Living the emergency drill

[sTeamTraen]

I have a crazy idea for a fun thing.

I would pay money (say, 20-30 Euros) to be able to do some or all of the following, inside the hull of a plane on the ground:

- have an oxygen mask drop down, so I can see how hard I have to pull
- brace for impact and have the plane given a good shake (or put on a seat belt and experience "proper" turbulence)
- see what the illuminated floor path markings look like, ideally in the presence of simulated smoke
- put on a lifejacket, inflate it, blow in the little tube, etc
- remove the overwing doors
- jump out down the emergency inflatable ramp

In short, to experience everything that the safety briefing talks about.

I have been told that some of these items are included in "fear of flying" courses that companies send nervous executives on. But I imagine it being marketed as a family fun thing, which would also leave people better informed in case they ever do have to survive an emergency. There could be a 20-minute video that also explained things like "why we dim the cabin lights for take off and landing at night" (I know why this is, but most people don't).

I appreciate that deploying the inflatable ramp is an expensive option, but presumably something static could be organised.

Is any of this possible today? What would be impossible about it?

[ExXB]

put on a lifejacket, inflate it, blow in the little tube, etc

Never, ever, inflate the life jacket while in the aircraft.

An inflated life jacket will impede your movements and will trap you to the ceiling if the hull fills with water.

At least we could have realistic videos of all of the above. Show them on screens in the boarding lounges.

[sTeamTraen]

I see where you are coming from but when it comes to the slides etc it can be a big drop. One of the things we consider if we really need to call an evacuation is odds are people will be hurt. There will probably be a few broken ankles/wrists and several more scrapes etc so we don't call it unless we are pretty sure that there is a risk to life remaining on board. That being said I suppose a static set up could have the slide angle softened out and padding and soft area etc all set around the bottom...
Yes, and I have been told how much it costs to deploy the slides, so it would have to be a static setup, with extra-high sides and soft padding all around. But seriously, I'm sure kids would pester their parents for $$ to jump out of a real plane door.

Never, ever, inflate the life jacket while in the aircraft.

An inflated life jacket will impede your movements and will trap you to the ceiling if the hull fills with water.
Yep, I knew that about the impediment. So that would be one more thing people can learn: "OK, now inflate your life jacket. Bulky, huh? So don't do that in a real emergency". (Thanks for the point about getting trapped on the ceiling, I hadn't thought of that.)

At least we could have realistic videos of all of the above. Show them on screens in the boarding lounges.
Excellent idea, but I suspect the airlines would say it puts (most) people off...

[haa]

I would really love to have this experience — could this be a DO at some crew training centre where they have the training equipment already?

There should be a "global air passenger safety improvement program": if you do this kind of hands-on passenger safety training session, all your FF numbers would be added to a list, which would give you higher priority or lower cost for selecting exit row seats on all airlines ;-) I think it would even improve safety in real life.

Will we ever see the day when the exit row briefing would be: "I see you're all exit row certified, have a great flight, here is your bonus non-alcoholic safety drink!" ;-)

[Denti]

Well, it is simple, just do a cabin crew training course, most of that stuff is part of it.

[DaveReidUK]

If you want to see just why a slide deployment costs so much money, take a look at this:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01l1w71/engineering-giants-1-jumbo-jet-stripdown (skip to 15:00)

Six hours to pack a slide for re-use !

[ShyTorque]

I'd like to know how efficient holding a baby on my lap is at cushioning my impact during an emergency landing. I've noticed that you should do this on some emergency cards...

:E

[PAXboy]

I have long thought that this should br available and the results made public.

[ExXB]

(Thanks for the point about getting trapped on the ceiling, I hadn't thought of that.)

ET961 23 Nov 1996 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopian_Airlines_Flight_961).

Many passengers died because they inflated their life jackets in the cabin, causing them to be trapped inside by the rising water.

[SLFAussie]

In all of my flying I've never been in turbulence that's really required seat belts, though I've often been on flights where the seat belt signs have been on just in case and all of that's a good thing :ok:

I'm not a fan of fairground rides, but I'd pay money for a simulator experience with white knuckle turbulence, decompression, emergency descent with oxygen masks, a brace-brace-brace heads down, stay down landing, followed by an emergency evacuation down slides. I'd pay extra to sit in the extra-legroom seats so that I could operate the over-wing emergency exit doors. The life jackets could be kept as souvenirs.

All under elfin safety supervision, of course :8

And I'd want paid actors aboard who took their hand luggage with them down the slides, so that they can all be roundly chastised afterwards. :=

[+TSRA]

In all of my flying I've never been in turbulence that's really required seat belt

You should have been over the Rockies last week then. Even the 5-point in the flight deck wasn’t keeping my plus size butt where it should have been.

In all fairness, while this sounds like an interesting idea, amusement park ride is about as accurate as this sounds. This would have to be a private endeavour, as no airline would intentionally subject themselves to the litigation that would surely come from an injury. Of course, organizations provide flight simulators for the general public, so who knows...a small, niche market for sure.

As far as “exit certifications” go, that just won’t happen. Off the top of my head, I see training and personal insurance sad being the first two limitations. Training would be the easy part, but insurance...No airline would cover a passenger should they make a mistake during an emergency, so you’d need a form of personal liability insurance. I can hear the ambulance chaser two houses down licking his lips at the thought...

With all that said, if you just want the experience of pulling on plastic things to put over your mouth, being yelled and screamed at, thrown about like a rag doll, then tossed out the front door I would suggest Regulation in Islington might be a better place to ask these questions :} (I kid of course).

[SLFAussie]

I have lived in Islington, so happen to know that Regulation is not at all aviation related! Their equipment is not intended to simulate aircraft emergencies, although safe words may be required. :hmm:

[cee cee]

I'd like to know how efficient holding a baby on my lap is at cushioning my impact during an emergency landing. I've noticed that you should do this on some emergency cards...


Having travelled with a baby on a flight, it is not your strength that is holding the baby (because it won't), it is the extra baby seat belt that is linked to your seat belt.

And that area is probably the least likely to be impacted, compared with upper body or lower leg flailing around, if you are belted firmly in your seat. Also we were at the bassinet seats, which meant there was nothing in front of us anyway.


Never, ever, inflate the life jacket while in the aircraft.
I remember a few decades ago when the inflight safety demonstration would tell you to partially inflate the life jacket in the aircraft by pulling on one tab, and to pull on the second tab to fully inflate after leaving the aircraft.

[Heathrow Harry]

"In short, to experience everything that the safety briefing talks about."

do some flying around Russia, Indonesia or Africa...............

[TCU]

I was on BA042 CPT-LHR (G-CIVD) last January when some 2hrs out of CPT the oxygen masks dropped. It was startling!

I was sat in the UD and first thing I noticed was there were four masks/seat pair, so plenty of choice

With the auto cabin announcement blaring, the next thing I noticed was the cabin crew had gone ....back to stations of course....and there was an eerie silence in the cabin (save the auto announcement) and lots of swinging masks

15-30 seconds or so have passed and I have still not donned my mask (young son and missus in row ahead have. Indeed my son put one on his fluffy dog...great picture!) but I was waiting for the nose to shove down....rightly or wrongly, I thought I'd wait

It never happened. After maybe 5 minutes crew emerged and began to engage with the passengers....understandably there were some a little upset

After 15 mins Captain popped up on PA announcing deployment had been a technical fault

I finished my cheese and port and we carried on our merry way to LHR.

On arrival in the morning the lower deck looked like a jungle canopy with all the masks hanging down

[easyflyer83]

Hence why us crew refer to monkey swinging in the rubber jungle.

[Alsacienne]

But if you had waited to see what happened ...

15-30 seconds or so have passed and I have still not donned my mask

you might never have known the outcome. If there is a rapid decompression the first 10 seconds are vital. Wait too long and oxygen-deprivation euphoria will kick in and ...

But of course nobody wants to be the first ninny to react do they ...

[TCU]

Alsacienne and TA I was simply telling the tale as it happened.....not trying to prove anything. 15-30 seconds passes rather quickly when something unexpected happens. Look at evac times on some recent well publicised incidents. I surprised myself. Had the mask deployment been accompanied by a rapid pitch down, I suspect it might have gone on a bit quicker....but hopefully I will never know.

Going back to the OP I wouldn't pay money for it to happen again. Many passengers were upset by the incident. The cabin crew reacted superbly.

TA of course you would don your mask...you are trained to.

[twb3]

I was on BA042 CPT-LHR (G-CIVD) last January when some 2hrs out of CPT the oxygen masks dropped. It was startling!

I was sat in the UD and first thing I noticed was there were four masks/seat pair, so plenty of choice

With the auto cabin announcement blaring, the next thing I noticed was the cabin crew had gone ....back to stations of course....and there was an eerie silence in the cabin (save the auto announcement) and lots of swinging masks

15-30 seconds or so have passed and I have still not donned my mask (young son and missus in row ahead have. Indeed my son put one on his fluffy dog...great picture!) but I was waiting for the nose to shove down....rightly or wrongly, I thought I'd wait

It never happened. After maybe 5 minutes crew emerged and began to engage with the passengers....understandably there were some a little upset

After 15 mins Captain popped up on PA announcing deployment had been a technical fault

I finished my cheese and port and we carried on our merry way to LHR.

On arrival in the morning the lower deck looked like a jungle canopy with all the masks hanging down

I have had altitude chamber training as USAF aircrew. If you wait to see if there is a reason for the mask deployment and the depressurization is real, you will never get your mask on. Time of useful consciousness at airline cruise altitudes is in the 8-10 second range...and you will not have had the advantage of pre-breathing 100% oxygen as we were in the chamber.

Even with a partial depressurization you are seriously impaired in short order. One demonstration in the chamber was at, I think, 25,000 ft. pressure altitude. A student was told to remove his mask, begin a simple task, and not to don his mask again until directed by the instructor. After less than a minute he was told to mask but fixated on the task and ignored the instruction. Not even the instructor screaming MASK at him had any effect - his mask had to be replaced by the instructor.

As a pax, if the mask is presented it's going to be on my face in seconds. I don't care if it looks silly, you get seriously stupid very fast when hypoxic.

This is one reason, I think, why the emergency descent after a depressurization is so rapid. Most untrained people are not going to mask in time to prevent the onset of hypoxia, so the aircraft has to get to a lower altitude very quickly indeed.

[SeenItAll]

I was on BA042 CPT-LHR (G-CIVD) last January when some 2hrs out of CPT the oxygen masks dropped. It was startling!

After 15 mins Captain popped up on PA announcing deployment had been a technical fault

I finished my cheese and port and we carried on our merry way to LHR.

This surprises me. I thought that if masks deployed, there was a requirement to land at the nearest suitable airfield. The reason being that even if the deployment was accidental, many PAX would have pulled the pins and activated the oxygen generators -- therefore if a real emergency developed another few hours into the flight, they wouldn't have any more oxygen available.

[DaveReidUK]

AFAIK, BA 747s have a ring main oxygen system rather than chemical generators.

If that's the case, a few pax pulling their masks shouldn't significantly deplete the supply.

[Mr Oleo Strut]

I have a crazy idea for a fun thing.

I would pay money (say, 20-30 Euros) to be able to do some or all of the following, inside the hull of a plane on the ground:

- have an oxygen mask drop down, so I can see how hard I have to pull
- brace for impact and have the plane given a good shake (or put on a seat belt and experience "proper" turbulence)
- see what the illuminated floor path markings look like, ideally in the presence of simulated smoke
- put on a lifejacket, inflate it, blow in the little tube, etc
- remove the overwing doors
- jump out down the emergency inflatable ramp

In short, to experience everything that the safety briefing talks about.

I have been told that some of these items are included in "fear of flying" courses that companies send nervous executives on. But I imagine it being marketed as a family fun thing, which would also leave people better informed in case they ever do have to survive an emergency. There could be a 20-minute video that also explained things like "why we dim the cabin lights for take off and landing at night" (I know why this is, but most people don't).

I appreciate that deploying the inflatable ramp is an expensive option, but presumably something static could be organised.

Is any of this possible today? What would be impossible about it?

What a fantastic, simple and sensible idea that could be a permanent feature at major science or aviation museums. This would give the public an idea of what to expect should a real life aviation emergency arise, how it's dealt with, and actually help to avoid injury and save lives.

To my certain knowledge this sort of thing is already happening as regards maritime matters. Here's my account of what happened a few years ago in Saint Nazaire, France at the huge museum about ocean liners - the museum itself is located in the the old WW2 submarine pens and site of the brilliant and brave attack by HMS Campbelltown, both fascinating.

Anyway, the museum is very interesting and user-friendly , all about the ocean liners built at St. Nazaire and the people of all classes who travelled in them. All beautifully presented. The difference between first-class and steeerage was very illuminating. At the end of the museum tour vistiors assembled every two-hours in the re-created theatre of an ocean liner to view some fine old voyage films. Very interesting and a fitting end to an interesting visit, we thought.

Suddenly, without warning, wisps of smoke entered the auditorium and alarms sounded. Staff dressed as crew appeared carrying life jackets and it was announced that there was an emergency and the ship had to be evacuated. There were about 200 of us in the theatre and we were each issued with life-jackets and ushered towards the (re-created) boat deck where we we boarded big life-boats which were lowered down into the water of the submarine pens. A very dramatic end to the visit and the only time in my life that I have ever been in a lifeboat. It certainly gave a very graphic idea of what a life-boat evacuation would be like. Unforgettable!

So, yes, I think there should be an opportunity for the public to familiarisr themselves with real-time aviation safety procedures. It can only do good.

I would add that at Saint Nazaire you can also visit the very active ship-building complex and the nearby Airbus factory. All in all a very good tourist destination, and right next door to beautiful La Baule and its magnificent beach.

[S.o.S.]

Thank you Mr Oleo Strut. Sounds like one for the notebook. This needs to be suggested to an air museum that has good space - Duxford have the space and, probably, the numbers of visitors for the investment.

[Mr Oleo Strut]

Thanks, SoS. I think Duxford would be a great location for an exhibit demonstrating air safety and security arrangements. A good subject for national lottery funding.

[NutLoose]

Cranfield asked for volunteers years ago when they were studying evacuation, they all queued nicelay and went out one after the other... no panic, so they then offered £10 to the first XYZ out of the plane... that worked a treat.