At least on a 767-300ER the door weights 66 lbs. I remember this from a FCO-ORD flight on AA where I sat in the Emergency Exit row. Got it assigned at the check-in desk.

Same thing happened to me on Delta last year on an ATL-ORD flight. Needless to say I was happy for having the extra leg room even though I was stuck in the middle.

Originally Posted by slawecki
[QUOTE]"lift out, hold, deposit on nearby seats, or maneuver over the seatbacks to the next row, objects the size and weight of over-wing exit doors;
remove obstructions similar to size and weight of over-wing exit doors, all while maintaining balance;"

i cannot perform this task. i doubt if more than 10 or20% of the people on the plane can do this. very few female FA's could do this. a 50lb door with some 2' x 4-5' dimension. [/QUOTE

Every female FA is required to do exactly that every year at Recurrent Training

I'm pretty sure they are required to prove their ability to do it on a regular basis as part of their training/certification.

[QUOTE=hat attack;19634351]Originally Posted by slawecki

i don't buy it. UA has some FA's in and past their 60's. i find it really hard to believe they can in any way lift a 50lb dead weight. get a 50 lb bag of bird seed, and watch a 50-60 year old woman toss it around. not picking on women. not many 60 year old men can dead lift a 50 lb bag to their shoulders.

I see 70-year old female FAs do it every year at training.

Exit must be removed, pulled into the cabin, swung through the window opening (to simulate throwing away from the aircraft), brought back in to cabin and placed on the armrests in one continuous movement while being observed one-on-one by the trainer/tester.

Window exit has handles and is a solid object, much easier to handle than an amorphous bag of shifting birdseed.

I am a 53 year old woman with a very small frame. I am 5'7". One look at me and you can tell I weigh less than 115 lbs.

I used to sit in the exit row seats a lot until I became ill and knew I would never be able to handle one of those doors. I declined the exit row from then on. I could probably have gotten away with sitting in them, but just the thought of people not being able to escape because of me, caused me to think twice.

I wonder how many people who really are not capable are sitting in exit rows do anyway. No one ever SERIOUSLY questioned me when I did sit in them. The FA would just quickly ask about being capable and be on her/his way. It is quite apparent that I couldn't handle a 66lb door. Would you or anyone you know sit in an exit row for the extra room even though you/they are really not able? This is the day and age of it's about me, so I am just wondering about how much conscience may play a part in a person's decision.

I've always assumed the exit row "responsibilities" were a joke due to the people I've seen sitting in the exit row and allowed to sit there by the FA. It just seems to me that it can't be a hard task at all.

I had an unusual experience on a Delta flight though that changed my mind a bit. I was seated in the aisle seat immediately behind an exit row. My seat was not ticketed as an exit row. The FA did the speech and made everyone in the exit row to confirm that they could perform those tasks. She then looked directly at me, and said "you too sir, I need you to say yes as well". She didn't ask anyone else in my row to say yes.

If those doors are really in the range of 50 to 70 lbs, and people are paying extra to sit in those exit rows, it seems like the airlines are putting themselves in a bad position if someone is unlikely to be able to handle that but paid to sit there.

It will take an accident where fatalities are a direct result of exit row non-compliance to get the FAA to start enforcing their rules. Usual tombstone mentality :( .

(and FAR 121.575 as well)

Having had the experience of opening an overwing exit (not for real, of course), I wish to point out that they are no laughing matter. Also, if I'm in 10A and it's an exit row, and you're in 10B, you're liable to get hit across the head with the door if you aren't careful.

I would certainly be up for having a practice. I do always read the instructions and look a the door when I am in an exit row seat.

In this particular instance there were plenty of empty exit row seats (3 out of the 6 were unoccupied) so certainly no ulterior motive in my comment. Do we trust people in the exit rows to be suitable? If not, is there any better way of ensuring folks in the exit rows are suitable?

Instead, you believe that all major air carriers are lying and their annual training programs don't include this test? They're all in violation of FAA regulations?