"We're going to crash!"
Mar 1, 2006 | 4:43 am
#1
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"We're going to crash!"
http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0...511193,00.html
This is pretty disheartening. I wonder how often crews just freak under stressful conditions?
A stewardess caused panic by repeatedly screaming "We're going to crash" when a packed plane hit turbulance.
The Virgin flight hit bad weather three hours into a journey from Gatwick to Las Vegas.
Some passengers were sick and others thrown from their seats as luggage, drinks and trays were tossed around.
Those using the toilet at the time were stuck in the cubicle while others prayed and cried.
And their ordeal was intensified by the screaming stewardess.
Passenger Paul Gibson told The Daily Mirror: "She began screaming every time the plane shook.
"She shouted at the top of her voice, 'We're going to crash! We're going to crash! We're going to crash!"
The Virgin flight hit bad weather three hours into a journey from Gatwick to Las Vegas.
Some passengers were sick and others thrown from their seats as luggage, drinks and trays were tossed around.
Those using the toilet at the time were stuck in the cubicle while others prayed and cried.
And their ordeal was intensified by the screaming stewardess.
Passenger Paul Gibson told The Daily Mirror: "She began screaming every time the plane shook.
"She shouted at the top of her voice, 'We're going to crash! We're going to crash! We're going to crash!"
Mar 1, 2006 | 5:21 am
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Originally Posted by whirledtraveler
http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0...511193,00.html
This is pretty disheartening. I wonder how often crews just freak under stressful conditions?
This is pretty disheartening. I wonder how often crews just freak under stressful conditions?
Mar 1, 2006 | 10:53 am
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Unsurprising. A disturbing number of inflight staff wig out during irregularities. NTSB accounts of non-fatal incidents are rife with stories of FAs panicking, freezing up, fainting, weeping, screaming, etc. at exactly the point they are supposed to be earning their keep. I hope and assume this woman has been permanently grounded.
I take all that self-righteous talk about how "we're here primarily for your safety" with a big grain of salt, as statistics show a fair number of FAs make things worse, not better, and I would never count on inflight staff to "save me" in an emergency. On each and every flight I make my own plans.
I take all that self-righteous talk about how "we're here primarily for your safety" with a big grain of salt, as statistics show a fair number of FAs make things worse, not better, and I would never count on inflight staff to "save me" in an emergency. On each and every flight I make my own plans.
Mar 1, 2006 | 10:59 am
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There was a week with awful winds at IAD and at several other airports in the vicinity. I flew IAD-ROA and back twice that week, and both times "enjoyed" some of the worst turbulence I've ever experienced.
On the last flight, the FA waited until we'd climbed into relatively calm air before beginning her service. She got about halfway through the little SF3 before we got slammed several times, and she had to literally brace herself on the floor in the aisle to keep from being thrown across the plane.
She handled it all very well, and told us later that it had been that way all week (which I believe, based on my earlier flights that week!).
No panic from her or from the passengers. Professional attitudes really seem to help in situations like that.
On the last flight, the FA waited until we'd climbed into relatively calm air before beginning her service. She got about halfway through the little SF3 before we got slammed several times, and she had to literally brace herself on the floor in the aisle to keep from being thrown across the plane.
She handled it all very well, and told us later that it had been that way all week (which I believe, based on my earlier flights that week!).
No panic from her or from the passengers. Professional attitudes really seem to help in situations like that.
Mar 1, 2006 | 7:52 pm
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Originally Posted by Bart
Damn shame about all this criticism directed at a flight attendant who was merely exercising her God-given First Amendment rights of free expression.
Seriously though, if the plane wasn't in a nose dive and the pilots were in control, would you want an FA screaming "we're going to die" especially when it is to her the pax look for guidance in such an emergency?
It may be her right to say it, but it was certainly a very stupid thing to say.
Mar 1, 2006 | 8:13 pm
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Yeesh, some people are wigging out right here in this thread. God knows what they'd be like in an emergency.
The article mentions people who were "thrown from their seats" by the turbulence. This is why I always wear my seatbelt, even when the fasten seatbelt sign is off. I really don't find it uncomfortable at all, and I'd rather experience the -1 in utility by wearing the seatbelt rather than the -1000000 utility I'd be at if my head smashed through the ceiling. I don't understand why so many other people are so anxious to unbuckle as soon as the sign is off (of course, excepting times when one needs to get up, I'm not suggesting anything that extreme).
The article mentions people who were "thrown from their seats" by the turbulence. This is why I always wear my seatbelt, even when the fasten seatbelt sign is off. I really don't find it uncomfortable at all, and I'd rather experience the -1 in utility by wearing the seatbelt rather than the -1000000 utility I'd be at if my head smashed through the ceiling. I don't understand why so many other people are so anxious to unbuckle as soon as the sign is off (of course, excepting times when one needs to get up, I'm not suggesting anything that extreme).
Mar 1, 2006 | 9:32 pm
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Originally Posted by Bart
Damn shame about all this criticism directed at a flight attendant who was merely exercising her God-given First Amendment rights of free expression.
You mean like joking about a bomb at a security checkpoint?
Yes, it's not illegal to yell "We're going to crash" when you are responsible for people's safety, but it's certainly not advisable either. I don't think anyone said she didn't have the RIGHT to yell, just that it was a bad choice.
Or is not okay to say that someone made a bad choice?
Edited to add: Oh, my bad - Bart was just trolling.
Mar 1, 2006 | 10:26 pm
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Originally Posted by Bart
Aw, c'mon now. She didn't mean anything by that. She was just expressing an opinion. The person next to her may have believed that they weren't going to crash. She happened to believe they were. Everyone's free to speak his or her mind, aren't they?
I'm curious why nothing was said about the archaic use of the term "stewardess." I thought they were all flight attendants. Obviously the article's author is blatantly sexist. We should boycott the skynews website for its insensitivity towards the flight attendant profession. After all, as we all know, flight attendants are clearly better-educated and socially superior to us screener low-lifes who lean forward in the foxholes of freedom valiantly fighting the war on terror with our hand-wands and ETD swabs. Flight attendants are the ones whose lives are now jeapardized by the small scissors and computer geek screwdrivers we now allow at checkpoints. With the additional pressure they now face with the unrestricted threat of being jabed with a pair of manicure scissors, it's no wonder a flight attendant would scream, "we're going to crash!"
I'm curious why nothing was said about the archaic use of the term "stewardess." I thought they were all flight attendants. Obviously the article's author is blatantly sexist. We should boycott the skynews website for its insensitivity towards the flight attendant profession. After all, as we all know, flight attendants are clearly better-educated and socially superior to us screener low-lifes who lean forward in the foxholes of freedom valiantly fighting the war on terror with our hand-wands and ETD swabs. Flight attendants are the ones whose lives are now jeapardized by the small scissors and computer geek screwdrivers we now allow at checkpoints. With the additional pressure they now face with the unrestricted threat of being jabed with a pair of manicure scissors, it's no wonder a flight attendant would scream, "we're going to crash!"
Mar 2, 2006 | 8:01 am
#13
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Originally Posted by Bart
Damn shame about all this criticism directed at a flight attendant who was merely exercising her God-given First Amendment rights of free expression.
Nonetheless, this was a UK-flagged carrier, it doesn't take three hours to get from LGW to US airspace anyway.
Nice try, pookie.
Mar 2, 2006 | 4:22 pm
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Originally Posted by Bart
The FAMs responded with their Second Amendment rights. I don't see the problem here.
