Living the emergency drill
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Living the emergency drill
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?
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?
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put on a lifejacket, inflate it, blow in the little tube, etc
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.
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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...
Excellent idea, but I suspect the airlines would say it puts (most) people off...
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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!" ;-)
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!" ;-)
Last edited by haa; 19th Oct 2017 at 20:03. Reason: typo fixes
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/episod...-jet-stripdown (skip to 15:00)
Six hours to pack a slide for re-use !
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episod...-jet-stripdown (skip to 15:00)
Six hours to pack a slide for re-use !
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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...
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Many passengers died because they inflated their life jackets in the cabin, causing them to be trapped inside by the rising water.
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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 
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
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.
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
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.
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In all of my flying I've never been in turbulence that's really required seat belt
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).
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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. 
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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.
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.
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 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
But if you had waited to see what happened ...
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 ...
15-30 seconds or so have passed and I have still not donned my mask
But of course nobody wants to be the first ninny to react do they ...
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.
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.
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 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
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.
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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.