A lesson in air safety: out in 90 seconds

Joe Sharkey, The New York Times | Updated: July 09, 2013 09:07 IST

Next time you're on a plane at takeoff or landing, watch the flight attendant in the jump seat, seemingly lost in thought. Is she idly wondering where she parked her the car at the airport or what's for dinner?

Not likely, said Leslie Mayo, a flight attendant for more than 26 years. Instead, that flight attendant is probably mentally running through "the 30-second review that's been drilled into our heads," she said.

"If you see some of us just sitting there looking out into space, we're probably actually reviewing those safety procedures. You're assessing the cabin. You're thinking, if there's an evacuation, who are my assistants going to be? Who's going to be the most helpful and calm in a situation where you really need help from passengers?" said Mayo, who is also a spokeswoman for the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, which represents more than 16,000 American Airlines flight attendants.

As investigators work to determine the cause (or, more likely, causes) of the crash of Asiana Flight 214 that killed two and injured 180 at San Francisco International Airport on Saturday, people with expertise in aviation safety, or with personal experience in aviation disasters, have been shaking their heads in wonder. How could so many have evacuated that airplane alive? And what can be learned about aviation safety from this incident?

Asiana flight attendants have won wide praise for their performance. Mayo and others are amazed that it took only about 90 seconds to get everyone off that plane, which was carrying 291 passengers and 16 crew. The evacuation was also aided by some passengers who by and large remained calm on an airplane that was on fire, filled with smoke, its tail section broken off, with several of its emergency evacuation slides malfunctioning.

For passengers, some basic lessons were firmly reinforced. These include following crew members' instructions in an emergency and the overall importance of what the safety experts call situational awareness. Routinely, on any flight, we should know exactly where those exit doors are that the flight attendants keep trying to point out during the usually ignored safety demonstrations. We should be asking ourselves, if an emergency occurred what would I do? If I'm in or near an exit row, can I open that door? 

Read on at NDTV page: http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/a-lesson-in-air-safety-out-in-90-seconds-389639?pfrom=home-topstories