The reactions to this video seem to be along the lines of “why was there no flare on landing?” - in other words suggesting that the landing was far too hard and that collapsed the landing gear. But I also don’t know what to expect and what the causes of that would be.
Plan ahead. Keep stuff like your passport/ID, credit cards, mobile phone, and (if needed) essential medication on you rather than your carry-on. That way, if you have to evacuate the plane, you won’t be without it afterward.
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In the AMA (ask me anything) subreddit this morning, there was a thread from someone who was actually in the Toronto plane. It was pretty interesting. And, if I understand correctly this person grabbed their backpack, which contained their medication, and got yelled at by the flight attendants.
Mods, you can take this link down if it violates TOS
Honestly I would have grabbed my backpack too. I know it’s in the instructions not to, and I’d have left my coat in its bin despite the cold, but on planes the backpack rests on my feet so in the panic I’d have lifted it and put it on my back automatically. (I never go anywhere without a backpack.)
I think the problem with taking a backpack is that 1) if I get to bring mine everyone will bring theirs (even if it’s not easy to access) and 2) it takes up room, both 1 & 2 making the line to exit move more slowly. If there is a fire, seconds matter.
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I never knew this, but apparently backpack wearing passengers are a pet peeve of many travelers. My kids fly basic economy so always fly with backpacks, I had no idea.
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It was wonderful to read that the people aboard pitched in to help each other. I was wondering how there weren’t a lot of people injured when they hanging upside down and had to unbuckle and fall to the ceiling, which was now the floor. Apparently, the most nimble in each row let go first and then helped the others to the ground when they unbuckled. The passenger interviewed on CNN last night had unbuckled and fallen and it sounded as if that was the scariest part of the whole experience. Like "Do I hang here and wait for help or unbuckle risk a concussion or broken neck.
Do @busdriver11 or others have any suggestion as to the best way to fall if you find yourself hanging upside down?
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If I was going first in my row, I would ask one person to unbuckle me, and the other to hold on to help roll me to the side rather than fall straight down.
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Yes.
But I can totally see me automatically taking the backpack then pausing because I’m not supposed to take it then pausing because what if it’s faster to just go even with the backpack, while there’s noise and confusion and probably passengers screaming in general and at me. So ending up with the backpack.
I have no idea what I’d do if our plane crashed but I do know that everytime I get up during a flight I have to lift my backpack.
Yes I’d probably be dead.
I never thought about how to fall if you’re upside down, but I would probably lock my hands behind my neck in crash position. Not really sure, but want to protect your head and neck if possible.
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Hm I hadn’t thought of the upside down part. In that case the backpack would already be “down” and wouldn’t be on my feet so I wouldnt go pick it up!
Making it a coordinated task with someone sounds like a great idea.
Perhaps grip your seat?
Looks like zero flare and a high sink rate…must be a Navy pilot flying (okay, bad time to joke). Don’t know, maybe collapsed a gear? Usually that would cause a bounce. But there’s always the potential of wind shear, microburst or wake turbulence. The black boxes will give a lot of information.
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My husband is tall enough that he can touch the ceiling if he’s seated in a small plane. In this situation, I’m assuming taller people could have braced themselves and had the person next to them unbuckle their belt. Then they could help the other passengers.
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If you are exiting through a small and/or awkward opening – a reasonable possibility in an emergency – your backpack could make it hard for you to fit and could get hung up, both delaying everyone behind you. (Many of you have probably at some point had the experience of having some personal effect caught on something, and it’s a pretty effective way of stopping you in your tracks.) I’m actually a little horrified that so many people would prioritize retrieval of personal effects over their own safety and that of everyone else in a rather dire moment.
With 20/20 hindsight and alive and in good health, yes, you would have preferred to have all your personal effects at exit, but at that moment, the alive and healthy part wasn’t a given. And I would guess that after the event, if personal effects were in the plane and salvageable, you’d get them back.
Another reason to book the exit row!
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Totally not in an airplane, but in 1980 when I was about 24 my civic rolled forward (twice) and landed on its roof with my seat belt holding me up. After it stopped, I planted my feet and arms against parts of the interior, enough to unfasten my seat belt and crawl out. I remember it like it was yesterday.
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Many window seat passengers can reach the ceiling (which is the overhead bin). So in the upside down situation, the window seat passengers can unbuckle first, bracing their fall.
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Even in the aisle seats, the overhead bin typically extends over the seats. The call button, light, air is all accessible to “most” adult passenger. Although this was a regional jet, so perhaps smaller than typical. Now depending on one’s arm strength and body weight, your ability to hold a handstand and lower your body varies tremendously. Luckily, I can still do a handstand, so fear of fire would greatly expediate my decision to unbuckle.
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Yep, I have a feeling after something like that, people aren’t gonna be thinking too hard, they’ll just go and get out of Dodge.
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We fortunately mainly fly big aircraft longish distances between major cities like DC, NYC, HNL, SFO, LAX.
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