Originally Posted by
mre5765
The difference between a quadriplegic whose upper body is limp due to his paralysis and thus is prone to tipping over, and a a unparalyzed person whose upper body is limp due to being asleep is?
I know when I am asleep, I bend the head rests so that my head is less likely to fall onto the shoulder of my neighbor.
Clearly, every airline should ban pax from sleeping on planes.
If pax safety depends on a pax staying fulling upright in his seat, then all planes without dual shoulder harnesses are unsafe. It is interesting the FAs in jumpseats get dual shoulder harnesses and pax don't. This reminds me of the excuses school districts and bus makers use for not equipping school buses with seat belts.
So clearly the pilot should never let any pax, except infants strapped to car seats fly.
The pilot was a 'hole, and the FAA fined the airline. Pity the fine can't be taken out of his paycheck.
I think that is a silly comparison.
A person that is limp due to sleeping can wake up and use hands/arms/legs/feet to brace or reposition self. A quadriplegic can't. Someone else has to help them while also bracing themself. Yes, the sleeping passenger may be hurt before waking enough to brace themself(though their body may instinctively brace - I have before), but they are less likely to be injured due to their muscle tone.
Passengers and flight attendants were just injured due to severe turbulance on a flight coming into DEN. DEN is great for turbulance.
A dual shoulder harness or other additional restraints may help, but I don't see passengers going for it. FAs already have to check that lap belts are fastened. Imagine how long it would take if they had to check on dual shoulder harnesses.
I do agree that not having seat belts on school buses seems strange.
The pilot may be an "'hole". I don't know who it was. But since he was following FAA rules, if you have a problem with the rules, you should blame the FAA, not the pilot. The DOT fined Frontier for actions independent of the pilot's decision. Don't you think that if they felt he was in the wrong, they would have a fine for that also?