I wonder if this kind of experiential training/amusement was offered prior to the check in desks, how many people would be reminded of the potential reality of having to open one of those exits, freak out and either refuse to fly, or become an additional nervous flyer on the plane. So many flyers don't like to think about the "what if", "what might", and "what could" of flying.

Oh well, that could reduce load factors so even in Y FT-ers could get a bit of space around us....... ;-)

It's okay .. I'll be more than happy to take their exit row seat!

In my experience the exit rows are favored by very tall (or just plain BIG) people who need the legroom; morbidly obese folks may actively avoid exit rows because their problem is usually with seat width, not seat pitch. The tray tables are often in the armrests, making an uncomfortably narrow seat even narrower.

In any case the situation is an improvement over the days before the exit-row-lecture rules, when airlines routinely seated the handicapped in exit rows.

Would you please be so kind to tell us further details about those days?

I second that!

I would love to have a way to have some kind of status when I fly with airlines other then my prefered airline. Besides in the event of an accident where we survived the impact such pax with exit row training would be a real asset to the airline. Hmm maybe we could get ticket discounts and milage rewards too!

They wouldn't necessarily have to hold them at airports.

What I envisioned was have a maybe 100000 mile award for a session
at a training facility (for UA, the one in Denver).

That would be a hot vacation.

Thought the thread title meant something else? Well, here's my own door opening incident.

This past summer, I was on a WN flight from SNA to SJC seated in my preferred seat, 1D. I had a clear view of the exit door. During our flight, a female pax walked up to what she thought was the forward lavatory and started turning the handle. I saw her out of the corner of my eye and thought, "That's funny...isn't that the..." Then I realized what she was doing and I yelled out, "Um...hey..."
Apparently a few other people in the front rows saw this and started getting the woman's by shouting at the her. The woman looked at us and then looked at the exit door and realized what she was doing. The FA came out of the galley and stopped her and showed her the correct forward lavatory door. We all had a laugh when she exited the lavatory.

The FA said nothing would happen since the plane is in flight and the doors lock, the handles are disengaged.

Only on a WN flight....

Steve

Most doors on most commercial jets are plug-in types, anyway, so the pressure differential seals the door into the frame so hard that no human could open it.

Yes...only on WN would a pax get a lav mixed up with a 400 lb aircraft door, and does everyone laugh about it afterwards...

Couple of comments.

1) If a door is pulled on a newer airframe - the plane in grounded for a short period. If a door is pulled on an older airframe (hours) - the plane can be grounded for a LONG time. Movement in the frame over time can cause the reseat to be a difficult task (perfect example is the old shuttle 727s - whose high rate cycles and heavier landing gear tend to stress the airframe more). In any case - this is a loss of the aircraft for a period of time. Considering in its best year, DL made $210/flight profit, but would loose $2600/delayed or cancelled flight - its easiest to say they want to keep them in the air and ON SCHEDULE (DL being a poor example but it makes the point of the usage).

2) The 'lack' of knowledge of 'pulling' is actually 'planned'. Doors vary slightly in weight - but in almost all cases - when a pax pulls - they are surprised by the mass/size combination, but the simplified instructions and urgency tend to have good results. In many cases the smaller person (height) will have greater difficulty in unseating the door than a taller person. Dumb luck it worked that way.

3) I've had the opportunity to 'pull' several times on grounded or retired planes - usually in the maintanence yards (function of being an invitee to some tour or another - been on several) - and once for real (but only due to a pair of faulting doors on a 73 combined with an country reg requiring evacuation of all pax in a declared emergency and the fact the strip didn't have any way to get us down), which entailed hours of interviews afterwards. The airlines are VERY protective about the data from pulled doors - and the systems work - so the idea of training isn't likely - as those who receive training will be at a 'calmer' statute versus the planned or managed chaos - this chaos benefits the ideal that you 'simply' pull the door and get off the plane.

I actually thought it would be a good idea to "practice" when we were in an
air/flight museum and they had a plane open for walking around in all the
parts. Well, I got in trouble with the museum guard. Hey, I was a
youngster at the time.

Question though - if there is too much pressure or handle is "locked" when
in flight - then how would it work to open the door if there is an emergency?
Or, does the emergency landing somehow undo the the lock? (I can see
how being on Earth would in fact make the pressure differential negligible if
that were the problem).

--LG

When asked "are you willing and able to operate the exit in case of emergency" I frequently ask "can I practice?"
The FA reaction ranges from mortified to amused....but now I have more info on why they won't let me..

the air pressure wouldn't allow the door to be opened, as the first movement of the door is into the aircraft.

As a Naval Flight Officer on a 707-type airframe, I have had quite a bit of training/practice with doors, hatches, and slides. In fact, every year we would go through the FAA smoke lab in Oklahoma City for egress training. After a classroom portion on evacuation procedures and some noteworthy accidents, we would go to a widebody aircraft fuselage outfitted with a standard interior. The fuselage was on hydraulic arms which were used to place it into an unusual attitude. While seated, various emergency lighting systems were demonstrated in a clear cabin, then the cabin was filled with smoke and the lights were demoed again to show their effectiveness. After the demos, we evacuated the plane, but not directly to the door, instead you went aft up a spiral staircase and then down a square one to illustrate a 747 interior and then out the door and down the slide. It was a great experience. In fact, we were told that they run the smoke lab for various groups, here is a link: http://www.faa.gov/education_researc...l/cabinsafety/
Additionally, we would us a training slide on our aircraft to practice evacuation procedures.
While I was an instructor and earlier a student in an Air Force training squadron flying the military version of the 737-200, we also were required to do evacuation training for the 737, which involve a mock-up of the flightdeck, overwings, and rear door. For the flightdeck, we would climb out the pilot window and down the safety strap. For the overwings, we would go out the hatch and slide down the trailing edge flaps to ground. And, the rear door had a full-size training slide.
As if all of this was not enough, in college, I worked for a week of spring break at the Goodyear Company in Phoenix as a slide tester on an Airbus mock-up. In order for the slides and aircraft to be certified, they are tested in a variety of scenarios emphasizing speed and durability. For a week, over 100 college students would put the slides through their paces. It didn't pay much, but it was a lot of fun.