So, What Would You Do?

[MineralMan]

We appear to be living in perilous times, politically. Our federal government is screwed up badly, and we have a pathological liar and moron in the White House. It sort of seems like an emergency, but I'm not seeing any panic, really. Most people I talk to seem confident that it will all get straightened out. Most people. I've wondered why people are so calm about this. Then, I think back to an incident that happened to me not long ago, and maybe I understand.

Air Emergency?

Earlier this month, I flew out of MSP airport to see my parents in California. This happened:

About the time the plane reached 10,000 feet in altitude, the oxygen masks suddenly dropped down. There was a fairly loud noise, as the flaps that normally hide them opened. I had noticed my ears popping more than usual, but had paid little attention to that.

So, what would your reaction be? While you think about it, I'll tell you what happened on the plane I was on.

Nothing. The masks dropped down. People looked at them, but I saw only a few actually reach out and pull them down to "start the flow of oxygen," as the flight attendants say during their pre-takeoff announcement.

I looked up at the masks. I thought, "I don't hear any rushing of air or anything like that." I reasoned that there was no sudden decompression of the cabin.

After about a minute, someone in the cockpit came on and said, "We've had a problem pressurizing the cabin, which is why your masks have deployed. We're returning to the Minneapolis St. Paul airport. We'll let you know what's next then. There's no need to put the masks on."

Nobody panicked. Nobody swore. Nobody screamed. Everyone just sat there and waited to land. Once we did, we were told to go to a different gate. Two hours later, we got on a different plane and flew to LAX.

So, how would you have reacted? I thought the whole thing was interesting, but not scary. Just interesting. I called my wife from the terminal to tell her what had happened, and then called my parents to let them know I'd be a couple hours late. That was it.

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Maybe that's what we need to do. Maybe that's what we are doing. Most of us. Maybe, in 2020, we'll be at another gate at the airport, waiting for our delayed flight to take off again. I hope so.

[democratisphere]

1. Stay calm. Mueller will end the WH crisis soon.

Until then, sit back and enjoy the rest of your flight from hell.

[MineralMan]

2. We also have an election coming up.

That's our opportunity to push the reset button. We should all be lined up to do just that, I think.

[bearsfootball516]

3. That's a poor mindset to have. Take the future into your own hands.

And get ready to fight like hell for our 2020 nominee to beat Trump. Canvass, phone bank, donate, whatever you can.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

4. I think I would initially put on the mask

but I've never been on a flight where that has happened.

It is my understanding that every so often this exact sort of thing happens, and almost invariably people react as you described: They don't put on the masks. So much for the safety demonstration.

[MineralMan]

5. The interesting thing was that the masks dropped

when we were only at about 10,000 feet. They aren't necessary at that altitude. There would have been no point in using them. We were at almost exactly the point where they announce that you can resume using your electronic devices.

The oxygen wasn't necessary. What happened was that the pressurization system wasn't working and the masks were automatically deployed by the plane's safety systems.

My point is that nobody panicked. Nobody got unduly alarmed. They know how to use the masks. They just didn't see the need for them in that particular circumstance. And they were right.

I thought it was a reasoned reaction. No panic, because there was nothing to panic about. We just turned around and got on another plane. It was an interesting look at crowd reaction in unusual circumstances. People, apparently, do think before reacting.