Safety briefing format is outdated
I have never been explicitly told in a Safety Briefing about how to get off the wing after being advised there are overwing exits so Jean, though unthinking about everyone behind her, was simply a victim of a poor briefing in the first place. It may be obvious to this forum that you can jump off the trailing edge but not to the average holiday maker who is encouraged to think of a plane like a bus. Passengers are told in detail about how to put on lifejackets in the unlikely event of a landing in the water (apart from the Hudson River, survivable water landings seem to be a very rare event) whereas they are not instructed in evacuation procedures when emergency evacuations on the ground due to fire, or potential fire, are relatively more common. This focus on water landings even on internal flights is a relic of piston propeller days, and is outdated. The problem is that it is internationally standardised so don't hold your breath for it to change soon although individual carriers could take a lead in adapting it. Is it not about time that safety briefings were updated and include the words "Do not stop to collect your possessions or take luggage with you from the over head locker as as this can impede your exit and that of all the people behind you who also have to evacuate the aircraft safely"? Those passengers sitting nearest the overwing exits who have to open the doors must also be told that they have to jump or slide off the rear edge of the wing and then help others to do so. If our Jean had been asked whether she was able and willing not just to open the doors but also to jump off the wing, she would have been aware of the issue and had the opportunity not to sit in the Exit seat.