Brace for impact

Question

OK, one more about the plane crash. In the story that iker linked to, the passenger named Panero is quoted as saying the pilot said, "Preparados para aterrizar."

All the English reports, including this one from CNN, say the pilot said "Brace for impact" (or "hard impact").

Can anyone translate this into Spanish better? "Preparados para aterrizar" just doesn't seem to carry quite the same impact.

Answer 1

La opción de James es la más adecuada:

Preparados para el impacto.

Answer 2

Just to give native speakers another instance of context:

The parents of a 3-year-old girl and a 9-month-old boy recounted how they and a fellow passenger held the children tight while preparing to crash land. "I held Sophia and we did the best we could to brace ourselves up," Martin Sosa, the father, told NBC's "Today."

Answer 3

Good question. The dictionaries all gloss brace as: To brace for something -> prepararse para algo. This works in the metaphorical sense, as in the following.

Brace yourself, I'm going to tell you something shocking.
Prepárate, te voy a decir algo espantoso.

However, "to brace oneself for something" can also be used literally, meaning to hold on tightly to something to prepare for an imminent collision or other impact, as in the case here. In this case, the verb brace is related to the noun brace, which is abrazadera in Spanish.

I wonder if we could say "Que estén preparados para impacto."

Answer 4

Natasha said:

Hi Marco, I agree that it makes sense. However, "Flight attendants, please prepare the cabin for landing" is what the pilot routinely says for a normal landing. "Preparados para aterrizar" doesn't seem (to me) to convey the idea of "brace yourself" (hold on to something, get ready) and "impact" (hitting the water, crash).

Marco T said:

Hi Natasha,

What I am thinking is that "preparados para aterrizar" means "preparations for landing" and it probably is the way to say this meaning in Spanish even though it does not translate to English as exactly the same thing. For me, it makes sense. But would like to get the opinion from others.

Thanks,

Marco

Hi Natasha,

Do you think if the pilot implied because "bracing yourself", "holding on to something" and "getting ready" is the thing that you have to do in order to protect yourself if emergency landing occurs so the pilot does not need to say that in that case? This is just my thought.

Marco

Answer 5

"Preparados para aterrizar" is more like "Ready for landing"

I think that maybe "preparados para aterrizaje turbulento" would have more of that 'impact' you say, but I don't know if it's common for the pilot to say that in an emergency situation.

Marco T said:

Hi Natasha,What I am thinking is that "preparados para aterrizar" means "preparations for landing" and it probably is the way to say this meaning in Spanish even though it does not translate to English as exactly the same thing. For me, it makes sense. But would like to get the opinion from others.Thanks,Marco

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Answer 6

Hi Marco, I agree that it makes sense. However, "Flight attendants, please prepare the cabin for landing" is what the pilot routinely says for a normal landing. "Preparados para aterrizar" doesn't seem (to me) to convey the idea of "brace yourself" (hold on to something, get ready) and "impact" (hitting the water, crash).

Marco T said:

Hi Natasha,

What I am thinking is that "preparados para aterrizar" means "preparations for landing" and it probably is the way to say this meaning in Spanish even though it does not translate to English as exactly the same thing. For me, it makes sense. But would like to get the opinion from others.

Thanks,

Marco

>

Answer 7

Hi Natasha,

What I am thinking is that "preparados para aterrizar" means "preparations for landing" and it probably is the way to say this meaning in Spanish even though it does not translate to English as exactly the same thing. For me, it makes sense. But would like to get the opinion from others.

Thanks,

Marco