buttocks must be well back into the harness seat at all times. After you have entered the water release your parachute harness and get out of it; in the water the parachute can quickly become your worst enemy. It can easily drag you under and cause you to drown; therefore, it is important for you to get out of your harness as quickly as possible.

To remove the harness, place your right hand between your body and the right main sling (fig. 5-18); turn 90 degrees to the left and roll out of the harness (fig. 5-19).

A fact that may not be obvious is that when you bail out of any aircraft equipped with multiplace life rafts, such as the P-3, you will not have a life raft available when you reach the surface. Even if the life rafts are jettisoned before bailout, your chance of landing close to one is very remote; therefore, you will have to depend entirely on your life preserver for flotation.

Life Rafts

Naval aircraft are required to carry enough life rafts to meet the needs of the aircrewmen in the event of a crash landing at sea. Some aircraft carry the LR-1, a one-man life raft designed to be carried in a soft pack or a seat survival kit (SKU and RSSK), and the helo backpack.

Figure 5-18. - Aircrewman placing right hand between body and right main sling.