Brace For Impact- Would You Know What To Do In An Airplane Ditching?
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"Brace For Impact,” are the last words you want to hear when you are on an airplane.
But that is exactly what was said to the 148 passengers onboard a US Airways A320 airbus leaving New York’s LaGuardia Airport Thursday. The plane made a remarkably soft landing on water and amazingly everyone got off with a few broken limbs and hypothermia.
Would you know what to do if you heard those words?
A water landing is called a “ditching” and CBS News Friday visited with a flight training center that trains people on what to do during a ditching. The crew is trained to keep you alive and the plane is made to withstand the impact of a ditching.
At this point it is very important to listen to the words of the crew. Remain calm and when the flight attendant tells you to put on your seat belt, tighten them and then don your lifejacket, you are to do just that. Do not inflate the vest.
Prepare for impact by bending over and grabbing your ankles and holding on. When the plane hits the water it’s all about getting out fast.
Flight crews are trained to evacuate a plane in 90 seconds, reports CBS, though it is hard to imagine that a jumbo jet can be evacuated that quickly. That means you don’t have time to retrieve your laptop from the overhead. A flight attendant will tell you where to go and escort you as quickly. Leg through the opening, then your body, then the other leg. After you are out of the plane is the time to inflate your life vest.
Luckily Flight 1549 had passengers onboard who were fairly mobile or in the case of infants, had parents who were, and nearby ferries quickly got to the passengers before the frigid conditions got to them.
Passengers were advised not to panic again when getting aboard the ferries as many started scrambling to the ladder at the same time.
Next time you’re on the plane, you might read those safety manuals in the seatback pockets - they contain all of this information. #