CABINSafety Wayne Rosenkrans Wayne
hallenging questions demanded candid Among the most safety-oriented highlights of Winninganswers from presenters and workshop Formulathe symposium (see “Keeping Cool,” p. 48, and leaders in February 2008 when the South- “Full-Scale Insights,” p. 47) were the following ern California Safety Institute (SCSI) messages. Cbrought flight attendants and other airline Merlin Preuss, director general of civil safety, health and security specialists together aviation in Canada, said that the introduc- for the International Aircraft Cabin Safety Sym- tion of safety management systems urgently posium (CSS) in Montreal. requires research, open dialogue and global People who manage, train and/or compose harmonization of solutions for various cabin today’s cabin crews increasingly see themselves safety problems. “There will be a rapid in- as agents of change in the aviation safety com- crease in the number of seniors in the next munity, according to Sharon Morphew, SCSI’s five years. … The baby-boomer generation manager of the CSS, and other symposium will be traveling more than any other gen- organizers (see “Beyond Expectations,” p. 46). eration,” Preuss said. “Cabin crews then can
44 | flight safety foundation | AeroSafetyWorld | April 2008 CABINSAFETY
expect to encounter 10 percent of seniors events — heart attacks, for example — is with health issues affecting their mobility or the extremely short time available to make Left, foreground, agility or causing pain; 4 percent with hear- a difference in the outcome. “The chance of Ragna Emilsdottir ing impairments; and 3 percent with vision surviving decreases 10 percent every min- and Heidi Faith impairments.” ute; after 10 minutes [without any first aid], of Air Atlanta Robert Matthews, Ph.D., senior safety ana- you can forget it. … Even if you are over Icelandic, and lyst in the U.S. Federal Aviation Administra- an airport, you will have to wait about 20 Lisa Crocket of tion (FAA) Office of Accident Investigation, minutes before landing — so the responsibil- United Airlines. discussed why the federal transportation poli- ity to respond is on flight attendants, nobody Below, Hilliary. cy says lap infants would be significantly safer else. … [Physician-passengers typically]
Wayne Rosenkrans are not trained to handle out-of-hospital emergencies.” Colette Hilliary, program manager of cabin safety training, FlightSafety Internation- al, said that the industry has been reassessing cabin crew training since the investigation of the Helios Airways Boeing 737 decompres- sion accident in Greece in August 2005. One improvement for some airlines has been to ensure that every portable oxygen bottle is preassembled for instant use. Others have in- troduced flight attendant mixed-gas hypoxia- awareness training, which does not involve a conventional hyperbaric chamber. The train- ing prepares crewmembers to recognize early- onset symptoms and their first/predominant occupying a secured child restraint system in individual symptom, such as tunnel vision or an airliner cabin, yet the government stops numbness; to observe/hear subtle indications short of requiring parents or guardians to buy in the cabin; and to take immediate corrective extra airline tickets for them. The FAA’s posi- action before losing mental acuity because of By Wayne Rosenkrans tion is that the average U.S. family — asked to hypoxic degradation. “The sensations are dif- spend 45 percent more to fly instead of driv- ferent from anything you have ever felt unless ing a typical highway trip of 480 mi (772 km) you have had hypoxia-awareness training,” Symposium’s — would choose highway travel rather than Hilliary said. “Rapid decompression occurs far-safer airline travel. The FAA argues that in one to three seconds, and slow/insidious Winning Formula unflinching focus a net increase in fatalities would occur — at decompression occurs over more than three on concerns raised least 60 more infants killed in motor vehicles seconds. … In a slow/insidious decompres- by flight attendants compared with one infant traveler’s life saved sion, [flight attendants] may or may not hear influences airlines by a child restraint system over 10 years. whistling near the doors or window seals, the Paulo Alves, M.D., medical director of cabin may become cool or appear hazy [but worldwide. MedAire, said that the aging population will these signs] may be slight. What is the first affect the quality and quantity of in-flight indication of a slow decompression that we medical events. “[The percentage of] people have typically? It is the masks dropping out of living beyond age 100 is increasing, and not the passenger service unit.” ● because we are more healthy but because we are surviving our diseases,” Alves said. The For an enhanced version of this story, go to
www.flightsafety.org | AeroSafetyWorld | April 2008 | 45 CABINSafety
Beyond Expectations
he International Aircraft Cabin Safety Symposium (CSS) this year celebrates a quarter century of
T Rosenkrans Wayne facilitating the exchange of increas- ingly specialized knowledge among flight attendants, pilots, airline manag- ers, regulators, aircraft/equipment manufacturers, accident investigators and academic researchers. The airline industry and regulators today count on the expertise, perspective and commit- ment of flight attendants far more than when the first CSS was held in February 1984, co-founder Barbara Dunn says. Around that time, the cabin crew’s role in survivability of major accidents Dunn, with her award, and Sharon Morphew of the Southern California Safety Institute. was coming into sharp focus. The in- flight lavatory fire and emergency land- the flight deck door. When I was hired years to dispel that label of being strictly ing of Air Canada Flight 797 at Cincinnati as a flight attendant in 1971, all I had to a union group,” she said. In later years, in June 1983 — in which 23 passengers do was be able to write down how to the symposium drew more diverse were killed by smoke, toxic gases and open a door. If I could memorize that audiences. Flight attendants demanded flash fire about 60 to 90 seconds after portion of my manual and reproduce it more sophisticated content and showed evacuation began — was one of many on a piece of paper I passed.” willingness to listen to subject specialists reasons to challenge the status quo, As a result, Dunn and a few col- holding viewpoints contrary to theirs; Dunn said. Changes such as floor- leagues in 1982 began pitching the and growing emphasis on crew resource level emergency lighting, fire-blocking idea of a new industry forum dedicated management (CRM) helped to bridge dif- standards for seat cushions, and higher primarily to cabin safety. After first ferences in professional cultures, she said. standards for cabin interior panel flam- approaching Flight Safety Foundation “I have seen a massive improve- mability and smoke toxicity gradually — which began its International Air ment in CRM and joint pilot-flight followed. “Flight attendant training also Safety Seminar in 1947 and Corporate attendant training in CRM,” Dunn said. was improved at that time, with specific Aviation Safety Seminar in 1955, and “Most of the people who come to this attention on firefighting issues,” she said. which began publishing Cabin Crew symposium are in-flight trainers, super- Dunn was then an Air Canada flight Safety in 1956 — she and Toni Ketchell, a visors and safety managers. Our unions attendant and, from 1974 to 1989, flight attendant who in November 1965 are more knowledgeable now as far as national health and safety chairperson of survived the American Airlines Flight safety is concerned. The industry as a the Canadian Airlines Flight Attendants 383 controlled flight into terrain ac- whole looks at us very differently than Association, now the Airline Division of cident near Cincinnati, turned to Richard 25 years ago — we are treated more as the Canadian Union of Public Employees. Brown, Ph.D., director of aviation safety safety professionals by the airlines. We In the late 1970s and early 1980s, she programs at the University of Southern are in a position to accept that respon- found herself increasingly frustrated with California Institute of Safety and sibility in a better fashion.” the lack of action on cabin safety issues Systems Management, who joined them Brown, Dunn and Ketchell were that most concerned flight attendants. in founding the CSS at the university. recognized in Montreal for their roles “In those days, even our safety Cabin safety specialists from flight as the CSS co-founders; Dunn also ac- role on the aircraft was still pretty ill- attendant unions comprised the majority cepted the Excellence in Cabin Safety defined,” she said. “We were not given of CSS attendees in the early years, and Award from the Southern California a lot of credit for any of the expertise their “agitating for improvements” in Safety Institute, which currently con- or knowledge we had. I basically talked existing practices gradually gave some ducts the symposium. to anybody I could about cabin issues. people in the industry an erroneous — WR There just wasn’t a lot of interest in impression of the purpose, Dunn said. what was happening on the aft side of “We have fought very hard over the
46 | flight safety foundation | AeroSafetyWorld | April 2008 CABINSAFETY
Full-Scale Insights
irbus shared lessons from its hours, half theory/half practice, over said. “Assertive, short, loud and clear full-scale emergency evacuation three days, plus a half-day visit to the commands have no meaning without Ademonstration on the A380-800 demonstration aircraft. “During the the correct body language, gestures — many applicable to cabin crews of aircraft visit, trainees were all told to and facial expressions. There is no any airliner — during the International look around, try out every cabin crew point in shouting a command with a Aircraft Cabin Safety Symposium. station and stand in every assist space,” big smile on your face — no one will Videos of the evacuation, as recorded Jacobs said. “They had to check what take you seriously. Gestures are as by overhead interior cameras, revealed they could see and with whom they important as commands and should more clues to how the two pursers could communicate.” be used in tandem.” The videos show and 16 flight attendants in March Jacobs and her colleagues decided all the flight attendants shouting and 2006 evacuated 873 people in 78 at the outset that psychological prepa- gesturing at a high level of intensity, seconds via three upper-deck slides rations would be essential — specifical- as if expressing extreme anger to all and five lower-deck slides in Hamburg, ly for each flight attendant to be able the passengers. Germany (ASW, 1/07, p. 46). to continuously manage the situation, Instructors deliberately spent time “The behavior and assertiveness be assertive and be direct. Training building trust and friendship during of the cabin crew had a great impact would prepare them to mentally focus breaks/lunches, mixing humor and on the speed with which they man- on their crowd-control techniques, not frequent reminders that each flight aged and directed the passengers on the crowd. “We had to work with attendant is in control with personal and the exits,” said Carmen Jacobs, attitude — we had to give the crew challenges to perform at their best. “We cabin crew training policy manager, confidence in being able to handle a worked with their individuality … their Airbus Training and Flight Operations crowd,” she said. “We had to teach them personalities and skills,” Jacobs said. Support and Services. “The success- [not] that they can be in control — that “They all encouraged one another to ful evacuation in less than 90 seconds they are in control.” practice being able to do things simul- came about with the crowd-control Asserting control then called for taneously and to increase the speed of techniques, our attitude and our dif- specific attention on how to com- their actions.” ferent approach as instructors towards bine conventional commands with For an enhanced version of this story, go to the cabin crew we were training. The delivery techniques that likely would
© Fraport Wayne Rosenkrans Wayne
www.flightsafety.org | AeroSafetyWorld | April 2008 | 47 CABINSafety
Keeping Cool
ifferences between what airline Flight attendants from two airlines management rates as a comfort/ participated in the feasibility phase of Dconvenience issue and what flight a new cabin air quality study June– attendants consider unsafe/unhealthy December 2007 and returned 4,012 can be difficult — but not impossible completed surveys; a report will be — to resolve and objective data help, published later in 2008. In first-phase several presenters told the International feasibility testing, researchers had Aircraft Cabin Safety Symposium. activated air samplers on 47 of 67 paid Christopher Witkowski, director flight segments as of February 2008. of air safety, health and security for AFA-CWA also described a problem- the Association of Flight Attendants– solving partnership with an unspecified Communications Workers of America airline to look at how heat stress in a (AFA–CWA), recapped controversy tropical climate might affect occupants
surrounding cases of exposure to of some ATR 72 aircraft flying in south Rosenkrans Wayne particles of engine oil, hydraulic fluid Florida, U.S., and Caribbean airports (see Grace or byproducts contaminating the air figure). “These aircraft are not config- in passengers or crew, illness symp- provided by the environmental control ured to have an auxiliary power unit on toms reported by passengers or system of a passenger airliner. Past board, so they are extremely reliant on crew, and aircraft-related causal studies have yet to put these concerns ground cooling,” said John Grace, nation- factors. The research relied on the to rest, Witkowski said. al health committee representative. “We U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric By early 2008, several initiatives had to come up with a testing protocol Administration [NOAA] Heat Index were in place to help find answers. that would create accurate data that
(percent) 40 in their environmental control system configured for maximum heating effect 20 during winter operations, Grace said.
Predeparture heat index category index heat Predeparture The airline assigned a full-time ground 0 EIS EYW FLL FPO JAX MIA NAS PUJ SJU SLU STT STX monitor responsible solely for prevent- (17) (22) (10) (15) (24) (115) (49) (16) (162) (21) (16) (16) ing excessive heat conditions. Airport (number of measurements) —WR Below warning threshold Caution Extreme caution Danger
Source: Association of Flight Attendants — Communications Workers of America
48 | flight safety foundation | AeroSafetyWorld | April 2008