The Asiana flight attendants stayed behind to slash seat belts and save passengers

[Are_grits_groceries]

<snip>
There’s a kind of person who is trained to maximize survival in the case of a plane crash: the flight attendant. Airlines don’t advertise the intense training their flight attendants receive because it reminds potential passengers that air travel is risky. As a result, most people seriously underestimate the skills flight attendants bring on board and the dedication they have to the safety of their passengers.

Flight attendants have to learn hundreds of regulations and know the safety features of all of the aircraft in their airline’s fleet. They must know how to evacuate the plane on land or sea within 90 seconds; fight fires 35,000 feet in the air; keep a heart attack or stroke victim alive; calm an anxious, aggressive, or mentally ill passenger; respond to hijackings and terrorist attacks; and ensure group survival in the jungle, sea, desert, or arctic. It isn’t just book learning; they train in “live fire pits” and “ditching pools.”
<snip>
This is why I’m surprised to see almost no discussion of the flight attendants’ role in this “miracle.” Consider the top five news stories on Google at the time I’m writing: CNN, Fox, CBS, the Chicago Tribune, and USA Today. These articles use passive language to describe the evacuation: ”slides had deployed”; all passengers “managed to get off.” When the cabin crew are mentioned, they appear alongside and equivalent to the passengers: the crash forced “dozens of frightened passengers and crew to scamper from the heavily damaged aircraft”; ”passengers and crew were being treated” at local hospitals.

Only one of these five stories, at Fox, acknowledges that the 16 cabin crew members worked through the crash and its aftermath. The story mentions that, while passengers who could were fleeing the plane, crew remained behind to help people who were trapped, slashing seat belts with knives supplied by police officers on the ground. The plane was going up in flames; they risked their lives to save others.
<snip>
http://jezebel.com/no-ones-talking-about-the-flight-attendant-heroes-in-t-706818871

Something for people to remember.

Some airlines may be run poorly and have execrable policies, but these people do not make those decisions. Taking out frustration on them is a lose-lose situation.

If there is a flight attendant performing poorly, they should be reported. There are people in every line of work who don't do their jobs, and none should be held up as the norm.

[PoliticAverse]

1. See also this article I posted on DU...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/101668083

[MADem]

2. In the civilian world they used to be called "stewardesses" and later, flight attendants...

In the military, they are called AIRCREW...and I really think the civilian world should adopt that simple phrase. It's more descriptive.

I've seen flight attendants/aircrew provide front line emergency medical assistance to passengers, subdue violent drunks/unmedicated people, and deal with all sorts of bullshit, ranging from in flight emergencies to people being assholes.

I think they've got the patience of saints, most of 'em.

[Scootaloo]

3. Ah, but that would tarnish the "luxury"

"Aircrew" would relate that they are a vital component, a core part of the industry's functionality and the go-to people for pretty much anything one could imagine. "Flight attendants," along with the earlier "stewardesses" implies a subservient role, a service provided for the passengers' comfort and convenience, a perk rather than an integral component.

And thus, you get the people who act like entitled assholes towards these employees.

[MADem]

5. Well, since they don't give the passengers much luxury anymore--seats too small for legs and butts,

no meals, less storage space, extra charges for luggage, etc., it's also more accurate to call them the vital component for safety, not the whipping boys and girls who should provide long-gone services from years past!

And since they go with FAA minimums when it comes to "aircrew," might as well let folks experience the "bus in the sky" feeling with accurate names for the service providers--that's reality, these days.

I don't really care about luxuries--it's all transportation to me. I would appreciate a nicer seat before I'd care about some poor aircrew member fawning over me. Pretty much, if they give me a beverage I'm a happy camper.

I do like that crashes are getting a bit more survivable--that's a plus for the airline industry....

[aquart]

4. They didn't have vital knives because of 9/11 hysteria precautions?

[Travis_0004]

7. I find it odd that a bunch of seat belts would get stuck.

And if they do get stuck, why would there not be a seat belt cutter on the plane. A seat belt cutter is designed so it is just about impossible to cut somebody with, so keeping one on the plane shouldn't be a danger to anybody.

If they had too, keep it in the cockpit.

[Are_grits_groceries]

8. All may not have been stuck.

Sheer panic can cause easy tasks to become almost impossible.

[Travis_0004]

10. Thats true, but if that is the case then a knife is not needed, just a calm person.

[exboyfil]

9. I would think a spring loaded device could be

developed that would encase the blade (it would be safer as well for the passenger being freed and not pose a threat if taken away from the attendant). All flight attendants should have them.

[Travis_0004]

11. Standard seat belt cutters don't really pose a threat.

There is plastic surronding the metal blade. It would even be possible to make it all metal, so the plastic can not be broken away, exposing the blade.

I think the true story will really come out in a few days. I don't think seatbelts really get stuck that often. Perhaps some paniced passengers that did not know how to open it, but cutting the belt is not required to fix that situation.

Another story I heard was that a slide deployed incorrectly, which pinned a flight attendant, and a plastic knife on board the plane was used to cut the slide.

[malaise]

6. Excellent post

Most people have no idea about the training required for flight attendants.