurt if film is also the highest grossing of the year.
From initial jump through washing up on the shores near Pankot Palace, this escape sequence
is hard to beat.
Sure, there's only the tiniest of slivers of a chance you actually live to tell about
it, but that's the power of cinema, the lure of a fun story,
and the magic of Indiana Jones.
That's it for our breakdown of Temple of Doom.
What did you think of our review?
How would you survive jumping from a plane?
What movie should we fact-check next?
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Thank you for watching, and remember:
"We are going to die!"