Is it ethically wrong to sit in exit row seat while having trouble lifting a bag?
 

I was on a DL flight last night (four-hour flight). Normally, I select exit row seat if possible. However, this time, my son traveled with me. So I couldn't do that since he was under 15. I was one row in front of the exit row on a 757. A lady came on behind me with a big carry-on. She had a little trouble to lift it up to the overhead bin, so a man helped. The flight attendant saw that, and came over. Here was the conversation:

FA: Ma'am, are you ok sitting in the exit row?
lady: yes, sure.
FA: You know the cabin door weights 44 lbs. If you have trouble to lift that bag, you might not be able to operate the door.
lady: I am fine. I could have put that bag into the overhead bin. He just helped. I can open the door.
FA: Are you sure? I can re-seat you if you can't.
lady: Yea, sure. No problem.
FA: ok (hesitated, and left).

My a general question: Is it wrong to sit in the exit row, if you know you might not be able to operate the cabin door? She sit in the middle seat, though.

Ethically wrong? Yes.
Ethnically wrong? No.

I guess it would depend on your ethnic background.

sorry, guys, typo.

Darn I was so hoping someone hadn't beat me to this.

Now that the spelling police have had their say, I would say it's both ethically wrong, and dangerous. You will never know if she could have lifted that door, but if something happened, that wouldn't be when you wanted to find out the answer.

It is ethically wrong -- the person is claiming something that they have no right to as they are / should be disqualified from it.

As a practical matter, though, I am wondering what the impact is -- if I was in this situation and saw someone struggling with the door, I would shove them away and get it open myself, and I imagine others would too.

You certainly would. However, that extra 2 seconds could be the difference between someone 8 rows away getting out and not getting out.

Only issue is getting to them to shove them out of the way when they are in the window seat.

Until FAA give test at airports or certify/license passengers who can sit at an exit row there will always be safety compromise by people who do not think about the consequences of their actions.

I get where FA was going.
those window exits are fairly heavy, one should be able to lift it up and place it on the seat. Its more of a 90degree pivot with 55lbs weight. If some one happen to drop it on them self and get injured, that may delay the whole evacuation process.

After the ATL DO, I am a little bit inclined to feel that exit rows should be reserved for those who have had some kind of training, RWT or other. I don't think most passengers realize there is a 90 second evacuation time requirement. I am betting that aircraft manufacturers and airlines use 'ringers' as it were, by certifying with experienced persons/employees. That way they can pass the straight face test when they say to the FAA: "yep, we can evacuate that 777 in 90 seconds in an emergency".

You can fix the thread title by editing your original post and using the Go Advanced edit options.

DevilDog438, thanks for your help. Just changed the title.

That she needed help lifting a carryon into the overhead bin does not conclusively establish that she would be unable to remove a 44 pound door and place it across the row of seats or throw it out the opening (whichever procedure is required on a DL 757). Last time I checked, emergency exit plug doors are never placed in overhead bins . . .

Honestly I think a good majority of FF would have trouble with the door. We used to take out the window exits on the KC-135 (B707) and they were hard enough when you didn't have any seats in the way.
Next time you are at the gym, grab a 25LB weight and sit in a chair with another in front of you. Try moving that weight in a confined space and you will find out how tough it really is. Keep in mind that would be slightly more than 1/2 the weight.