Hypothetical situation number 1:
For whatever reason a flight has finished boarding but not pulled back from the gate. The flight is full. At this time it is discovered that the entire plane is occupied by persons who fall into one or more of the following categories:
- blind
- deaf
- mute
- under 15 years old
- immobile or unable to operate the exit door due to some handicap
- non-English speaker
- unwilling to perform the duties required by exit row occupants
Would the flight be able to take off? If so, why? If not, how might the situation be remedied so the flight could leave?
Hypothetical situation number 2:
Same situation as above except that it is only the COACH cabin that is filled with people who are not allowed (or refuse) to sit in exit rows. The biz and/or first class cabins do have individuals that can, by FAA rule, sit in an exit row.
Same questions as for hypothetical number 1, plus....
Would they switch biz/first class passengers with coach passengers?
Would a biz/first class passenger have the option to say "no I am staying in first"?
Hypothetical situation number 3:
Same situation as number 1 OR 2 but the plane is not full.
Would leaving the exit rows empty be an acceptable remedy to the FAA?
Hypothetical situation number 4:
Without regard to whether the plane is full or not; nor whether passengers are allowed by the FAA to sit in an exit row or not; but there is no passenger that is willing to agree to the exit row requirements. All have stated emphatically that they do not want to perform the exit row requirements. (in other words, the FAs can't turn a blind eye to someone they suspect does not want to perform the duties).
Can passengers be forced (drafted unwillingly) to agree to exit row requirements?
I realize that these are very very extreme hypotheticals. The odds of any on of the scenerios above happening are very low. Please don't reply with
"surely they could find some passengers that would be willing rather than not take off" - I am proposing hypotheticals that do not include passengers changing their minds about sitting in an exit row.
The FAA had absolutely no operational guidelines for the events on 9/11 because it was never conceived by anyone prior to that what
could happen. They made it up as they went along. Just wondering if there are any contingency plans by the FAA or airlines for equally-as-unlikely scenerios as I have posed above?