Availability of Passenger

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Availability of Passenger Safety Information for
Improved Survival in Aircraft Accidents
Donna K. Cosper Advancia Corporation Oklahoma
City, OK 73104 Garnet A. McLean Civil Aerospace
Medical Institute Federal Aviation
Administration Oklahoma City, OK 73125
Office of Aviation Medicine Washington, D.C. 20591
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Introduction

• FAA Advisory Circular (AC) 121-24 B
• an alert, knowledgeable person has a much
  better chance of surviving a life-threatening
  situation that occurs during passenger-carrying
  operations in civil aviation.

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National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)
Report 2000

• Investigated 46 evacuations between September
  1997 and June 1999
• 2,651 passengers involved in emergency
  evacuations
• Evacuations were ordered by the crew or initiated
  by passengers perceiving a threat
• Evacuations occurred every 11 days, on average.

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Critical FactorsQuestionnaire

• Preflight safety briefing
• Emergency exits
• Carry-on baggage
• Evacuation slides
• Passenger behavior
• Use of seat belts
• Communication
• Injury
• Post-evacuation events
• Personal information

Continental Airlines, 2/19/96, Houston, TX - The
aircraft suffered a landing gear collapse after
touchdown. Fatalities 086
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Misconception AmongAirline Passengers

• Passengers believe that 75 of transport airline
  accidents are fatal, i.e., without hope for
  survival.
• (Johnson, 1984) (Parkinson and Muir, 1995)

Singapore Airlines Boeing 747 - Took off on a
closed runway during a typhoon and crashed into
construction equipment on the runway. 96 of 179
survived
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Examples

• Air Canada Flight 797 - Douglas DC-9-32, June
  2, 198318 passengers and five crew escaped the
  airplane.

The aircraft suffered an in-flight lavatory fire
and made an emergency landing at the Cincinnati
/ Northern Kentucky International Airport. The
file had already consumed a large portion of the
cabin, however, and 23 passengers died.
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Exit Row Problems Identified

• Failure to attend to the safety information
  provided.
• Lack of understanding that they should assess
  outside conditions before opening the exit.
• Difficulty making the decision to open the exit
  door.

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Impediment to Rapid Emergency Evacuation

• 457 passengers replied to the NTSB questionnaire.
• Only 25 individuals reported having no bags with
  them inside in the airplane.
• 208 reported they attempted to carry a bag
  outside during the emergency evacuation.
• Competitive passenger behavior was an unexpected
  obstacle.
• 12.1 reported climbing over seats to get out of
  the plane while 20.4 reported they observed
  others climbing over seats.
• 29 reported having seen passengers being pushed,
  18.7 indicated they had been pushed, and 5.6
  indicated they personally pushed another
  passenger.

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Precautionary Emergency Evacuations (PEEvacs)

• 1/1/88 12/31/96 500 PEEvacs occurred, once a
  week, on average.
• The 500 PEEvacs involved approximately 6,000
  passengers, at a direct monetary cost of more
  than 11 million annually to the airline
  (Hynes,2000), which resulted in large part from
  passenger injuries.
• Hynes concluded that one of the ways to prevent
  passenger injuries associated with PEEvacs is to
  improve passenger safety information and
  instruction. This conclusion reaffirms the
  findings of the NTSB Safety Study (2000)
  regarding the need for better passenger
  education.

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Methods

• The study was conducted to identify the aircraft
  safety and accident survival information
  currently available to the flying public.
• Resources reviewed for this study included all
  materials supplied to passengers by the largest
  15 major airlines and 25 minor airlines flying in
  U.S. airspace.
• Additional information and materials were found
  using an exhaustive search of Internet websites,
  books, periodical publications, and journal
  articles of government agencies, aviation
  training programs, educational and academic
  sources, aircraft manufacturers, consultants,
  U.S. military, corporations, and non-profit
  companies.

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Important FactorsConsidered

• Up-to-date information regarding travel
  preparation
• In-flight things to know list
• Emergency aircraft operations plan
• Emergency procedures
• Safety concerns and issues list
• Post-emergency survival topics
• Prohibited goods list
• Medical information
• International travel information
• Airport requirements

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Results
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Sampling of information sources surveyed
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Sampling of information sources surveyed, cont.
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Discussion

• Accident reports indicate that passengers are
  generally uninformed about airplane accidents,
  emergency evacuations, and accident-survival
  issues.

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Discussion

• Most passengers believe that survival in an
  airplane accident is highly unlikely, although
  the reverse situation is, in fact, true.
• Importantly, it has been recognized that if
  passengers believe they can influence their own
  survival, they will be more willing to attend to
  safety information.

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Discussion

• A 1995 study by Parkinson and Muir showed that
  increased awareness generated via safety training
  raised passenger awareness of other important
  safety issues and increased passenger motivation
  to pay attention to the safety information
  available which led to increased behavioral
  effectiveness in an emergency.

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Discussion

• Creative and effective methods should be employed
  to enhance and convey safety information for
  passengers, in order to achieve the goal of
  assuring that air travelers have the information
  necessary for effective survival in any emergency.

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Recommendations

• The following educational strategy for air
  travelers will support the goals of being
  proactive regarding passenger education
• 1. A comprehensive aircraft safety education
  curriculum should be developed.
• Survey made of known travel safely information
  outside aviation.
• Surveys should be made to obtain information from
  the general public as to exactly what they know
  regarding safety in all emergencies.

The following educational strategy for air
travelers will support the goals of being
proactive regarding passenger education
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Recommendations, cont.

• 2. Proactive safety-procedures training should be
  developed and taught in public schools as part of
  a first aid and lifesaving skills training
  curriculum.
• 3. Travel safety information should be broadcast
  on the public broadcast channels.
• 4. The Passenger section of the FAA Internet
  website should be enhanced and a plan to inform
  the general public of its existence should be
  created to address current deficiencies in
  passenger aircraft safety education.

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Recommendations, cont.

• Topics should include Safety and Survival
  Information
• Safe Flight Information
• Safety On The Tarmac
• In-Flight Health
• Preparedness For Emergencies
• In-Flight Emergency Info
• Know Your Exits
• Seat Belts
• Exit Row Seating
• Turbulence
• Electronics / Safety
• Decompression

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Additional Information

• Oxygen Mask
• Brace for Crash Positions
• Flotation Devices
• Fire Smoke
• Using The Escape Slide
• Post-Crash Emergency Information
• Crash On Take-off or Landing
• Panic
• Fire Smoke
• Ditching
• Rescue
• Stress Reaction

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Additional Information

• Before You Travel
• How to Pack
• What to Wear
• Checking Flight Status
• Traveler Services
• Bereavement
• At the Airport
• Identification
• Health
• Children and Flying
• Travelers With Special Needs
• Traveling With Pets
• How To File Airline Complaints

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Additional Information

• Baggage Tips
• Things to Bring
• Things NOT to Bring
• Carry-on Baggage
• Checked Baggage
• Wrapped Packages
• Sporting Equipment
• Musical Instruments

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