Please Put Your Window Shade Up
 

Don't know if this has been discussed before or not. I'd be interested in B747's, UDH or DL FAs input on this one.

1) Is it a DL rule, FAA rule or just a FA's rule to put your window shade up for landing?

2) for take off?

3) Exit row only

I seem to recall that this was not a FAA regulation but a FA's policy

4) Can I refuse?

5) What is the reasoning behind this?

I have only experienced this on the EMB-120. I was told the reason was to allow the FA to visually check the engines and control surfaces of the wings during take-off and landing if requested by the pilot.

I am not sure whose rule it is, but it is a good one. Especially in the exit row, where you are sitting there to help in case of an emergency. You are sitting on the wing and a lot can happen and we rely on what you can see. If you refuse and sitting in the exit row, you will be moved. We also need to see everthing going on outside the aircraft and if a window shade blocks our view, there could be problems.

I am not a FA or UDH but I have been on planes where this rule is adhered to only intermittently. One FA told an anxious passenger that it was because "people can look inside the plane in case we crashed." THAT was a dumb thing to say, as we were making our final approach! Needless to say, the passenger (who was NOT a FF) was quite apprehensive until everyone deplaned!

One FA in requesting an adjacent passenger to raise the shade on landing said that in the event of an accident the crew had to be able to see outside to determine if there were any fire and therefore know which emergency chutes to deploy on which side. She said you could not afford time to raise shades in an emergency when every second counts and decisions must be made quickly. Can't recall if she said it was an FAA reg or airline req but it made good sense for sure.

This reminds me of a flight I took in the mid 80's on the now gratefully defunct Jet America Airways. We were flying from LGB to ORD on, I believe, a DC-9. I was at a window seat over the wing and noticed what looked like fuel streaming out from a number of the wing rivets.
I called the FA and she didn't even look at the wing. Just said " That can't be fuel....must be condensation". About 10 minutes later, the cockpit door opens and the co-pilot starts sauntering down the aisle, chatting with various passengers as he made his way back to my row.
He said " Are you the one who reported the fuel leak? " When I told him I was, he leaned over me to look at the wing and said " Dang, you're right! But our instruments don't indicate excessive fuel usage. Do me a favor.....keep an eye on the wing and if it gets any worse, pls have the FA contact me again! " http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/eek.gif http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/eek.gif
So I spent the next 2 1/2 hours with my eyes glued to the wing watching fuel stream out......



[This message has been edited by Cholula (edited 05-27-2003).]

The whole visibility thing is variable. I've been on flights near sunrise and sunset where the glare from putting window shades up meant you basically couldn't see anything. It's really annoying to be blinded and uncomfortable for no particularly good reason.

I vaguely recall that on some of the RJ's, the window shade does not move one way or the other in at least the emer. row seats

On Air Jamaica they insist they all be up for takeoff and landing. And, they insist you NOT have a blanket covering you.

Most of the various safety reasons do make sense.

SI flew MD80's from Long Beach. It was acquired by Alaska Airlines who eventually left Long Beach. Now it's trying to get back in but couldn't get slots. Horizon, as a commuter, could.

I suspect the "No Blanket" rule is to allow the FA to see if you have your seat belt fastened.

As a footnote to bostonlj's comment, shades up also allow pilots to run down the aisle and get a quick visual of the engines if they think there is a potential problem. Luckily I've never seen it happen, although I have been on flights where they come out to check the deicing.

Cholula,
Was it the first flight of the day? I had a similar experience one Thanksgiving Day. Flying Air Tran DFW-ATL at 6:00AM, I noticed fuel streaming out of the right engine and after convincing myself that it is not water, condensation etc., I notified the FA. She called the cockpit and what the Captain announced sounded like this -
- Fuel may be "overflowing" because it has been topped off to the brim - it happens on some cold mornings blah, blah, blah

If it was safe for the pilot, it was safe for me but it definitely freaked out the passenger next to me. Nothing interesting to report about the rest of the flight - it was not too much after ValuJet started flying as Air Tran.

------------------
gt0138d - a certified George P Burdell clone...

I hate to tell you this Cholula, but it sounds much too similar to a technique we use frequently in my trade. When we have a very worried and anxious spouse to a patient, usually male, usually fixated by our technology/instruments, who we sense needs a little help to relax, we ask him to "help" us by keeping an eye on "the dial" and tell us when the needle goes below a point the machine cannot make it go below.

Works like a charm, the patient is happy, the spouse is happy and we are happy!!

In other words, it is hard to believe that if the "fuel leak" truly was a problem that it would be entrusted to a mere passenger to take on the given responsibility.

I may be wrong - if so I apologize!

Additionally, every now and then a passenger observes something wrong with another aircraft while waiting for takeoff. While lined up at CVG for takeoff, I noticed a puddle under an adjacent DL 727. I was in my post-CRC daze, but I stared for a moment or two and realized that something was actively dripping down from the mid wing root where it met the fuselage. I thought... fuel or hydraulic fluid, but either way I have to tell somebody. The FA looked out the window, get me a reassuring blather about condensation from the AC etc, but she did go over to a deadheading pilot in the front row of the coach cabin. he looked out the window, then went to the phone to the cockpit, and then the 727 eventually pulled back to the terminal. The deadheading pilot later told me that if the rapid leak wasn't fuel, then he did not know what it was! So keep your shades open, and keep observant, just in case my plane is the one with the leak next time!

[This message has been edited by RobertS975 (edited 05-27-2003).]