“No crossed feet for takeoff or landing”
May 25, 2019, 6:35 am
#32
Join Date: Dec 2009
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I have been in some rough military landings. I now ask my wife to look straight forward while landing, rather than having her head sideways looking out the window. If your head gets jerked forward, having your head straight is much better for your neck.
Having both feet on the ground also helps your muscles keep your torso upright in a fast stop.
Having both feet on the ground also helps your muscles keep your torso upright in a fast stop.
May 25, 2019, 7:13 am
#33
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Fort Lauderdale, FL
Posts: 3,360
If you want someone to blame, it would be the person training the flight attendant about the exact procedures used to secure the cabin for takeoff/landing. Don't blame the interviewer.
May 25, 2019, 7:34 am
#35
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This is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of. You'd never hear something like this on Singapore. Fly the Friendly Skies? Yeah right.
May 25, 2019, 8:25 am
#37
Join Date: Oct 2009
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It's because in a crash landing with high g forces and seatsets coming unglued, sitting with crossed legs makes you more likely to break your legs and be unable to self-evacuate. It is actually smart practice to wear lace-up shoes (less likely to fly off), non-synthetic fiber clothes (less likely to catch fire), and sit with your feet flat on the floor for takeoff and landing with wallet / phone / passport in pockets on your person. FA was dispensing excellent advice.
I was told by an FA once that you weren't allowed to have drinks on the center console during flight (please note: not during taxiing, takeoff or landing, but during level, stable flight at altitude) in spite of the slide-out shelf at the front to allow for multiple drinks. The{y} that informed us (myself and a stranger in the starboard pair) of this threatened me if I didn't open my tray table and place my drink on it. So I finished the drink promptly and handed her the empty glass, keeping my tray table stowed. I refused to communicate further with this nutcase during my entire 12+ hour flight and refused all dinner, etc. service so as to not cross her. My seat mate, a felow VFF, was shocked by this new "rule", created capriciously out of thin air, but we were both afraid to say or do anything lest she invoke the "impeding the duties of the flight crew" clause.
Last edited by WineCountryUA; Jul 6, 2021 at 10:07 pm Reason: FT 12.2
May 25, 2019, 8:32 am
#38
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I was once told not to read the paper during takeoff. I was in an emergency exit seat and thought it was fair enough.
Last edited by Concerto; May 25, 2019 at 8:38 am
May 25, 2019, 8:45 am
#39
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I doubt that there are any formal rules about this for pax, but if you observe the jump seat FAs during the take off / landing phases, they almost always put their feet flat on the floor and hands on their quads/knees. It almost has to be part of their training. I do the same, particularly after a rejected take off at very high speed where I witnessed the unprepared hitting their heads on bulkheads and the seat in front of them, and lose items literally flying through the cabin. It really bugs me when people can’t be troubled to put their laptops away for a few minutes during this part of flight (have witnessed that several times, usually in premium cabins).
May 25, 2019, 9:10 am
#40
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Dulles, VA
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So the concept is that if the plane crashes and your legs are crossed, you might break them? What is the likelyhood that, if the plane crashes, you would still have your legs crossed? About zero, unless you are the coolest customer on the planet.
May 25, 2019, 9:42 am
#41
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The well-established reality that a nontrivial percentage of cabin staff are vindictive, confrontational, apparently not rational, prone to inventing "rules" to subjugate / humiliate passengers, etc. does not change the simple fact that uncrossing your legs for takeoff and landing is good practice.
Last edited by WineCountryUA; Jul 6, 2021 at 10:08 pm Reason: Quote updated to reflect Moderator edit
May 25, 2019, 9:49 am
#42
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My thought too. Once trouble signals, 4.6 billion years of evolution kick in.
May 25, 2019, 10:07 am
#43
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It depends on the crash, the majority of minor crashes close to the ground (take off and landing) are survivable, so you would need your feet. It depends on the crash, but the likelihood that others will pull you out of the ac if you can't walk on your own is not very high. I always leave my shoes on for take off and landing on purpose, even though it is an inconvenience, just in case.
Here is an interesting article from someone who had to evacuate in a UA incident.:
https://medium.com/@SusannahFox/what...e-b05717355ed5
May 25, 2019, 10:17 am
#44
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This is correct. Think Asiana 214 @ SFO, United 232 @ Sioux City, Continental 1404 @ DEN, Air France 358 @ YYZ, maybe the recent Aeroflot crash at SVO. All cases where being able to walk / climb out of there in good shoes made a life-or-death difference. Most crashes are not instant obliteration -- there is a survival window that narrows if you are not ambulatory post-impact.