If air gets trapped inside the legs of an immersion suit, the rescuer may:

• A. be flipped upside down
• B. sink to the bottom
• C. lose mobility
• D. overheat

Answer: (A)

When air becomes trapped in the leg sections of an immersion suit, those lower portions become more buoyant. That extra buoyancy in the legs shifts how the suit floats in the water, creating a pitching moment that tends to push the feet toward the surface and tilt the body. The result is a tendency for the rescuer to end up inverted, with the head lower and the feet higher, rather than staying upright. This inversion is the most immediate and direct risk from leg-area air pockets.

The increased buoyancy in the legs makes sinking less likely, and while it can complicate movement or control, the standout effect is the potential to flip upside down. Overheating isn’t a direct consequence of trapped air in the legs, and loss of mobility is more a symptom of overall awkward positioning than a specific outcome of leg-air buoyancy.