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Article: Training for a Plane Crash
Training for a Plane Crash
British Airways Puts Fliers in Mock Disasters; How to Get a Head Start Smoke poured into the airplane cabin and activity came to a screeching halt. As the captain yelled "Evacuate! Evacuate!" passengers did what comes naturally: They froze. The "emergency," staged with theatrical smoke in a full-motion airline cabin simulator, was part of an unusual British Airways safety course. Sixteen travelers from some of the airline's top corporate customers and its advertising agency practiced jumping down evacuation slides, opening heavy airplane doors and scampering out smoke-filled crashed cabins. They also learned simple tips that could save lives. "The ones who think about what they'd do are the ones who get out first," said Geof Fearon, one of the BA instructors. An airplane runs off the end of a runway and a small fire erupts and begins to spread. Would you coolly know what to do next? As Scott McCartney explains on Lunch Break, British Airways is now offering a course on how to survive a crash. Statistically, a majority of accidents are survivable, but hesitation can kill or result in injury. An analysis of 283 accidents world-wide in which there were fatalities found that only 31% of passengers survived, according to a 2008 study by the U.K. Civil Aviation Authority. In the precious first moments after a crash, when experts say a half-second head start can get you to an aisle first, the most basic elements of human character are revealed. Some instincts help survival and others hinder escape. Some people are panicked into pushing, shoving and fighting. For many, the brain shuts down and they are slow to react. That's why practice and familiarity can help. Balking at the top of a three-story evacuation slide can lead to a push, sending you cart-wheeling down and resulting in broken ankles. Research shows even practicing with the seat belt latch can help quicken escape. On average, 6% of passengers in an evacuation get delayed by seat-belt struggles, the CAA study found. When a 737 collided with another plane on a runway at Los Angeles International Airport in 1991, 10 passengers died of smoke inhalation queued up at an over-wing emergency exit. They had a difficult time opening the escape door, survivors said, and two got into a scuffle, slowing the evacuation. On the US Airways Hudson River landing in 2009, only 10 of 150 passengers thought to grab a life jacket before evacuating, and only about half took a seat cushion for floatation, according to the National Transportation Safety Board's report. All survived. British Airways started a one-day emergency safety course for passengers five years ago at the request of oil company BP, which has lots of employees flying around the world. Other companies, many of them energy concerns that send workers into undeveloped parts of the world, began sending groups of road warriors to the course. View Interactive Benjamin Thomas for the Wall Street Journal It seems odd that an airline would want to train people to deal with catastrophe, but British Airways believes the course engenders customer loyalty and helps calm nervous fliers. The airline plans to open up the course, which costs about $210, to individual travelers next year, possibly letting passengers redeem frequent-flier miles to attend. About 11,000 people have gone through the class so far. Enlarge Image MIDSEATjp MIDSEATjp Benjamin Thomas for the Wall Street Journal Andy Clubb, a British Airways flight-attendant trainer, demonstrates how to remove an over-wing door. "We teach people to react faster than anyone else so they are in the aisle first and down the slide first," said Andy Clubb, a British Airways flight-attendant trainer who conceived of and runs the passenger course. But it's not simply survival of the fittest. Other passengers seeing someone react positively will quickly follow, and the prepared passengers become leaders, making the entire evacuation faster. The primary lesson: Spend two minutes before takeoff formulating your own emergency plan so you will be prepared and instead of freezing or panicking. Count how many rows you are from exits, in front and behind you, so you'll know when you reach an exit if you are crawling blindly on a floor underneath layers of smoke. The course, held in BA's crew-training facility at London's Heathrow Airport, rotates participants through drills in different cabin mockups. In one simulated emergency, participants listened to standard pre-takeoff briefings and, like typical travelers, ignored the safety briefing from flight attendants. As the simulator mimicked takeoff, smoke poured into the cabin. Flight attendants began yelling for passengers to undo seat belts and then come toward them. They did, even if they were sitting next to an over-wing door. [MIDSEAT] Over-wing doors are passenger-operated. No one tells you to open them. "I try to get the exit row for the extra legroom, but I'd be reluctant to open that door unless I was told. This opened my eyes to that one," said Aiden Whitty, a travel booker for Thomson Reuters, a media company. Smoke training was the most important exercise. In a smoke chamber heated to simulate real conditions, participants stood up in a cabin filling with smoke and realized how quickly they became disoriented. The more they moved around, the more the smoke distributed through the cabin—like stirring a pot. Drop down low and get out fast. "It is possibly one of the most frightening things you will ever experience," said Sue Thorne, another of the British Airways flight-training staff. Mr. Clubb said statistically, seats within five rows of an exit are the most survivable. One study of four accidents involving 737 and DC-9 aircraft found the mean travel distance for survivors was 2.89 seat rows. The distance to the nearest exit for fatalities was 5.31 seat rows, according to the U.K. aviation authority. Also, aisle seats have historically had more survivors than other seats. When the class practiced opening emergency-exit doors, participants were surprised at how heavy the things were—about 40 pounds for a 737 over-wing door—and hard to maneuver. "I'm one of those people who doesn't look at the safety briefing card. I can't think of the number of times I've sat in the emergency exit row and never considered the responsibility," said Paula Wilson, who works for a financial consulting firm in London. A Crash Plan: What Experts Advise Planning ahead and keeping calm make a difference amid the chaos. Some tips from British Airways experts: • PREFLIGHT PLAN. Count how many rows you are from the exits, both in front and behind you, so you'll know when you reach an exit if you are blindly crawling on the floor underneath layers of smoke. Make sure your seat has a life vest on airplanes equipped with them. (Some vests can be stolen by passengers as souvenirs.) • PREPARE FOR IMPACT. The brace position really works, studies have shown. But you have to do it properly. Bend so your head drops down to your knees. Put your hands on the back of your head—not on your forehead, where they can get crushed when your head hits the seat in front of you. You need those fingers unbroken to unfasten your seat belt. And put your feet flat on the floor, sliding them back under your seat. • PATH LIGHTS. Red lights mean exits, not danger. Red light is more visible through smoke. • OVER-WING DOOR. Unbuckle your seat belt before opening the door, because you may need to stand up and move to get rid of it once it's in your hands. Then be sure to lean your head backward when you open it, because once you pull the handle, the door comes cascading into the cabin and can easily clunk your head. • ESCAPE SLIDE. Remove high heels before reaching the emergency escape slide—they can rip the plastic. Cross your hands on your chest and hold your collar so you don't get friction burns. Walk straight out the cabin and jump fanny-first onto the slide, leaning slightly forward as you shoot down at rapid speed. Lessons From the Past Post-crash analyses found cases where equipment or passenger actions contributed to fatalities. Enlarge Image MIDSEATside1 MIDSEATside1 Associated Press Delta Air Lines Flight 1141 Delta Air Lines Flight 1141 Crashed on takeoff at Dallas-Fort Worth International Aug. 31, 1988 94 survived 14 died Some of the bodies were found at a rear door that wouldn't open. Enlarge Image MIDSEATside3 MIDSEATside3 Associated Press British Midlands Flight 92 Crashed while trying to make an emergency landing at East Midlands Airport after an engine failed and smoke poured in the cabin. Jan. 8, 1989 79 survived 47 died The crash verified advantages of proper brace position and advanced seat safety standards. Enlarge Image MIDSEATside2 MIDSEATside2 European Pressphoto Agency Spanair Flight 5022 Spanair Flight 5022 Crashed on takeoff at Madrid-Barajas International Airport Aug. 20, 2008 18 survived 154 died Post-crash fire led to many of the deaths. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...ng+plane+crash |
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Article: Training for a Plane Crash
Ablang wrote:
Training for a Plane Crash Smoke poured into the airplane cabin and activity came to a screeching halt. As the captain yelled "Evacuate! Evacuate!" passengers did what comes naturally: They froze. "We teach people to react faster than anyone else so they are in the aisle first and down the slide first," said Andy Clubb, a British Airways flight-attendant trainer who conceived of and runs the passenger course. Having just flown on 6 flights last week, and many many more flights over the past 20 or so years, there's one peculiar thing about how airlines assign emergency row seating that needs to be discussed in conjunction with this story. Airlines will keep the emergency row seats empty if at all possible. Only if they are the last assigned seats, or if they are specifically requested by passengers will emergency-row seats be filled with a bum. The logistics and human-factor dynamics of this should be examined. On 2 of my flights, I was the only one seated in an emergency over-wing exit row. You would think that in terms of seating and passenger safety, in anticipation of a crash during take-off and landing, that seat assignments would be made in the order of distance from the exit row, starting with assigning the exit-row seats and working away from them. Naturally in a full plane, this strategy would have no consequence. Airlines prohibit the selection of an emergency-row seat during on-line check-in - the theory being that they'd rather have a desk agent size you up to make sure you meet the requirements of being able to open the door. But your frequent-flyer profile should or could go a long way to establishing your ability to sit in an exit row very easily. First, you age and sex are both knowable on your profile, so the main criteria are there. Second, a history of being granted exit-row seating upon request could also be flagged in your profile, thus making it allowable for you to select the exit row during on-line check-in. |
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Article: Training for a Plane Crash
Flight attendants began yelling for passengers to undo seat belts and then come toward them. They did, even if they were sitting next to an over-wing door. Heh. I can believe that. Over-wing doors are passenger-operated. No one tells you to open them. Again, another counter-intuitive behavior that is designed into the system. During the exit-row briefing given by the FA to passengers, the impression is given that you're expected to be commanded by the crew to open the door, and not necessarily by your own judgement or volition. They do mention the proviso that you should not open the door if there's a water or fire hazard on the other side, implying that your judgement is involved in that decision. Delta Air Lines Flight 1141 Crashed on takeoff at Dallas-Fort Worth International Aug. 31, 1988 94 survived, 14 died Some of the bodies were found at a rear door that wouldn't open. Which is strange, since you'd expect that the FA's would be the ones operating the front and rear doors since that's where they're seated during take-off and landing. Unless structural dammage happened to those doors that prevented them from opening. I really would like to read the details of the Air France crash-landing that happened during a thunderstorm in Toronto a few years ago and how the passengers reacted during that evacuation. |
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