Airlines won’t or can’t explain certain aspects of safety and emergency procedures for various reasons, but primarily because to do so would cause concern about flying with them. We realized that we were in a unique position to offer insights to passengers they otherwise may not have access to. These insights are based on our ‘inside’ information gained from working with hundreds of different airlines, aircraft manufacturers, safety organizations, and government personnel. They do not reflect directly on any specific airline’s policy or equipment. We have compiled them with the hope that if you understood the reasoning behind safety regulations, recommendations, and procedures, you could make better decisions that may serve to keep you safe. Modern air travel is safe. It’s probably even safer than sitting in front of this computer. These are some of the items researchers, trainers, engineers, and governments have found to make it that way.

This page is in no way intended to replace the safety card, pre-flight briefing, or specific airline policies, nor is it intended to be complete emergency instructions. Aircraft equipment, even on the same type and model of aircraft often differ, as do airline procedures. So follow the instructions of the crew and refer to the safety card and all signs. We invite anyone knowledgeable with an interest in airline safety to write or E-mail us with your suggestions for future updates of this site. Please take some time to review these comments and, when you are done, please return them to your computer for our next passenger. Have a good flight!

1) What to wear: Wear clothes and shoes that provide for comfort and agility made with natural fibers. Wool outer garments with cotton under garments are best. Polyesters and other man-made fibers melt. Do not wear pantyhose. In the event of an evacuation in which you must jump onto an escape slide, pantyhose could melt and burn you. Do not wear high heels. They could damage floors on the aircraft and rip older escape slides, making them useless.

2) Carry-ons: Now that everyone is bringing carry-on bags on board, there may be no room in the overhead compartment for your bag. You may have to fly uncomfortably with your bag where your feet should be, under the seat in front of you. Alternatively, there is no wait at all at the baggage carousel, so check that bag in. Airlines are now setting limits on carry-on bags so, call yours and ask what size and number of carry-ons they allow.

There are good reasons for carry-on limits. Overhead bins are routinely being filled to overflowing, and an estimated 4,000 passengers each year suffer injuries related to carry-on bags. Worse yet, stressed overhead compartments have collapsed during emergency landings, trapping passengers under the weight. In some accidents passengers have reported being blocked from getting to an emergency exit because others were getting their bags out of the overhead bins. So check that bag in, and in the event of an emergency evacuation, leave all your carry-ons behind. A life is worth more than anything you have in that bag.

3) Electronic Gizmos: Your child’s toy could adversely affect the plane’s navigation and electronic systems. So could many other items like Radios, Cell Phones, CD Players, Laptop Computers, Pagers, Televisions, Radio Controlled Toys, Calculators, and on and on. To be safe don’t use any of these items during take-off and landing. Consult the safety card or ask your Flight Attendant about your particular gizmo.

4) Use your seatbelt: With all the changing weather you’ve been reading about we also hear about more airline accidents due to turbulence or wind sheer. Turbulence happens unexpectedly and often before the pilot has time to turn the seatbelt sign on. Aircraft have been known to drop as much as 300 feet suddenly. With a lot less of a drop your head will hit the ceiling if you are not strapped in. As many as 300 passengers have been seriously injured over the last ten years due to turbulence, and in all cases none of the passengers had their seatbelts on. So buckle up and keep it on at all times when you are in your seat and during taxiing until the plane comes to a complete stop at the terminal gate.

Seatbelts on aircraft are typically different than those in cars in which you must press a button to open it. To open an aircraft seatbelt you must lift the top plate, which is like a lever, and you must lift it quite far (past 90°). Aircraft seatbelts have been known to turn over or roll so that the top plate is against your body. If this happens, you won’t be able to open it until you turn it so the top is up.

5) Don’t smoke: Remember to bring some gum along instead. Don’t smoke in the restroom. More than one cabin fire has been attributed to throwing a cigarette butt into the trash in the restroom. Don’t attempt to disable the smoke alarm. Besides being a Federal offense, the airlines are wise to you and have other hidden ones that will go off. Do not use butane lighters. Cabin pressure at high altitudes is much lower than on the ground so pressurized lighters tend to leak. When you light them, they might flair up.

6) Be knowledgeable: Survivors of accidents often report having paid attention to the pre-flight briefing and having studied the safety card. Depending on the circumstances in an emergency situation, flight attendants may not be able to attend to everyone. The more you know, the more you will be prepared to help yourself. Freezing with fear, even when the airplane is on the ground and people are clamoring to get to the exits, is a common problem in airline accidents. Researchers have found that training can help counter this and allow you to take action. So study the safety card and review in your mind what you would do and how you would get to and open each exit if you had to.

7) Where to go: Review the safety card to see which exits depicted on the card are near you. There is a tendency to go to the exit that you entered by. That exit may have too many people attempting to get out of it, or it may be blocked, so you should be aware of all available exits. If there is a cabin fire, you may not be able to see. So you should count the seats between you and the nearest exit in front of and behind you.

8) Decompressions: In the event of a decompression, the crew may not be able to help you. The pilot will quickly maneuver the aircraft down to a lower altitude, and they may not be able to communicate with you because of the noise. A decompression pulls oxygen from blood vessels. You must react in a matter of seconds because you may quickly lose control of your muscles and become unconscious. There will be no time to refer to the safety card once it happens, so study the card when you get on board. Should a decompression happen immediately buckle your seatbelt, pull a mask that has dropped down to you and put it on, tighten or adjust it, then help others. You may not have time to put a child's mask on and then put yours on before you become unconscious, so put your mask first.

Some passengers abandon a mask for another because they believe that the plastic bag attached to the mask should inflate. This is not necessarily true. If you are concerned that your mask is not working, check for an oxygen flow indicator either in the line to the mask or as a part of the plastic bag itself.

9) Bracing Positions: Refer to the safety card for how to brace for impact, and follow the crew instructions. They may have you remove and stow glasses, dentures, and like items which could fly out or hurt you in an emergency landing. Upon impact everything becomes a projectile that can kill so, if there is time, stow any loose items away properly. There are many fine points to bracing, and in fact even though most safety cards only use one or two drawings to describe this, the bracing position file is one of the biggest files of drawings we have. For typical forward facing seats the main points to follow are to put your seatbelt on snug and low on your lap and to bend down as far forward as possible until you are resting on whatever is in front of you, whether its your lap or the next seat.

Stay braced until the aircraft comes to a complete stop. An airplane may skip over the surface, somewhat like you would skip a stone on the surface of the water. This will feel like intense jerks. Once the plane completely stops, open your seatbelt and quickly move to an exit.

In the event of an emergency landing there are no good ways to brace holding an infant. Some airlines offer free seats or discounts on seats for a child under two years old. Take the money you save on this seat and purchase an infant restraint seat approved for use on airplanes. The FAA recommends using a rear facing restraint seat for children 20 pounds or smaller, and a forward facing seat for those between 20 and 40 pounds. Use the seat according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Children larger than 40 pounds should use the regular seat belt. When bracing for impact with a child in a seatbelt, the parent should ensure that the child braces per instructions.

10) Fire/Smoke: Most fire-related deaths in airline accidents are due to smoke inhalation, not burning. An aircraft is made up of many different materials which form deadly toxins when they burn. If smoke is in the cabin, stay down below the smoke and also cover your mouth and nose with a handkerchief, paper towel, or clothing. Wet it if possible.

11) Flotation Device: Many airports are located on or near waterways. So even though you are not taking an extended over-water flight, you should know what flotation device is available on the aircraft you are flying on. Your seat cushion may or may not be a flotation cushion. Check placards on the seat in front of you to find out if life vests or flotation cushions are available. The aircraft should have one or the other and may have both. You can tell an approved flotation cushion once you pull it off the seat because it should have one or two straps or loops for putting your arms through. If your aircraft has a life vest, check the safety card for donning instructions. The bag it is in should also have instructions on it. Do not inflate the vest inside the aircraft.

12) Assess Outside Conditions: Follow crew instructions and the safety briefing card for operating the emergency exits. Assess the outside conditions first before you open an exit to determine if opening the exit would increase the risk to passengers. Do this by looking through the window for fire, smoke, debris or obstructions or feel the exit for heat. Also, in a ditching, try to determine if the water level is above the door sill. The safety card should indicate which exits should be used in a ditching due to expected flotation characteristics and other considerations. If an exit you are at is unusable, don’t open it but direct passengers to another usable exit.