Why you should listen to the in-flight safety announcement
If you’re one of those passengers who ignores the in-flight safety announcements, listen up. What you’re about to read could save your life.
It probably did for the survivors of a recent Grupo Taca Airlines flight, which crashed in Tegucigalpa, Honduras after the plane overshot the runway in poor visibility. Five people — including the pilot and a passenger — died, but the remaining 124 passengers survived the accident.
Do you ever stop to think that hearing that one critical piece of information one more time — say, for instance, that the “closest usable exit may be behind you” — might save your hide?
I always count the number of seatbacks from my seat to the exit in front of and behind me before each takeoff, and I always read the card that shows how to open the door or overwing hatch. But I have my reasons. I’ll get to that in a second.
Tripso contributor Elizabeth Smith sent me a trip report about in-flight safety that relates to this discussion.
Her first flight of the morning experienced a lengthy maintenance delay out of LaGuardia because of two separate indicator lights that showed something wrong with the aircraft. Later, as her connecting commuter flight was at full speed on its takeoff roll, it suddenly slammed on the brakes and came to a stop in the middle of the runway, leaving Smith and quite a few of her fellow customers concerned for their safety.
The pilot announced there was an indicator light — the third one in a day for Elizabeth today — showing something wrong with one of the propellers. The aircraft was checked, the onboard computer system rebooted, and they flew to their destination.
This experience has left Smith, a very frequent flier, somewhat rattled. She suggested her preferred airline is an accident waiting to happen.
Three mechanical issues on two aircraft? What are the odds? I don’t think I can trust this airline’s safety. Please God, do not let there be anything really wrong with this plane; I really am not ready to go yet.
I’m no safety expert. But I’ve participated directly in post-crash family support efforts more times than I ever wanted to over the course of my airline career, and I’ve learned a thing or two about safety in the process.
Today’s modern aircraft have onboard computers that provide these indicators to the pilots so they can react the way these pilots did — stop the airplane and check it out before taking off. Modern airplanes have redundant systems built in to check and double check each other. Airlines have safety procedures that cross-check and typically do not just rely on the opinion of one person.
Yes, hitting the brakes while at full tilt is disconcerting. So is a lightning strike or an in-flight engine shutdown. Aircraft manufacturers, airlines and the Federal Aviation Administration have procedures for dealing with these situations, and commercial pilots receive extensive training so that reacting to them is second nature.
The physics behind Bernoulli’s principle of lift are proven. Air travel is 22 times safer than traveling by car.
It still wouldn’t hurt for you to put down your BlackBerry for a minute and listen to the flight safety briefing for the 1,000,001th time.
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2 Responses to “Why you should listen to the in-flight safety announcement”
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I agree with your advice. I always note where I am sitting and where the exits are. You have to count as they skip row numbers frequently.
I read the card when I sit in the exit row, even if I just sat in the exit row yesterday. I’ve even asked if I wasn’t sure how to open the exit.
I also remind myself to put on my own oxygen mask first before helping anyone else. There’s a good reason they say this–if you pass out, you can’t help anyone!
I have to agree - i get really concerned when there are elderly people sitting in the emergency row that I can honestly say couldn’t open that door if there was an emergency. I know they have an age limit on young people that can sit there (16) but don’t you think there should be a cap of maybe 65 - and yes I do know there are some 60 & 70 year old that can but not all….