View Full Version : cabin lights on takeoff
alexban
9th Feb 2010, 06:15
Hy, how do you do it:
at night, on takeoff or landing, you select cabin lights off or dim (for ex Dim2 on A320) ? Why?
If possible a reference to airlines name will help ( we have this discussion for thr CCM amendament, and some people said that many companies are doing it this or that way)
Thks
Brgds
Alex
I believe it's to make sure your eyes have some night vision in case of an emergency.
If the lights are too bright and you have to see out when evacuating the aircraft it is very difficult to see anything. If the lights are dim you are able to see if the exit is usable almost immediately. I'm not sure about a specific airline for you as my airline did not do this.
tocamak
9th Feb 2010, 09:31
Why?
It could well be the case that after initiating the evacuation the flight deck crew will be switching off the APU (if it was running) and the engines will have been shut down. The remaining (emergency) lighting will be considerably dimmer than normal and if full lighting had been on up to that point there would be a time lag whilst your eyes adjust to this. By having lights off during darkness this lag is avoided as actually now the emergency lights will appear quite ok or you would be better prepared if things are very bad and no lighting is available
alexban
9th Feb 2010, 09:40
hb78 is right, but the question is the lights should be off or dim?
Lights off will give a better adjustment to exterior light, but it is said it will have a bad effect on pax morale on takeoff or landing.
Lights dim are better for pax comfort, but it is said it will give a longer adjustment to exterior lighting.
I personally support the dim light SOP.
Fernanjet
9th Feb 2010, 10:09
Come on now people - How many more discussions do we need on this subject!!!
PAX comfort is irrelevant at this stage.
The light are dimmed/switched off, to allow adjustment of the eyes in the event of possible evacuation.
pure and simple.....case closed.
starbag
9th Feb 2010, 10:27
we do ceiling lights off and window lights on DIM2 (Airbus). On our newer A321s with mood lighting, we have a take off / landing setting where all the cabin lights fade to a dark blue.
prim737
9th Feb 2010, 21:37
We have lights off on all flights regardless if it's day or night. At another company we had lights to match outside conditions.