1. Pay Attention to Safety Briefings
First and the most important thing you must keep in mind is ‘Even if you think you know the instructions – and have heard them half a million times – each plane comes with new conditions, says, “Travel and Leisure”. “The location of exits will be different. The seat layout will be different. The people on the plane with you will be different. Equally important is that you must ‘read’ through that picture card in the seat pocket. It will have the most relevant information for the particular plane you’re flying with”.
Paying close attention to safety training is particularly important on airlines like Southwest, where seats are not equipped with video screens, said TPG resident flight attendant Carrie A. Trey.
2. Wear your seatbelt whenever possible, even if the seatbelt sign is off
The second thing which you need to remember in the situation of emergency you have a minuscule chance of experiencing what Flight 1380 went through, but you do have a reasonably high chance of encountering turbulence onboard any flight. Don’t unnecessarily risk injury to yourself and others.
3. Take your exit row responsibilities seriously
We have seen that most people are panicked in these types of conditions but this thing can put you in the worst situation. If you are seated in an exit row, be extra careful to pay close attention to the instructions on how to operate the door. Your life, and the lives of your fellow passengers, are in your hands. If you are not physically qualified to assist, don’t be selfish and think only of the legroom. Instead, opt for another seat where you can still stretch out without worrying about this task.
4. In the event of an evacuation, leave all your belongings behind
“We mean it. Do. Not. Take. Your. Bags. With. You.” in the event of an evacuation, Carrie says, stresses that Flight 1380’s landing was not an evacuation. When in doubt, pay attention to your pilots and your cabin crew. “If one of the flight attendants had noticed anything threatening in the cabin, they might start an evacuation on their own,” Carrie says.
5. Know how your oxygen mask works
“Any time the cabin pressure is compromised, we have to descend as fast as possible because there’s no oxygen up there,” said Lisa Cannon, a former Air Force pilot who now flies for Delta. “We’re trained on that.”
Known as rapid decompression in aviation terms, the thinner oxygen levels of high-altitude air that Flight 1380 passengers and crew alike were exposed to can quickly lead to impaired judgment and unconsciousness.
6. Unless you’re qualified to help, stay out of the way
According to Carrie, specially qualified people know how to jump in without adding to the chaos. “In a situation like Flight 1380, if you’re specially qualified – EMT, military, whatever – jump right in. Or if you’re in the immediate area, and the flight attendants ask you to help. But if you’re not genuinely contributing, stay out of it, and keep your cell phone out of it.
7. When in doubt, listen to your cabin crew
They’re there to help, Carrie says. “In an emergency depressurization, it’s going to be chaos – but if flight attendants have the time to make an emergency briefing, the first thing they’ll do is turn off the Wi-Fi and entertainment to get everyone’s attention. Lights up, Wi-Fi and entertainment off.” When that happens, do everyone a favor and pay attention.
“I believe the pilots and crew did a great job,” pilot Lisa Cannon says. “Given several onboard emergencies – engine failure, rapid decompression, and medical emergency – they handled the situation impressively and accomplished a safe landing. It is so sad that there was one fatality, but had they not descended quickly, there may have been more. We train for emergencies one at a time. Given several, the need to prioritize which one gets handled first is a big deal. They did outstanding, and it’s a situation I don’t wish for any pilot to be in.”
