Emergency Exit Awareness

The pre-flight safety demonstration seems all too often to be ignored by many passengers on commercial flights. The recent crash in San Francisco in which 305 of the 307 passengers used emergency exits to escape serves as a valuable reminder of why that information is worth travelers’ attention.

“After what happened last Saturday,” frequent traveler Kokie John said. “I think people need to pay more attention to what the flight attendants said we should do in case of some emergency.”

John flies more than 100 thousand miles a year. While waiting for his flight at the Palm Springs Airport, John said he often sees passengers fail to take note of emergency exit locations, and the pre-flight safety precautions laid out by flight attendants.

“To me,” John said, “Safety is always the most important thing. But you can tell … Look around at passengers. Half of them don’t pay any attention.”

Harriet Hill began paying closer attention after sitting in the body of a plane during a mock smoke attack demonstration. Now she always likes to know where the exits are.

“I realized how you can think you know where it is,” Hill said. “But if you’ve not made a mental note, you can be so disoriented, you’re not sure what to do.”

Former pilot Tom Jones said he talks about keeping what he calls a global awareness, always knowing what’s around him.

“One of the first things in a confined environment is, how do I get out of it in an emergency situation,” Jones said. “Or how do I help people get out of it. So I also listen to the exit instructions, too.”

Jones recognizes the important role a flight crew plays during emergency situations.

“Just watching how these people interact with their customers on board,” Jones said. “I tip my hat to them.”