You know, there's one group that hasn't been given any credit at all after today's near tragedy:

[hedgehog]

The Passengers!


If they hadn't followed instructions, a lot of them would have been killed. If just one person had panicked and opened the rear door once the plane hit water, it would have sunk before most people could get out. Think about what would have happened had everyone shoved their way to the exits. It may seem trivial, but Americans seem to be programmed to stay calm and follow directions. It must be a result of all those fire drills we had in school. I say this is an American trait because I've seen what happens in foreign airports when people are given the simple instruction to board by rows. The announcement is for rows 25-30, and everyone in the lobby forms a scrum at the gate. Forget as simple a notion as lining up!

[Tumbulu]

1. Very good point! (nt)

[hedgehog]

2. All you people who ignore the pre-flight instructions, hang your heads in shame!

you, with the lap top in seat 7A - I'm looking at you!

[alarimer]

11. We've heard them a million times.

I think we know what to do by know. At least those of us who have flown more than a few times.

[hedgehog]

13. I know you've heard it a million times - the point is to make sure you make a

plan for how you're going to get yourself out in the event of an emergency right then and there. It's like that final 5 minutes of cramming before a test. For example, a lot of people want to stop and get their things out of the overhead because that's what they always do when leaving a plane. It's good to be reminded to just get yourself OUT!

[liberalmuse]

3. "Women and children first!"

You don't hear of that much these days. There were some very cool people on that plane, and a few who took leadership, along the crew and pilots.

[nickyt]

4. I totally agree, have been saying the same thing all afternoon! They

were fantastic! I want a ticker-tape parade for the pilot, the crew, and those PASSENGERS!!

[Gormy Cuss]

5. That safety presentation at the beginning of every flight is conditioning

with the hopes that in an emergency people will know what to do -- which starts with listening to the instructions of the flight crew and continues with knowing where those exits are, and in this case how to retrieve and put on the life jackets.

It was clear that many passengers acted exactly the right way today.
:toast:

[hedgehog]

8. According to my son, the main reason people are told to turn off all their electronics

during take-off and landings is to ensure that there will be no fumbling around stowing such objects in the event of an emergency. Also, the reason that life jackets are to be inflated after exiting the plane is that there was a water landing a few years back in which the doors were all submerged. Passengers had to dive down to exit the plane. Those with inflated life vests couldn't do it.

[ScreamingMeemie]

12. This is true. It is mostly so that passengers will pay attention in the

event of an emergency during takeoff or landing-when most accidents happen. An American Airlines pilot told me it had absolutely nothing to do with interfering with communication.

[Occam Bandage]

15. Absolutely true. Your computer will not fuck up anything in the plane.

Nor will your iPod. I'm surprised by how many people just assume that there are evil gremlins emitted by electronics that only work between 10 and 10,000 feet off the ground.

But if any passengers had been lost in a DVD up until the plane hit the water, and so weren't braced and had no idea what was going on, well, that could have led to complications.

[NJCher]

6. hah!

I thought of that, too, as I watched them all lined up, so orderly and patient.

The up side of being a nation of sheep.



Cher

[MADem]

7. Maybe the one jerk who tried to open the door caused the laceration to the flight attendant!!

Pure speculation, mind you....

I think everyone acquitted themselves brilliantly, from the pilot to the aircrew to the passengers to the rescue folks.

[rwheeler31]

9. Them dam teachers are not cute.

[Muttocracy]

10. and the divers - they pulled frozen people out of the water

story - http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/16/nyregion/16rescue.html

[lunatica]

14. I heard them being given credit yesterday

I think everyone on that airplane has been acknowledged by now. And so have the pilots and crew and passengers on the shuttleboats who came to the rescue. It was an all around heroic incident. And in this time when we citizens are at our lowest point it's made Americans feel good about something again.