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Article: Training for a Plane Crash



 
 
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  #1  
Old October 30th, 2011, 01:56 PM posted to rec.travel.air
Ablang[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 6
Default 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
  #2  
Old October 30th, 2011, 03:10 PM posted to rec.travel.air
Fly Guy
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 193
Default 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.
  #3  
Old October 30th, 2011, 03:24 PM posted to rec.travel.air
Fly Guy
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 193
Default 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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