Originally Posted by
BoeingBoy
And that is the reason for the FA to assess the situation outside their assigned exit(s). Take this situation and add a wing rupture, with fire around the rear of the plane. Are you still going to jump out of one of the rear exits? Even opening one of the exits can present problems in a crash - smoke and/or flames entering the cabin.
In an emergency situation, doing the wrong thing is often worse than taking extra time to do the right thing.
Jim
I completely and utterly agree.
To me its situational as I know enough about egress procedures to be dangerous. I've been in and around aviation all my life. My father was a pilot, first Marines, then with Northwest Orient. I was a USMC helicopter crewchieft responsible with the care and feeding of cargo and pax as well as assessing mechanical issues etc., and now I find myself in the business as an OEM. Even as a frequent flyer, I, as an aviation dork, read the evacuation procedures every (and I mean every) time I fly.) Long way to say that I have heard all the stories and been through alot of training...basically I am saying I realize that I don't know crap.
On the civilian side I have been involved in two "smoke" in the cabin incidents, one in a Falcon 50 and one US Airways A321. I'm man enough to admit that it get's pretty sporty when a few PAX are convinced we are going up in flames (screaming fire and sobbing uncontrollably) even when your common sense tells you otherwise...my key indicator is my limited experience and the crew. On the USAIR A321 the FA was calm, called the cockpit, and kept everyone undercontrol...by all accounts this FA froze...
In military aviation we lived and died by checklists (still have my pocket NATOPS)...this allowed you, even in a state of panic to muddle through the "right" thing. Not sure if FA have the same tools to augment their training, but it sounds as if they should.
The intent of the original post was to convey an understanding that we all think we will do things the right way, and judge the actions of others when the seem to freak out or freeze (FA), or (PAX) blow the hatch un-necessarily...but none of us truly know how we will perform until the real situation (heaven forbid) happens to us. I support the passengers posting here as well as the FA.