MilesBuzz! - Seat belts are not just decoration

When the stewardess recommends keeping your seat belt fastened for the flight, they are not joking !

From todays (UK) Times Newspaper :-

TWENTY-NINE passengers were injured when turbulence rocked a British Airways jet flying from Brisbane to Singapore last night. Seven were taken to hospital with broken bones.

BA Flight 16, a Boeing 747 with 243 passengers on board, was 50 minutes from Singapore when it hit severe turbulence. One passenger, Barry White, 59, a mechanical superintendent from Brisbane, estimated that the worst bout lasted only 30 seconds but sent people "flying around the cabin".

"The plane was massively jumping up and down," he said. "Someone went through the panel of the ceiling. All I could see were a pair of legs hanging out. There were broken arms, broken legs."

Mr White said his safety belt, which he had kept fastened, had saved him from injury.

Witnesses at Singapore's Changi International Airport arrival area said that they had seen at least five people taken in wheelchairs to emergency vehicles, while others from the flight had been taken to an airport clinic.

British Airways confirmed that seven people had been taken to hospital as a result of the incident, one with a broken wrist, another with a broken arm, and others with head, back and limb injuries. None of the injuries was said to be life-threatening.

Another 22 had been treated at the airport clinic and been deemed fit to continue their journeys.

A British Airways spokesman said: "It is very exceptional indeed for such severe turbulence to hit unexpectedly and to cause injuries to this extent."

Thanks Tim, one time flying Era Aviation in Alaska my head hit the overhead light fixture, and this was with my belt on. My head was sore, but I was glad my belt was fastened.

Era hands out ear plugs and a cookie. More than you get elsewhere sometimes. I asked for earplugs on my last AA flight because of very loud engine whine and my seat location. FA looked at me like it was the stranged request she had ever heard. She said she would ask the head FA if there was any, and I never heard back from her.

I'm one of those guys who never, never leaves a seat belt unfastened in flight, and I've been rewarded twice, when other passengers were injured beause of unexpected turbulence. I go beyond the normal flight safety announcement, "keep your sealt belt loosely fastenend." I keep mine tightly fastenened. So should you.

Phil,

I couldn't agree more. I haven't had an occasion where there was bad turbulence, but I always keep my belt fastened.

------------------
Regards,
- Anna

Unbuckle your seat belts!!!!! Yikes!!! After bouncing around the Northwest in a Dash-8 this winter, I am even reluctant to unbuckle my belt to get out of the plane.

We had six flights in a row where they didn't even let the FA (I hate abbreviations) unbuckle their seatbelts.

Alas, all the great free microbrew and gourmet corn chips and salsa went unserved.

I always kept my seatbelt fastened "loosly" until an experience of a friend. Hers was fastened loosly and her head was introduced to the overhead bin of an Airbus. It was a horrible incident -- one person ended up paralyzed. I always keep mine on fairly but not uncomfortably tight.

I still see some irony in that the fasten seatbelt sign is turned off when the plane is going hundreds of miles per hour ... but when creeping to a stop at the gate it's SO IMPORTANT to keep it fastened. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

when I (practically always) put the bell on, it can't be loose - it is fastened automatically (I have to blame my kg for this) ...

I dug up this thread due to a recent experience I had on a very bumpy (UA) transcon flight. A man unfastened his safety belt soon after take off. Despite several cockpit issued warnings and lighted "fasten seat beat" sign, he refused to buckle up. As he was an elderly gentleman, I offered several times to help him (he didn't know how to even insert the buckle into the flap prior to take off). He replied, "oh no, I'm fine." The FA's came by numerous times chanting "seat beats", but never noticed or enforced him to buckle up.

Now, it's one thing if he doesn't care if he bounces off the ceiling becoming injured or paralyzed. It's another thing entirely should I become injured when he falls on me! What should I have done? Besides tattling on him, making for an even more uncomfortable flight, should I have rung the FAs, insisted he buckle up and have him fume at me for the rest of the flight? What have others done in this situation. Unfortunately this is not the first time this has happened, nor likely to be the last.

[This message has been edited by Rogues88 (edited 05-31-2001).]

Originally posted by Rogues88:
Now, it's one thing if he doesn't care if he bounces off the ceiling becoming injured or paralyzed. It's another thing entirely should I become injured when he falls on me! What should I have done? Besides tattling on him, making for an even more uncomfortable flight, should I have rung the FAs, insisted he buckle up and have him fume at me for the rest of the flight?

The way I see it is you only have to deal with that person for a few hours at the most. So what if he's mad at you, it's better than having him land on and possibly injuring you. Tell him to put his seat belt on for his neighbors safety. If he refuses I'd force the issue.

That's just my $.02 US, $.03 Canadian.

A loose seatbelt is a useless seatbelt.

When wearing a tightened seatbelt, you're strapped in. But in a loose seatbelt, you get 'clotheslined.'

What's the big deal about wearing a properly fastened seatbelt? Just do it!

[This message has been edited by ETOPS01 (edited 06-01-2001).]

Agreed, I keep mine fastened so that I can move around in the seat, just enough to put my hand under it but not much else. I don't want to be strapped in so tight that I can't move at all, but I realise the importance of being restrained in the seat if something untowards happens.

After all, why have it done up at all if you can fall out of the seat with a bit of CAT?

Dave

On a LHR-AMS flight last month we got caught in a jet stream from another plane (according to the pilot), I was glad I had my belt on (as I always do) because the person on front of me ended up in the aisle...

And not just in flight!!! You really should keep the belt fastened until you're at the gate and that little warning light goes off, just as they tell you.

I know from personal experience.

Last October I was aboard an American Airlines MD-80 that hit a fuel truck just a few feet from the gate. (Search for the old thread "Ramp Collision at BWI" in Trip Reports if you want more details) My seatbelt was still fastened, and it was a good thing -- because the deceleration I felt would definitely have put an impression of my face into the bulkhead in front of me. The flight attendant was standing in the aisle passing out coats, and he did go rocketing forward. He was able to keep his feet, was uninjured and even joked with us afterward, (about seat belts, by the way) but I thought at the time that he had to be hurt.

So don't try to rush getting your backpack out of the overhead.

Ramp Collision at BWI
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum81/HTML/001315.html

A couple of comments:

Boeing has a video that they put out called
"Airline Safety and You" which demonstates a accident where a young guy in first class stands up and opens the overhead bin to get his carry on before the aircraft has arrived at the gate. While the aircraft is taxing up to the gate a baggage cart is struck by a vehicle and enters the gate area. The marshaler signals an immediate stop which the captain does by standing on the brakes sending the young guys head into an armrest.

If you read the NTSB site on aircraft accidents you will see every week an incident where somebody is hurt due to turbulance

In regards to the accident with American Airlines, I wonder where the wingwalkers were that are suppose to be present to stop this type of accident from happening.

I wish you were all passengers on some of my flights, I have a real time trying to get some to fasten their seatbelts in flight.

Can someone also tell me why passengers feel the need to unfasten their seatbelts and stand up as the aircraft is coming upto the gate? There is no way that it helps you get off any quicker, as we still have to open the doors first!

happy and safe flying all http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

I just returned from a long flight where, on both legs, passengers in F (who should know better) repeatedly violated the seat belt light, even to go to the bathroom. Imagine being in there with severe turbulence! I don't understand why people are so oblivious to the problem of unexpected turbulence, which has received lots of press over the years.

I'm glad to be reminded about the hazard that these passengers pose to others. I think I would quietly tell the FA if my seatmate refused to buckle up.

Now, some people just don't know better. Once in coach a lady let her 4-year old child run up the aisle right when the wheels were leaving the ground on takeoff. I and a couple of other passengers were horrified, grabbed the kid and strapped him into an empty seat. I think the lady just didn't know better, but I wonder if she watched the safety video that was just shown!

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2">On a LHR-AMS flight last month we got caught in a jet stream from another plane (according to the pilot), I was glad I had my belt on (as I always do) because the person on front of me ended up in the aisle... </font>

One of the roughest flights I've ever experienced was on the LHR-AMS run. Were you the one who threw up on me? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

[This message has been edited by Neal (edited 06-02-2001).]

i think the issue of keeping your seatbealt fastened would be put to rest if there was an in-flight video that showed what it was like. i say this, because i have yet to meet someone who has said, "i was on a flight with bad turbulence, and a guy got flung up into the ceiling, and hurt his head. but i still disobey the seatbelt sign." everyone who has been through one of those SEVERE drops, wears their seatbelt all the time. heck, i have a pair of velcro pants i wear to keep me glued to the seat. (only works in coach! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif )

if they included footage of passengers being flung and slammed around inside an airplane that was going through turbulence, i think most would buckle up. imagine this scene, as the FAs bref us prior to the flight, "...even though the bag doesnt inflate, oxygen is flowing freely. now please sit back and enjoy this movie of what happens to people who dont keep their seatbelts fastened while in their seats, and who walk in the cabin after the pilot warns us of turbulence..." then it cuts to a scene that looks like the lottery balls flying around, except when you look closely, you see its people and laptops.

its also fun to meet people who have been burned because they got a hot coffee and the bumps sloshed it all over them. whenever i get coffee, i say a prayer to the nearest available god to keep the flight smooth for ten minutes while i drink it. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

This [movie] is a great idea. Not only will it convince people to keep their seat belts fastened, but think of the white-knuckle fliers who might opt to drive or stay home.

BTW, I cured myself of that condition by telling myself that the pilot was up front, in control and vulnerable, and s/he didn't want to die either.

[This message has been edited by hobmom (edited 06-02-2001).]

[This message has been edited by hobmom (edited 06-02-2001).]

On a UA 767 from ORD-LHR a few years ago, I experienced what was the very worst turbulence (for me) ever. Flight attendants were of course instructed to sit down, buckle up and suspend meal service. The turbulence lasted a good half hour.

Afterwards, the pilot got on the PA and tried to reassure everyone that they were safe. He said that the aircraft was designed to take considerably more abuse than what we just went through.

I think what really freaks out many casual flyers, is to look out the window and see the wings bending! Of course, this "bend" ability is what ironically keeps the wings from actually breaking off.

If you unbuckle your seat belt while the seat belt sign is on, aren't you technically breaking a federal law. "Federal law requires all passengers to comply with all placards, lighted signs, and crew member instructions." Last time I checked the seat belt sign was a lighted sign.

I was on an AA 757 from DFW-DCA this March when we encountered what the pilot called "moderate to severe turbulence" about an 1.5 hours outbound from DFW. The FAs had just finished serving after-lunch drinks, and were told to strap-in.

However, my fellow pax continuted a steady stream to the lavs, even after the FAs almost stringent encouragement to stay in your seats. I stayed as strapped-in as I could, as I tried to keep my drink from falling off the fold-down to the floor.

Just to let you know how it was, I had a Flight Captain and First Officer deadheading back a row ahead and opposite, and the Captain said that was the worst flight he had since flying through a thunderstorm in FL in 1987.

in the good old days [60's] you could tell a ff because when they got on they would buckle in & as soon as we were off the ground,they would un buckle & go to sleep. i personally haven't had probs on commercial do to no belt, but have had on private planes. pilot was going around a thunder head [ no lightning] & in clear air we dropped 500 ft. well, one was mixing drinks & hit the overhead, 2 pull out tables were demolished [$3000] & we lost some rum. a tradagey. i always have my belt on. the few times i've been reminded by fa is when i waited til the a&b people boarded & forgot. it's automatic in my car.

[This message has been edited by clacko (edited 06-03-2001).]

When I board, I immediately take my seat, buckle in tightly, and fall asleep.

White knuckelers hate me (had one sitting next to me once), and was trading flight horror stories with the pax on the other side, while fiddling with the barf bag like a hand puppet http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/tongue.gif