As investigators look into the cause of Saturday’s Continental Airlines crash at Denver International Airport, experts say fliers should think ahead about what they would do if involved in a plane crash.
“The best thing you can do when you get on an airplane is count the seats,” said former National Transportation Safety Board investigator Greg Feith.
Knowing how many seats you are from an exit can help you get out if the plane is filled with smoke.
“Not only count them, but touch them because this is what imprints the numbers in your head, and you want to count seats that are in front of you and behind you,” he said. “You don’t know which way you are going to evacuate the plane.”
Seat belt in jet unlike car’s
When you get to your seat, practice buckling and unbuckling your seat belt, he says.
Feith, who has investigated more than a dozen major plane crashes, says one mistake people make is forgetting that the seat belt in a plane doesn’t operate like the seat belt in a vehicle.
“We’ve had fatalities because people got confused on how the seat belt in an airplane works, versus their car,” Feith said. “A lot of people will revert to what they know best in a high-stress situation like an aircraft accident and they will be trying to push the button (on the seat belt) when in fact they have to pull to release the belt.”
Keys to opening exit door
After your seat belt is buckled, Feith says you should plan how to open the emergency exits. Exits over the wings are usually the toughest to open, he says.
“The best thing for you to do (to open the exit) is stand up and turn 180 degrees so you are facing aft,” Feith said. “A lot of people think they are going to be facing forward, when facing the back of the plane is better.”
When opening the emergency exit over the wing on the left side of the plane, a passenger should use the right hand to grab the bottom of the exit. The passenger’s elbow should touch the window.
“Take your left hand and wipe it across your face and grab the handle on the upper part of the door and release the handle,” Feith said.
He recommends passengers bring the door into the plane and rotate the door 90 degrees.
“Then you are going to give it a big throw right out the window. You have to clear that exit because you are going to be following that door right out over the wing,” he said.
“When you take that door, you’ve got to throw it,” Feith said.
Over-the-wing emergency-exit doors weigh 35 to 40 pounds, he said.
Feith also recommends passengers keep their shoes on but avoid sandals or high heels. He says nylon clothing can melt to a passenger’s body during a fire. Instead, he recommends people wear cotton clothing, because that usually falls off when it burns.
