Having read my personal copy of the AAIB report, permit me to make some observations. I have attended a lecture at Cranfield, and visited the mockup where trials to improve evacuation proceedure take place. Volunteers were used in tests; they were too orderly unless promised a cash reward, that had the effect of producing chaos, as people climbed over seats, stepped on everyone else, and BLOCKED THE EXITS! And those slides are pretty high off the ground too, I would certainly hesitate on the brink.
I also have experienced panic as SLF. It is absolutely terrifying when the cabin fills with any kind of strange vapor, be it steam, smoke, fumes, or burnt toast.
So the most dangerous thing is panic. Studies show that regular commuters on business flights are most orderly and experienced, and so survive. But old women and children just get in the way and are trampled by ordinary blokes in a panic. Only one way out, and fumes in the cabin? Enough blokes have frankly stated on this thread that they would take personal action to get the hell out. And Cranfield studies have shown that in that case, the exits get blocked!
Most on board the USAir flight that arrived in the Hudson River were commuters. Able bodied.
In short, I fully support the action of the SCCM. Hindsight is all very well, and although perhaps she should have persisted in trying to communicate with a busy flight deck - in the event of fumes or smoke, not only is there potential for catastrophic fire, but the potential for panic as well. In which case, more than one exit, please, for my family.