In view of the crash of Asiana Flight #214 in San Francisco, I have been asked to post about it here. Parrot people fly on planes too and my 26 years of experience in the industry has prompted many questions about the crash from a Flight Attendant’s point of view.
One of the questions had to do with our training. What exactly are we trained to do? It’s a pretty long list, actually. And the list of what we are trained for and what we can be asked to respond to can be found in the Flight Manual pictured above. Here is what is inside that manual cover:
That’s a lot of ground. Some of the things we are trained to handle are medical emergencies, Ditching (evacuating in water), volatile fuel threats and fires, evacuations, blocked exit procedures, decompressions, life raft procedures, and malfunctions.
We have to know how to deal with armed passengers, armed officers escorting prisoners, deportees, and hostile passengers.
We are well trained in the use of emergency equipment such as halon fire extinguishers, solid state oxygen units, cold weather survival equipment, automatic external defibrillators, the first aid kit, the pocket mask for mouth-t0-mouth resuscitation, life rafts, and the emergency locater transmitter. Not only that, we have to know where every piece of this equipment is on every airplane we’re qualified on. I’m currently qualified on 5 types of aircraft, but each type has different models and configurations, so we have to know the quirks of where they put the equipment on each configuration of each aircraft.
We have to know a myriad of security procedures, sabotage procedures, how to put out a high energy battery fire if someone’s laptop ignites, unauthorized evacuation procedures, (if a passenger pops a slide on the ground) how to handle an Arctic landing, and inadvertent oxygen mask drops. This is just the tip of the iceberg of stuff we have to know. Look at the size of the manual. We have to know this stuff. And we get updates, revisions and bulletins every few weeks when stuff changes. So in actuality, we’re retraining all of the time.
Sometimes this knowledge and equipment helps us out tremendously in an emergency. However, there are those times when all bets are off and you have to make it up as you go along. Usually, these are cases when there is no procedure in place when something occurs. The FAA and the Airlines can’t think of every possible scenario. Usually in these cases, the Flight Attendants end up creating a policy or procedure that eventually is put in place by the Airlines or by the FAA.
There’s only so much training you can get before you run into something that has never happened before. So trust me when I tell you that there’s a lot more to this career than slinging orange juice and telling people to turn off their cell phone. A lot more. The thing is, you just don’t see it. As I said to someone on Facebook, if you saw what was covered in my manual, you’d freak.
For instance, on Flight #214, two of the slides deployed inside the aircraft which is really not where you want them to be, obviously. They malfunctioned and pinned two of the flight attendants underneath. I can tell you this. There is no procedure for this, at least at my company. So the other Flight Attendants used axes to deflate the slides and get those pinned Flight Attendants out from under the inflated slides. And it probably wasn’t easy. Those slides are big and really heavy. Let me put it this way: I don’t think a salad fork would do the trick.
It was a bad accident and I’m happy, yet amazed that only two people lost their lives. With the tail being sheared off by hitting the sea wall, that most likely severed a lot of wiring. Between that and the fuel onboard, you had the perfect mix for a nice campfire right there in coach. From what I’m able to ascertain from the video I saw of the crash, the pilot was coming in too low and too slow and apparently attempted to abort the landing and he pulled up on the controls to raise the nose. This cocked the angle of the plane down in the back and the wall sheared off the tail.
I’ve been in airplanes that have aborted both takeoffs and landings. They aren’t fun. I’ve seen a lot of things happen on flights that you wouldn’t believe. But until you experience it, you really never see Flight Attendants in action. And you probably never want to see what we are trained to do. What bothered me the most about the reporting was that former DOT Inspector General, Mary Schiavo credited the pilots for opening the exits. She said, and I quote: “You have to push a button in the cockpit. You have to actually activate the emergency exit. And in many cases, that never comes, and it’s passengers who get up and say, I’m going to get myself out of here, and I’m going to save several people.”
This is a crock of complete crap. And it was a real “douche canoe” statement to make.The pilots do not activate the doors or the slides. The Flight Attendants do that after visually assessing what’s happening outside the aircraft in that area of the aircraft and ensuring there’s no fire. The pilots don’t have rearview mirrors and have no idea what’s actually going on behind them. There are no “buttons” in the cockpit to activate the slides or open the doors. I really would expect that Ms. Schiavo would know this. Every day I see people who can’t open a damned bathroom door. They try to open the lav door using the ashtray mounted on the wall. So can passengers actually open the doors? Yes, they can. But Flight Attendants are seated next to the doors and usually take care of that.
And I’m getting real tired of the media and the press being a day late and a dollar short with crediting Flight Attendants for what they do. This Flight Crew did an absolutely amazing job with this accident and they are indeed heroes. And finally, in the last day or so, they are beginning to get credit for for actions. I do see some good coming out of this. People are going to begin to pay attention to the safety video and read the safety card in the seat back pocket. They’re going to be a tad more respectful. They’re going to say “Please” and “Thank you.” For about two weeks. 9/11 got them paying attention for about a month and a half. People actually thanked us for coming to work when we got flights back in the air five days later. Forgive my cynicism, but that’s the nature of the beast. People want to forget. They simply don’t want to think about these things. And I don’t blame them. But I have to. And I do it every day.
So you see, we are indeed “Bridesmaids” and never the bride. Why? Because nobody, and I mean nobody ever wants to see what Pilots and Flight Attendants are actually paid to do and to know. Do you really want to be there and see how damned fast I can evacuate a 757-2R exit? Do you really want to see me help deliver a baby at 35,000 feet? (And yes, I did.) Do you want to see me on the floor applying shock pads of the automatic external defibrillators to a guy dying of a heart attack? (Yup. Been there too.) Do you want to see Pilots bring in a DC10 with absolutely no flight controls? Well, they did. They did it here:
And if you think landing in water is unlikely, it usually is. Yet it is indeed survivable. “Sully” did it here. And the flight attendants evacuated the plane right in the middle of the Hudson River:
185 survived that horrific crash in Sioux City. Considering the circumstances, that’s pretty damned good. And every passenger survived the “Miracle on the Hudson” flight.
My hope for the future of air travel is that people get their crap together and start flying responsibly. Wear long pants, a long sleeved shirt and closed-toe shoes. Count the seat backs to your nearest exit. Pay attention to the safety video. Read the damned safety card so you have an idea what you’re doing. And for God’s sake, listen to us.
July 8, 2013 at 3:43 pm
Everyone get outta my way so I can buy this woman a drink, shake her hand & tell her how proud I am of the work she does! You never fail to impress me!
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July 8, 2013 at 4:33 pm
Right on. When my Dad was a controller he often said that the flight attendants should make more than the pilots. FA’s used to visit the control towers from time to time and relayed all the horror stories. Good for you for putting more info out there – maybe people will be nicer to the crews!
Also wonder what would’ve happened if it had had a full load of fuel – glad that at least the accident occurred at the end of the long trip. Sounds like many things went “right” to save a lot of lives!
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July 8, 2013 at 5:12 pm
I’ve had the oxygen mask “inadvertently deploy” during landing before. The gal in the seat next to me and I stared at it dangling and jumping around. Because no one else’s had fallen, we knew better than to mess with it. I think I said, “I’m not going to touch that.” After the landing, one of the flight attendants coming through saw it and was very thankful that we hadn’t pulled on it or tried to use it. Apparently, those things are insane to get back “in” if you try to use them. My point is there are times when you have to use your head when you’re flying and let the flight attendants do their jobs without making their jobs harder.
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July 8, 2013 at 5:21 pm
Thank you! I am a flight attendant with AA. Loved your thoughts!
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July 8, 2013 at 5:31 pm
good article proud of you and all flight attendants
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July 8, 2013 at 6:44 pm
Nice article. Thank you
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July 8, 2013 at 7:44 pm
Patricia Sung,
Well done & well said!
Very proud of you & your article!
Take care my friend!
xoxo,
Elaine :))
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July 8, 2013 at 8:14 pm
Great blog, I have to say I have admired FA’s, didn’t have any idea how thick the “how to” book was lol now even more impressed.
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July 8, 2013 at 8:21 pm
Every time I fly, I am grateful for the flight attendants, their training & how well they handle the flying public ( many of whom need a smack upside the head). And I always say please, thank you & try create as little work for them as I can. Otherwise, my flight attendant friends will give ME a smack.
Seriously, thank you.
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July 8, 2013 at 10:22 pm
Mary Sciavo is, and always has been an idiot. She had to have used some connection other than the one from her brain to get the DOT job in the first place, and her incompetence pulled her out of it in due course. Anyone asking her opinion for a news article they are writing is equally idiotic.
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July 9, 2013 at 4:18 am
Very informative info for those of us who are simply passengers. It’s amazing how many jobs we all take for granted, yours included. It’s good to step back and think about the real people involved.
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July 9, 2013 at 9:23 am
Worth mentioning too is the fact that because flight crews are so good at what they do crashes like the Asiana flight are RARE. Air travel is consistently the safest form of public transit. Thank your Flight Attendant on the way off the plane next time!
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July 9, 2013 at 9:32 am
Thank you! You said it all!
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July 9, 2013 at 11:17 am
I will never forget seeing my friend Patricia on the local news being interviewed after having delivered a baby on an inbound flight from Haiti. I have seen first hand Patricia having to take a test to qualify on new procedures included in that thick FA’s Manual. Talk about pressure, you can’t fly (work) if you don’t pass.
Patricia, you probably already know this but the 777 was not coming into SFO final landing “hot” but in fact too slow. Normal speed at final is supposed to be 137 knots but the plane was about to stall at 103 knots. Hard to believe that this crew seemed unaware of final approach speed and glide path.
The reports on NBC / MSNBC have given the FA’s, I think, tremendous credit for there actions. Bravo to a well trained FA crew for saving so many lives.
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July 9, 2013 at 1:08 pm
Point taken and post corrected. Thank you Kent.
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July 9, 2013 at 2:10 pm
As a retired 39 year flight attendant from American Airlines, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for telling it like it is, in the most articulate way. This is the real story, and the REAL first responders are the flight attendants. I will put this on my facebook page. Well done.
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July 9, 2013 at 2:42 pm
Thank you Cherrie, it needed to be said.
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July 9, 2013 at 2:49 pm
Thank you Patricia! THANK YOU!!!
AA F/A 28 yrs
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July 9, 2013 at 3:06 pm
Coleen, sometimes I have to say what’s on my mind. And this was one of those times. Somebody had to step up and state the truth. We are not “Waitresses With Wings.” And this delayed credit is chapping my hide. The First Responders to this incident were the Flight Attendants of Asiana.
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July 9, 2013 at 3:45 pm
The day of the crash, I was happy to hear the commentator on MSNBC credit the flight attendants. It is extremely unfortunate that airlines are increasing hours and decreasing salaries for attendants and pilots. One addition I would make the the recommendation to wear long sleeved shirts, long pants & closed toe shoes is that the clothing items be 100% cotton. In case of a fire, synthetics will melt to your skin. (Former Navy aircrew)
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July 9, 2013 at 4:24 pm
Wonderful synopsis of our training and expertise. It took a crash that was totally the fault of the pilot, and the pilot and company representatives unavailable for the mainstream median to finally, grudgingly, turn to the heroes in every survivable crash… the flight attendants.
Pay attention to us, please respond to our requests and commands for your safety, and for Pete’s sake, wear shoes and clothing when you fly.
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July 9, 2013 at 7:53 pm
You ROCK! Thank you for representing us Flight Attendants ALL over! xoxo
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July 9, 2013 at 10:03 pm
Thank you so much for this post! I know my
non airline family and friends don’t really understand it. This is NOT a job for the faint of heart!!
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July 9, 2013 at 10:24 pm
Good information well said I hope the flight attendant get more respect and a lot of thank you.
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July 9, 2013 at 10:26 pm
Excellent detail and words from the heart. You describe this job with the passion of a true FA . . . Kudos to the heroes on this flight and all FAs who really do know exactly what to do by the manual and then some. Bless your hearts. Former AA flight Attendant class 68-18.
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July 10, 2013 at 8:33 am
Hey sweetheart! This is danny marsh. Remember me? What a fabulous article you wrote! You nailed all the points right on the head. So insightful! I miss you and hope you and yours are very well. Love always!
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July 10, 2013 at 9:54 am
Great job of informing others on how it really is! Hope this will get passed around! Retired AA F/A
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July 10, 2013 at 10:04 am
have flown a lot of work and play and am almost always impressed with stewardesses — loved American Airlines, Singapore Airlines, El Al (a bit rude but kept people in order — those were tough flights with tough customers on them), Lufthansa as well. Stewardesses have the toughest job because they are dealing with the public — some of who are seasoned travellers, some of whom are scared to death — they deal with all sorts. re: Asiana air crash, from everything i have heard the stewardesses were the heroes (there was one who carried people away from the plane — thin chinese woman — who found out later she had broken a bone in her back). i saw congrats to all who fly and have to deal with the public — hardest job in the world!
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July 10, 2013 at 12:52 pm
Excellent!! (from a ‘non-airline’ friend)
Akin to the retirement of the title ‘steward(ess)’, maybe it’s time FA’s should be referred to as FFR’s (Flight First Responders)… what ‘attendant’ in any other field is equipped to handle such catastrophic incidents? Titles may not matter that much to those doing the job, but the public needs to have a better understanding and more respect for those trained to help them.
(Might give this Scavio person a clue as well) 🙂
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July 10, 2013 at 1:47 pm
Thanks for the great post!
Laurie
US 26 fun-filled years
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July 10, 2013 at 2:09 pm
As I was reading this article, I kept on thinking ” YOU GO, GIRL!!!”. I’m glad you put this out there for people to see. I will post this on my Facebook page too. As a former commercial FA and now a corporate FA, lord knows I ( and you) have seen it all. God Bless you for your dedication to our profession!
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July 10, 2013 at 2:58 pm
Excellent, thoughtful article and I know how you feel. There are a few ‘bridesmaid’ professions (I work in one). We don’t go looking for credit which is just as well ‘cos we rarely get it! I think you do a great job.
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July 10, 2013 at 3:28 pm
As usual, a very thoughtful post. Keep up the great work Patricia
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July 10, 2013 at 7:36 pm
It takes a lot to make me speechless, but after reading this I managed to formulate one word, just word… Amazing! Fantastic job Patricia.
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July 10, 2013 at 7:51 pm
Thank you for telling it like it is! Proud to be a fellow bridesmaid/flight attendant! Kudos!
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July 10, 2013 at 8:05 pm
You rock Patricia!… Congrats and thanks , retired fa
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July 10, 2013 at 8:09 pm
Love, love , love this article! Thanks Patricia!
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July 11, 2013 at 1:01 pm
My friend works as a flight attendant on Singapore Airlines. He tells me horror stories about what he has to put up with among passengers. They go though training all the time especially with new aircraft. The main point as to why flight attendants work on airlines is not to serve passengers meals and drinks, it’s about safety. They are over worked and very underpaid. People think it’s a great job. I even say you get to fly all over the world. Well, they do but as soon as they land they have jet lag and most just sleep until they leave back home. My friend just stays in his hotel…maybe do a bit shopping for food then back home on a 10 hour flight. I have total respect for flight attendants.
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July 11, 2013 at 4:12 pm
As an RN, I can relate to your feelings about being an unsung hero. When we have a patient emergency, nurses are there in the trenches taking care of business and typically get very little thanks in the end. God bless all of you who make our flights safe and keep us in the air. For the times it is lacking, I want to say a big THANK YOU, THANK YOU,
THANK YOU!
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July 11, 2013 at 7:14 pm
I flew in the 1960s – quite a while ago, and did not have to worry so much about electronic devices, etc then. However, my manual looked just like that, and I swear, weighed 40 lb when we hiked out to the plane on those concourses at O’Hare with our hardcase bags (no wheels) in our spike heels with the pointed toes. Otherwise, training and knowledge were pretty much the same, and those incidents that weren’t covered in the rules still occurred! Great blog, Patricia, thank you.
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July 11, 2013 at 8:41 pm
Great blog! I too was appalled when the comments about the pilots deploying the slides was made….absolutely insane. I’m a flight attendant and damn proud of it, but I’m in awe of the Asiana crew in SFO. Total heroes, each and every one.
Proud SWA FA
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July 11, 2013 at 8:55 pm
Patricia, thank you for this article. While I am one that does say please and thank you and doesn’t leave trash in seat backs and doesn’t ask for anything from the flight attendants and checks big bags (and tries to never have to use the lavatory), I did not know about long pants and sleeves and closed toes. It’s clear why, just never heard it. Or counting seat backs to the nearest exit. Thank you for all that you do. I know how unappreciated the service industry is and I hope there are enough polite people out there to offset the entitled. Thank you.
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July 11, 2013 at 9:36 pm
Please, NEVER refer to flight attendants as “flight crew.” That term is associated with pilots, not flight attendants.
I cringed when i read above “This Flight Crew did an absolutely amazing job with this accident and they are indeed heroes.” The pilots are the ones who screwed up royally and created this accident. The FAs saved the passengers and were outstanding!
If you can edit this article, rewrite it to “The Flight Attendants did an absolutely amazing job with this accident and they are indeed heroes.”
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July 11, 2013 at 10:06 pm
At my company we are referred to as the “Flight Crew.” We are indeed the “Crew.” All of us. When referring to “Cabin” or “Flight Deck” I would have made a distinction. However, I defer to you on this one that this indeed will most likely come out as Pilot error.
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July 12, 2013 at 7:14 am
I agree, at my company we are referred to as In Flight crew. We are part of the flight crew. There’s the front end and the back end but we are all part of the flight crew. A team. We are all equally responsible for keeping the flight and passengers safe.
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July 12, 2013 at 10:08 pm
While your company may refer to you as flight crew, the general public knows flight crew as pilots. Flight Attendants are sometimes called cabin crew, collectively all are crewmembers, but not flight crew.
Flight crew = pilots
InFlight crew = flight attendants. I just don’t want any inference that the pilots are heroes; they made stupid, stupid mistakes costing people their lives. I feel so bad for those who dies, especially the girl who was apparently killed by being run over by emergency services vehicles. RIP.
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July 13, 2013 at 6:48 am
When there is an issue with flights or if a flight is late, we get a call from “Crew Scheduling.” If it has to do with flights in the future, we call “Crew Planning.” And if we are in the midst of a trip and there is an issue, we call “Crew Tracking.” Don, this may be the way it is elsewhere, but these are the labels my company uses. I cannot change what has been in existence for decades. It is what it is. The pilots have their own people who handle their schedules and planning and we have ours. Either way, that is what it is called at the Corporation I work at.
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July 11, 2013 at 11:24 pm
SWA stew here. Thank you. Although, I give it one week, and pax will go back to oblivious bubble.
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July 11, 2013 at 11:25 pm
You hit the nail on the head!! Thank You for your GREAT POST!
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July 12, 2013 at 2:44 am
It was a GREAT commentary on the event and your explanation about everything made it really real! Thanks for doing this, Paula
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July 12, 2013 at 7:09 am
I wish i could give you the biggest hug ever to thank you!! You have written what so many of us “stews” have been feeling and thinking after this crash. The role of the flight attendant is most often overlooked and disregarded. Thank you again for helping bring to light just how important we are and what an amazing crew flight 214 had.
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July 13, 2013 at 8:32 am
AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME- outstanding read ~•~ Thank you for taking the time to write this!!
Well written and soooooo true!!! 20 yrs in the air for me, and every single flight has always been different, in one way or another…. good, bad or flat out crazy! lol
Thanks again for sharing!!!!
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July 13, 2013 at 8:54 am
I’m a recently retired pilot and she is 100% correct!
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July 14, 2013 at 1:59 am
I was a flight attendant for 40 years with TWA, Trans World Airlines, if anyone remembers! In the 1990’s well after the advent of wide bodied aircraft, TWA installed evacuation alarms throughout the cabins of all of their aircraft in addition to the one in the cockpit, and an evacuation could be initiated by any flight attendant who saw the need to evacuate. Once an evacuation had been initiated, not even the Pilot could stop it. TWA was, to my knowledge, the first American carrier that acknowledged their flight attendants were worthy of making an important decision as they were closest to the emergency incident at hand. If airlines have not adopted this attitude in the 21st century, it is time for all American carriers to do so and help make it a reality worldwide for the safety of all passengers and crew!!!
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July 14, 2013 at 3:40 pm
Many years ago, I was a flight attendant on C-118’s for the US Air Force.. While we did not have to worry about electronics, we had other problems. Our flights averaged 23-26 hours long, we set up the planes, loaded the meals, served two hot meals bringing the second meal up from the belly when stopping for fuel at either Harmon AFB Newfoundland, or Lajes in the Azores. After the flight, we tore down the interior and gathered blankets, pillows, trays etc and turned them in, If one was missing, it came out of our meagure salary. We also had obstetric training. We were also load masters and ocassionally were responsible for the weight and balance of the airplane. We were also carriers for top secret envelopes destined for embassies. Thus, we had to pass top secret clearances. I would add one thing to the list of clothing. If you have anything nylon on-DO NOT go down the chute with it on. This is no place for modesty. The friction will cause a bad burn.
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July 14, 2013 at 6:07 pm
Wonderful article. Well written and gives a fabulous description of our job. I retired after 43yrs with UA last summer. I am proud to have been in this profession. Thank you!
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