Trying to Get Luggage During Airplane Evac!!!

[lizzzi]

Just watching some of the news articles about the Emirates plane that burned in Dubai. Again, as we saw in a fairly recent aircraft emergency in the U.S., people are trying to get their luggage out of the overheads while the plane is being evacuated and they're supposed to be jumping down the slides. WTF? WT double F? Are these morons insane?

When I fly, my passport, money, cell phone--whatever I think is crucial--is on my person at all times. I always wear my ScotteVest on the plane, and can just head for the exit and the slides if need be, without any delay--except the delay cause by the idiots in the aisle who are trying to get their carryons out of the overheads. What is the matter with people?

[JetBlast]

This question comes up every time there's video of people evacuating with luggage, and invariably the default conclusion is that they are selfish morons. I think there's a hell of a lot more going on from a psychological standpoint. People act strangely and unpredictably in times of crisis.

An interesting example is the behavior reported by many survivors of the first attack on the World Trade Center.  Many people reported making the conscious decision to evacuate...and then going to their desks. What?  They grabbed photos, coffee mugs, and other worthless items in an emergency.  So, what the hell is going on here?

As it turns out there's a psychological tendency to want to gather resources in times of emergency. People's instincts were to grab for something of comfort before evacuating into this unknown situation. It's just instinct, and I think it applies to aircraft evacuations.  Most will focus first on getting to safety, but for some there is too strong of an impulse to gather things before leaving. Their rational brain is being fully overridden by something more primitive.

There's probably a few selfish assholes mixed in, but I think there are many that won't even be fully aware that they took time to get their luggage until they're out of the plane and have a moment to calm down.

[ender]

Nothing like being stuck in a different country where you might not even speak the language without a piece of documentation indicating who you are and potentially not having your cell phone, passports, money, etc.

Particularly people who do not do:

When I fly, my passport, money, cell phone--whatever I think is crucial--is on my person at all times.

[lizzzi]

Well, I didn't intend to sound harsh or mean--but I can see that I went straight from reading the article and seeing the pictures to making a quick post without stopping to reflect on the issue.  Glad all the PAX and the crew survived the emergency--a shame that one fireman on the ground was killed.

[JetBlast]

Well, I didn't intend to sound harsh or mean--but I can see that I went straight from reading the article and seeing the pictures to making a quick post without stopping to reflect on the issue.

I wouldn't beat yourself up over it. Your sentiment from earlier is incredibly common. I read it over and over on aviation sites today, and last September when that British Airways aircraft caught fire in Las Vegas, and pretty much any time there's an aircraft evacuation. It's the rational brain looking at the situation and trying to understand such irrational behavior.

It took me seeing the same phenomenon several times to stop thinking "idiots" and start asking "why does this always happen?"  It led me to checking out some books from the library about human behavior in disasters and crisis. It's a fascinating topic and studying it has greatly improved my understanding of what to expect if I'm ever forced to command an evacuation.

[Shinplaster]

I had the same reaction when I first saw the footage.  And then I thought, "Mr. SP would be one of those people".  He is on medication that MUST be taken 3 times a day, and cannot miss a dose without huge consequences.  I know he would be frantically grabbing for his stuff, because he would know that replacing those prescriptions would take days, not hours.  He carries a 24 hour supply in his pocket, but the nature of international travel means that his total supply is probably in a plastic bag in the backpack or carry on.  He wouldn't be thinking "I'm going to die if I don't leave now", he'd be thinking "when I survive I will need this".

[Cookie78]

Well, I didn't intend to sound harsh or mean--but I can see that I went straight from reading the article and seeing the pictures to making a quick post without stopping to reflect on the issue.

I wouldn't beat yourself up over it. Your sentiment from earlier is incredibly common. I read it over and over on aviation sites today, and last September when that British Airways aircraft caught fire in Las Vegas, and pretty much any time there's an aircraft evacuation. It's the rational brain looking at the situation and trying to understand such irrational behavior.

It took me seeing the same phenomenon several times to stop thinking "idiots" and start asking "why does this always happen?"  It led me to checking out some books from the library about human behavior in disasters and crisis. It's a fascinating topic and studying it has greatly improved my understanding of what to expect if I'm ever forced to command an evacuation.

Do you have any recommendations on some of the books you read? I'm fascinated about this topic and have taken a few courses on disaster response (as well as mitigation, preparedness, and recovery) but haven't read much on the human behaviour angle.

[Metric Mouse]

Well, I didn't intend to sound harsh or mean--but I can see that I went straight from reading the article and seeing the pictures to making a quick post without stopping to reflect on the issue.

I wouldn't beat yourself up over it. Your sentiment from earlier is incredibly common. I read it over and over on aviation sites today, and last September when that British Airways aircraft caught fire in Las Vegas, and pretty much any time there's an aircraft evacuation. It's the rational brain looking at the situation and trying to understand such irrational behavior.

It took me seeing the same phenomenon several times to stop thinking "idiots" and start asking "why does this always happen?"  It led me to checking out some books from the library about human behavior in disasters and crisis. It's a fascinating topic and studying it has greatly improved my understanding of what to expect if I'm ever forced to command an evacuation.

Do you have any recommendations on some of the books you read? I'm fascinated about this topic and have taken a few courses on disaster response (as well as mitigation, preparedness, and recovery) but haven't read much on the human behaviour angle.

Posting to follow. Interested in the same questions.

I've learned to keep my valuables close at hand when travelling. I've never had to evacuate a plane, but the places I've been staying have been evacuated a few times due to fire or police action. Having one's shit packed and ready to go at all times is a good habit to cultivate, in my experience.

[lizzzi]

+1

[Nothlit]

I like the comments above about behavior in a crisis.

A few other possibilities have always come to mind whenever I think about this scenario. One is that it may just be habit - what is the one thing you always do when the plane stops and you get up out of your seat? You reach for your luggage. So in some sense people may just be acting out of habit without realizing the consequences.

I can also imagine some scenarios where the evacuation doesn't seem all that urgent to the passengers. Obviously the Dubai accident was pretty significant, but there may be other situations where the plane is more or less intact, there is no obvious smoke or fire, and so passengers don't feel the sense of urgency about evacuating. Obviously that is where the flight crew's training kicks in and they are supposed to yell at people to convey the appropriate sense of urgency.

Also, I wonder if this behavior can be somewhat attributed to a sort of cascading effect. People get up and are standing in the aisles waiting to evacuate, but the line is not moving very quickly for whatever reason (maybe the door hasn't been opened yet, or someone further ahead in line is holding things up), so they think "well, I might as well grab my luggage since it's right here and the line isn't moving anyway." I understand that this is not sound logic, and if everyone does this, it does cause significant additional delays. But I can appreciate that in that moment, I'd probably feel a strong temptation to reach for my luggage as well, even though I know I should not do it.

This is all speculation on my part, but I do find it an interesting topic to speculate about.

[Rightflyer]

Nothing like being stuck in a different country where you might not even speak the language without a piece of documentation indicating who you are and potentially not having your cell phone, passports, money, etc.

Particularly people who do not do:

When I fly, my passport, money, cell phone--whatever I think is crucial--is on my person at all times.

Of course, you could have already checked to see if your country had an embassy* in the country that you have travelled to.

They will help you with the issues raised.

Sorry, there is no acceptable excuse to cause others to lose their lives. If you really need your stuff so bad, remain seated until you can go last.

(Not all countries have embassies in all other countries. However, many have agreements with friendly nations to assist their citizens with real emergencies)

[Captain FIRE]

I had the same reaction when I first saw the footage.  And then I thought, "Mr. SP would be one of those people".  He is on medication that MUST be taken 3 times a day, and cannot miss a dose without huge consequences.  I know he would be frantically grabbing for his stuff, because he would know that replacing those prescriptions would take days, not hours.  He carries a 24 hour supply in his pocket, but the nature of international travel means that his total supply is probably in a plastic bag in the backpack or carry on.  He wouldn't be thinking "I'm going to die if I don't leave now", he'd be thinking "when I survive I will need this".

Maybe he should carry a 48-hr supply instead?  It may be difficult to get a resupply w/in 24 hrs and it may have huge consequences, but it's better than someone or multiple people behind him dying (permanent consequences!) because they couldn't get off the plane in time.  A 48-hr or even 72-hr supply gives him more leeway in case of something going wrong.

[nobodyspecial]

.

[Shinplaster]

I had the same reaction when I first saw the footage.  And then I thought, "Mr. SP would be one of those people".  He is on medication that MUST be taken 3 times a day, and cannot miss a dose without huge consequences.  I know he would be frantically grabbing for his stuff, because he would know that replacing those prescriptions would take days, not hours.  He carries a 24 hour supply in his pocket, but the nature of international travel means that his total supply is probably in a plastic bag in the backpack or carry on.  He wouldn't be thinking "I'm going to die if I don't leave now", he'd be thinking "when I survive I will need this".

Maybe he should carry a 48-hr supply instead?  It may be difficult to get a resupply w/in 24 hrs and it may have huge consequences, but it's better than someone or multiple people behind him dying (permanent consequences!) because they couldn't get off the plane in time.  A 48-hr or even 72-hr supply gives him more leeway in case of something going wrong.

I also carry at least a 24 hour supply of his medications in my purse (which is usually strapped to me), but in a crisis, he might forget that.  Although not generally good in crises, he's not an idiot. Since I usually travel with him, I'd be kicking him down the aisle anyway if his own commonsense didn't kick in.  I just wanted to say that I can understand the impulse to grab something important, since I know that would be his first thought.  Don't condone it, but understand.

I won't bore you with our experiences, but "just carry a 72 hour supply on you" doesn't always work well in the real world.  Security will usually be OK with carrying small amounts, but we've had them get very in a knot about more than a 1 day supply in his pocket.   

[JetBlast]

Do you have any recommendations on some of the books you read? I'm fascinated about this topic and have taken a few courses on disaster response (as well as mitigation, preparedness, and recovery) but haven't read much on the human behaviour angle.

Unfortunately the selection of books directly addressing the topic in my library system was slim. I'd recommend 'The Unthinkable' by Amanda Ripley. It was a well written book, with the author digging through academic research and interviewing survivors of different disasters.

Beyond that, most of what I found at the library was more general decision making psychology like 'Thinking Fast and Slow' and considering what concepts might be applicable. A lot of what I read was directly applicable to aircraft evacuations, and that was through downloading accident investigation reports for certain flights and seeing what insights investigators had found through their interviews of survivors.

[Papa Mustache]

When I travel I carry my "man purse" aka daypack. In that airplane emergency i would have grabbed that as I left my seat. I don't fly much anymore but that bag next to my feet so no delay exiting the plane.

In a daypack are all my valuables and documents. The bag is not big. In an emergency I'd have both straps over my shoulders before I even had the opportunity to enter the aisle.

I have heard other people detail that they carry everything they'd need for 24 hours like another set of basic clothing - underwear and all. This is in case their luggage was lost in the system. I have no idea how big that would grow the bag. I figure a set of clothes would not be that big a deal. I've worn the same clothes for a couple of days before (camping, long work hours, etc). Just keep a few feet between me and you and you won't know the difference. ;)

[Primm]

I'm totally on board with "your life is more valuable than your purse" argument. It could even be used for the medication argument - if you don't make it off the plane alive no amount of medication will save you.

But the thing that amuses me most about this whole situation is that I haven't once seen anyone addressing the huge elephant in the room, which is that someone was FILMING these people as they were getting their bags out of the lockers! Not helping, not getting off themselves, some complete tool thought the most important thing to do in that situation was whip out their phone and starting filming the mayhem.

Is that truly our new normal?

[YogiKitti]

Unfortunately the selection of books directly addressing the topic in my library system was slim. I'd recommend 'The Unthinkable' by Amanda Ripley. It was a well written book, with the author digging through academic research and interviewing survivors of different disasters.

I checked this book out, great recommendation!

[lemanfan]

Well.. I guess that there is a level of "selfishness" to it too.  I the day before yesterday I landed after an intercontinental flight and the cabin crew announched in the PA that "Some people on this plane have a very tight connection, so those who have reached their final destination or do not have to run through the airport, please sit down and let those in a hurry get off first".

90% of the passangers stood up, but I remained seated.  The woman next to me however wanted to get out so I asked if she was in a hurry - "No, I just want to get off anyway". 

I hope this didn't cause anyone to miss their flights. 

Many people assume that rules are for other people, or simply don't follow the rule since they don't see the sense in them.

[plainjane]

I'm reminded of stories where people go back into burning buildings, and don't end up picking up the thing that they meant to go for.  The human brain is not the best under stress.  This is another reason experts recommend "Go bags" - you're putting them together when you're not under stress, so you're more likely to get it right. 

This came up again during the Fort McMurray evac.  The people evacuating made bad decisions, and people were asking, "well why didn't you bring x, y, z?", which is fine if you're sitting down after the event without any of the stress hormones coursing through your system.  (I admit I don't practice what I preach - I don't have a go bag or written list of "get this".)

This is why evac routes are supposed to be set up taking into account what people really do under stress.  There was an episode of Mayday where they had an interview with a woman whose expertise is developing/testing aircraft evacuation setups (I think in the one where the doorway was too narrow, and created a fatal bottleneck).  She was talking about how in the regular tests, people are good about lining up and taking turns, but when they offered a large cash reward for the first x people, they started climbing over seats - much more similar to the real life stories from such emergencies.

[Papa Mustache]

You are all right. I am reminded of the flooding we saw on the news a few months ago (Texas?) where people were driving into deep water and in a few cases drowning.

One fellow drove into deep water right behind a camera crew and then crawled out the window partially and pleaded "what do I do?"

Well, you get out and swim... I guess his brain was overloaded by those sudden events.

I've never wanted to be the guy that didn't have a plan. It started with joining the military and having a job where I was armed and in a foreign city (peacetime, mil.police, still). I didn't want to be taken by surprise. FWIW I'm not a gun guy these days. I don't carry one.

I wanted to have a running exit plan best as I could. Fast forward twenty years and I still have some of those habits. The easiest one to relate is an obsession with knowing where the exits are when I'm at a restaurant or hotel. I like to sit facing the door b/c my family aren't going to be aware of their surroundings nearly as much as I am.

I've also taught my family that when I say we have to go - I don't want to discuss why. We just go. Even if we are walking out on a table full of food. I'll explain when we are safe. Never needed that one.

I did freak out the kids one stormy night when I told everyone to get their shoes on. We were under a tornado warning and I figured if the windows were blown out, we'd appreciate the shoes.

[lizzzi]

+1  And have an exit plan for pets, too-- and their own "go bag."

[JetBlast]

But the thing that amuses me most about this whole situation is that I haven't once seen anyone addressing the huge elephant in the room, which is that someone was FILMING these people as they were getting their bags out of the lockers! Not helping, not getting off themselves, some complete tool thought the most important thing to do in that situation was whip out their phone and starting filming the mayhem.

Is that truly our new normal?

I think it speaks to the fact that some of the people on that plane didn't think of it as a life threatening situation.  They probably thought they'd survived the crash and things didn't seem so bad, so no immediate need to run for the exit.  They were wrong, but from the video I can see how someone might have come to that conclusion.  I'm more surprised a video of the actual accident hasn't come to light.

Another thought I had was that there is a tendency for some people to take cues for how to behave from those around them in a novel situation (I'm assuming none had previously been involved in an aircraft accident and evacuation), so all it really takes is one or two people to grab for their luggage and plenty of others will follow. 

There really is a lot of strange behavior that happens in these situations, which makes no sense at all to any rational person, but most people aren't thinking rationally when they suddenly find themselves in a burning airplane.  A great example of this is the collision of USAir 1493 and Skywest 5569 at LAX in 1991.  Reading the NTSB report of what went on in that evacuation is eye opening.

About 37 passengers escaped via the right overwing emergency exit. Their egress was hampered by the passenger seated in seat 10-F who stated that she was very frightened and "froze," and was unable to leave her seat or open the window exit next to her. The male passenger seated in 11-D climbed over the 10-E seatback and opened the overwing exit; he pushed the passenger seated in 10-F out the window and on to the wing and then followed her.

The passenger seated right next to the window exit froze.  Not a rational behavior when you're right next to the exit and have an obvious way to get out, but it happens.

During the subsequent evacuation through the right overwing exit, two male passengers had an altercation at the open exit that lasted several seconds

I'm not sure what to even say about that, but it's not an isolated incident. Unfortunately, those several seconds probably meant one or two people that didn't make it out alive.

[steviesterno]

You are all right. I am reminded of the flooding we saw on the news a few months ago (Texas?) where people were driving into deep water and in a few cases drowning.

One fellow drove into deep water right behind a camera crew and then crawled out the window partially and pleaded "what do I do?"

Well, you get out and swim... I guess his brain was overloaded by those sudden events.

I've never wanted to be the guy that didn't have a plan. It started with joining the military and having a job where I was armed and in a foreign city (peacetime, mil.police, still). I didn't want to be taken by surprise. FWIW I'm not a gun guy these days. I don't carry one.

I wanted to have a running exit plan best as I could. Fast forward twenty years and I still have some of those habits. The easiest one to relate is an obsession with knowing where the exits are when I'm at a restaurant or hotel. I like to sit facing the door b/c my family aren't going to be aware of their surroundings nearly as much as I am.

I've also taught my family that when I say we have to go - I don't want to discuss why. We just go. Even if we are walking out on a table full of food. I'll explain when we are safe. Never needed that one.

I did freak out the kids one stormy night when I told everyone to get their shoes on. We were under a tornado warning and I figured if the windows were blown out, we'd appreciate the shoes.

I like that Go means Go thing, we'll have to work on that one as a family. I have a go bag set up with some cash, extra car keys (truck has more supplies), some food, water, ammo, small med kit, meds needed within a day, and copies of all our important documents. I've been meaning to put pics and digital stuff on a stick drive, so I'll have to do that at some point, too.


not too many problems you can't solve immediately with a handgun, flash light, water bottle, matches, or $200

[Papa Mustache]

My plan needs some tweaking. At home I've always imagined "sheltering in place" during anything that might occur. Of course then there are those situations where you can't shelter in place and you just need to leave ASAP. I guess if the New Madrid faultline ever lets go that might be an example. Or a forest fire. Or a nuclear power plant upwind ever went haywire.

We live in a smallish town so I don't worry much about riots or floods or zombie attacks.

I do think about going to the big city for a day trip and witnessing a couple of people that lose their minds and have some sort of conflict that hurts bystanders. We all see that regularly on the news.

I think alot about an old theater we have visited a couple of times that doesn't have a good exit flow nor do I think it has a sprinkler system (?). Seems like in 2016 a sprinkler system would be required for fire code or insurance coverage for large crowds.

The performance we attended was packed and as the crowded exited afterwards the souvenir tables ruined the flow of people. Took forever to get outside. In an emergency people could get hurt in a place like that. There were fire exits on one side of the auditorium but not our side. We had the exit through the lobby only. I theorized we might have been able to exit through backstage but if a fire started there our options might have been limited. 

I'm not a worrier, just a realist.

[The Fake Cheap]

There was (is?) a pretty decent show on TV called Mayday that largely focuses on airplane crashes and the reason behind them (the majority of the episodes I saw the reason was human error).  There was also an episode on how to make evacuations faster, it was very interesting, but I forget most of the key points.  I do remember they said when flying be dressed appropriately in case of emergency, keep those shoes on!  And not to wear flammable clothing, and leave your stuff behind of course!

Also somewhat related; at work when we have fire drills people get crapped on for bringing coffee/drinks with them and they are like WTF is wrong with that?  Well if you spill your coffee, you just created an ice rink on the tile floor, how many people are going to slip on that as they exit, running for their life? 

[RetiredAt63]

I used to be one of the faculty who checked the floor to be sure everyone was out of the classrooms and on the stairs.  I can't tell you how many times people sat in the classrooms (oh it's just a drill) and the teachers were not getting their students moving.  The stairwells - so clueless.  And people hung around the exits instead of moving away so more people could get out.  I always thought that if I were there when we had a real fire, I was dead - I was not going to be able to get out in time.

[Bicycle_B]

Well, I didn't intend to sound harsh or mean--but I can see that I went straight from reading the article and seeing the pictures to making a quick post without stopping to reflect on the issue.

I wouldn't beat yourself up over it. Your sentiment from earlier is incredibly common. I read it over and over on aviation sites today, and last September when that British Airways aircraft caught fire in Las Vegas, and pretty much any time there's an aircraft evacuation. It's the rational brain looking at the situation and trying to understand such irrational behavior.

It took me seeing the same phenomenon several times to stop thinking "idiots" and start asking "why does this always happen?"  It led me to checking out some books from the library about human behavior in disasters and crisis. It's a fascinating topic and studying it has greatly improved my understanding of what to expect if I'm ever forced to command an evacuation.

So speak, JetBlast.  If you are forced to command an evacuation, what will you expect?  What do you plan to think/do? (I understand you have to summarize here, your job is more detailed than a post among friends.  Just curious.)

[Blonde Lawyer]

I had to do a quick evacuation from my house once and my reaction really surprised me.  I lived somewhere very rural with oil heat.  We lived near a cell phone tower.  Someone pounded on my door when I was home alone around 3pm one afternoon.  I cautiously answered.  He said he was from the cell company and there was a gas leak in the building that controls the tower.  He said the fire department was on its way but we needed to evacuate now.

My brain really minimized the situation.  I assumed they were evacuating out of an abundance of caution, not that anything would blow up.  I figured I would be at most, away for a night.  Here is what I took: my laptop, my law school books that I needed for the next day, a pair of underwear and my dog. 

I left my medications, my toothbrush, my check book, clothing for the next few days, and the one I am most guilty about, my cat.  Everything turned out to be perfectly fine and there were no consequences.  But when I found myself in a parking lot examining what I evacuated with, I was shocked at what I took and didn't.

Here is my rationale on my cat.  He is very difficult to get into a carrier.  It is almost impossible for one person.  He is also very miserable in the carrier.  I figured the risk of blowing up was very low and if I took the time to get the cat me and the dog could be dead too if that small risk happened.   In the future, I'd take him, especially because I could just carry him into my car and deal with the carrier part later.  I have a garage now and didn't then.  He would likely claw and freak if taken outside.

[JetBlast]

Well, I didn't intend to sound harsh or mean--but I can see that I went straight from reading the article and seeing the pictures to making a quick post without stopping to reflect on the issue.

I wouldn't beat yourself up over it. Your sentiment from earlier is incredibly common. I read it over and over on aviation sites today, and last September when that British Airways aircraft caught fire in Las Vegas, and pretty much any time there's an aircraft evacuation. It's the rational brain looking at the situation and trying to understand such irrational behavior.

It took me seeing the same phenomenon several times to stop thinking "idiots" and start asking "why does this always happen?"  It led me to checking out some books from the library about human behavior in disasters and crisis. It's a fascinating topic and studying it has greatly improved my understanding of what to expect if I'm ever forced to command an evacuation.

So speak, JetBlast.  If you are forced to command an evacuation, what will you expect?  What do you plan to think/do? (I understand you have to summarize here, your job is more detailed than a post among friends.  Just curious.)

The most important realization was that people will almost certainly be hurt in an evacuation. More likely than not, there will be some pushing and shoving. Some people will freeze and need either other passengers or crew members to get them moving. Some are going to grab their luggage and slow things down, with others possibly shoving them to get to exits. It's probably going to be at least a little messy.

There isn't a whole lot I can do after an evacuation has started other than assist passengers out the front exits after I've finished securing the aircraft. The flight attendants have more effect than I do, as their ability to keep control of the passengers and get people to listen to them will play a large role in keeping things orderly. From my point of view, what I have to realize is the potential chaos I'm unleashing, so there had better be a really good reason to give that command.

[Bicycle_B]

Well, I didn't intend to sound harsh or mean--but I can see that I went straight from reading the article and seeing the pictures to making a quick post without stopping to reflect on the issue.

I wouldn't beat yourself up over it. Your sentiment from earlier is incredibly common. I read it over and over on aviation sites today, and last September when that British Airways aircraft caught fire in Las Vegas, and pretty much any time there's an aircraft evacuation. It's the rational brain looking at the situation and trying to understand such irrational behavior.

It took me seeing the same phenomenon several times to stop thinking "idiots" and start asking "why does this always happen?"  It led me to checking out some books from the library about human behavior in disasters and crisis. It's a fascinating topic and studying it has greatly improved my understanding of what to expect if I'm ever forced to command an evacuation.

So speak, JetBlast.  If you are forced to command an evacuation, what will you expect?  What do you plan to think/do? (I understand you have to summarize here, your job is more detailed than a post among friends.  Just curious.)

The most important realization was that people will almost certainly be hurt in an evacuation. More likely than not, there will be some pushing and shoving. Some people will freeze and need either other passengers or crew members to get them moving. Some are going to grab their luggage and slow things down, with others possibly shoving them to get to exits. It's probably going to be at least a little messy.

There isn't a whole lot I can do after an evacuation has started other than assist passengers out the front exits after I've finished securing the aircraft. The flight attendants have more effect than I do, as their ability to keep control of the passengers and get people to listen to them will play a large role in keeping things orderly. From my point of view, what I have to realize is the potential chaos I'm unleashing, so there had better be a really good reason to give that command.

Thx.  I hope it never happens.

[Papa Mustache]

I had to do a quick evacuation from my house once and my reaction really surprised me.  I lived somewhere very rural with oil heat.  We lived near a cell phone tower.  Someone pounded on my door when I was home alone around 3pm one afternoon.  I cautiously answered.  He said he was from the cell company and there was a gas leak in the building that controls the tower.  He said the fire department was on its way but we needed to evacuate now.

My brain really minimized the situation.  I assumed they were evacuating out of an abundance of caution, not that anything would blow up.  I figured I would be at most, away for a night.  Here is what I took: my laptop, my law school books that I needed for the next day, a pair of underwear and my dog. 

I left my medications, my toothbrush, my check book, clothing for the next few days, and the one I am most guilty about, my cat.  Everything turned out to be perfectly fine and there were no consequences.  But when I found myself in a parking lot examining what I evacuated with, I was shocked at what I took and didn't.

Here is my rationale on my cat.  He is very difficult to get into a carrier.  It is almost impossible for one person.  He is also very miserable in the carrier.  I figured the risk of blowing up was very low and if I took the time to get the cat me and the dog could be dead too if that small risk happened.   In the future, I'd take him, especially because I could just carry him into my car and deal with the carrier part later.  I have a garage now and didn't then.  He would likely claw and freak if taken outside.

At one time we didn't even own cat carriers. We borrowed them for the vet trip. Eventually got some second hand. Something worth having even it the carriers have to spend eternity in the garage - just in case.

[Blonde Lawyer]

I had to do a quick evacuation from my house once and my reaction really surprised me.  I lived somewhere very rural with oil heat.  We lived near a cell phone tower.  Someone pounded on my door when I was home alone around 3pm one afternoon.  I cautiously answered.  He said he was from the cell company and there was a gas leak in the building that controls the tower.  He said the fire department was on its way but we needed to evacuate now.

My brain really minimized the situation.  I assumed they were evacuating out of an abundance of caution, not that anything would blow up.  I figured I would be at most, away for a night.  Here is what I took: my laptop, my law school books that I needed for the next day, a pair of underwear and my dog. 

I left my medications, my toothbrush, my check book, clothing for the next few days, and the one I am most guilty about, my cat.  Everything turned out to be perfectly fine and there were no consequences.  But when I found myself in a parking lot examining what I evacuated with, I was shocked at what I took and didn't.

Here is my rationale on my cat.  He is very difficult to get into a carrier.  It is almost impossible for one person.  He is also very miserable in the carrier.  I figured the risk of blowing up was very low and if I took the time to get the cat me and the dog could be dead too if that small risk happened.   In the future, I'd take him, especially because I could just carry him into my car and deal with the carrier part later.  I have a garage now and didn't then.  He would likely claw and freak if taken outside.

At one time we didn't even own cat carriers. We borrowed them for the vet trip. Eventually got some second hand. Something worth having even it the carriers have to spend eternity in the garage - just in case.

I also volunteer at an animal shelter and we have "fire sacks" in the event that we ever have to do a quick evacuation.  They look like big pillow cases but are breathable and claw proof.  Each cat would get dropped into a different sack and the staff could carry them by the tops.  Way faster than wrangling angry cats into carriers.  The cats would be petrified and miserable but better than dying in a fire.  Once they were to safety, they would get moved into more appropriate cages.

[Cpa Cat]

I read some kind of article about plane crash survival at one point and it said that since your brain doesn't function properly in emergencies, you need to pre-program it with what to do. One of the best ways to do that it to actually do what they tell you at the start - pay attention to the safety presentation, read the safety manual, locate the exit you're most likely to use and the secondary exits. By doing that, you will have loaded your brain with a plan that it can follow when you're scared, and you greatly enhance your chances of survival. It's the same general premise as fire drills at school.

But - it never occurred to me that people would be blocking my way with their stupid luggage. I think it's an important factor to be prepared for. I'll try to pick seats near or in exit rows in the future.

Also... I think I need to buy one of these fire sacks. One of my cats turns into a demon when we have to put her in a carrier. I've often been concerned about what to do if we have to evacuate quickly. I always assumed I'd need to leave her. When we plan vet visits, I schedule both cats on different days, because one always runs away when the other is being put in the carrier. I always figured I'd grab Less Suspicious Cat and get her in a carrier and have to leave Demon Cat.

[Blonde Lawyer]

Also... I think I need to buy one of these fire sacks. One of my cats turns into a demon when we have to put her in a carrier. I've often been concerned about what to do if we have to evacuate quickly. I always assumed I'd need to leave her. When we plan vet visits, I schedule both cats on different days, because one always runs away when the other is being put in the carrier. I always figured I'd grab Less Suspicious Cat and get her in a carrier and have to leave Demon Cat.

I'm not sure what brand our shelter has but it is very similar to this:

http://www.evacpet.com/#!evacsak---add-ons/c1neb

[I'm a red panda]

I wish that airlines would test whether people are actually strong enough to open the emergency exits (there really is nothing they can do about the "freeze up" thing).  I often get 'upgraded' to emergency rows, which I then have to decline, by which time I've lost my preselected seat.  Ugh.  Most people sitting in those seats don't look like they'd actually be able to complete the task. And it always shocks me when the airplanes fly with empty emergency rows, because these are now paid upgrade seats.


When I worked at a daycare, I lived in fear of emergency evacuation.  Drills were bad enough- 2 adults getting 10 babies into 2 cribs and wheeled to the exit...  the fire exit was in my room, but the tornado shelter was hard to get to.  I never thought I could actually get there fast enough.

[Primm]

When I worked at a daycare, I lived in fear of emergency evacuation.  Drills were bad enough- 2 adults getting 10 babies into 2 cribs and wheeled to the exit...  the fire exit was in my room, but the tornado shelter was hard to get to.  I never thought I could actually get there fast enough.

Try working in a NICU. We had to evacuate once, fortunately because of power loss not fire, but my worst fear would be if the hospital was to catch on fire. Some of the sickest kids would not be well after the event, no question.

[Metric Mouse]

When I worked at a daycare, I lived in fear of emergency evacuation.  Drills were bad enough- 2 adults getting 10 babies into 2 cribs and wheeled to the exit...  the fire exit was in my room, but the tornado shelter was hard to get to.  I never thought I could actually get there fast enough.

Try working in a NICU. We had to evacuate once, fortunately because of power loss not fire, but my worst fear would be if the hospital was to catch on fire. Some of the sickest kids would not be well after the event, no question.

I shudder when I read the suggestions for hospital/long term care facilities active shooter procedures.  Not an easy position to be in.

[Primm]

Yeah, it's basically military top-down triage. First out are the self-ventilating basically not very unwell babies. Last out are the ventilated unstable ones on a bunch of inotropic drugs. As long as you can evac them without endangering yourself or anyone else, in which case leave them there.

I really hope I don't ever have to make that choice.

[LeRainDrop]

He wouldn't be thinking "I'm going to die if I don't leave now", he'd be thinking "when I survive I will need this".

I think that's actually really insightful as to what goes through many people's minds in an emergency evacuation, at least those who assume they are going to survive.

When my high-rise office building had a fire and we could see black smoke billowing outside our windows, so we knew this wasn't a drill, the first thoughts in my mind were, "Okay, I need to leave fast.  What will I need when I get out?"  I grabbed my cell phone and my keys, which I always keep right near my computer mouse anyway, and then evacuated promptly.  Had I not been at my desk at the time, I would have had my phone in my pocket and would not have gone back to my desk.  It was a good thing that I brought my phone because after 12 flights of stairs, the stairwell lights were completely out (including the emergency lights), and I used my phone, and instructed others who were panicking to use theirs, as a flashlight for the last 12 flights.  We have one lady in our office who always wears super-high heels, and she was actually trying to go all down the stairs without taking them off, plus carry her coffee cup.

When the fire alarm went off in my condo building (turned out to be a little smoke on the floor below me, but no fire), I ran and grabbed the two cat carriers from the closet, shoved my more mellow cat into his carrier, chased the other cat and dragged her out from under the bed to shove her into her carrier, grabbed my purse over my shoulder, and ran down 7 flights of stairs carrying those two spoiled cats.  Man, my legs were tired afterwards!  But it did make me smile to realize that my instincts were to save my cats.

What it comes down to is that things can be replaced, but lives cannot.

[Papa Mustache]

We live in the semi-country and our critters are inside/outside. In an emergency the dog we could just cut lose and the cats could use their cat door. At work I'm the safety and building coordinator. I'm grabbing my laptop and getting out. If I'm not close to my laptop then whatever.

[lizzzi]

An acquaintance had her house burn to the ground some years ago--caused by an electrical malfunction, and went up very quickly--this was during the day--she was outside in the yard--her husband was sick in bed, and just barely got out. It was amazing how fast it went up--an old, historic, stick-built house in the mid-Hudson valley of New York.  Of the two cats, one hid in the house and died. Was found curled up way under a bed in a corner. The other was also thought to have died, but they couldn't find it. A couple weeks later it came home from the woods or field, burned and traumatized, but alive.

Just one anecdote about what cats might do in a fire.

[LeRainDrop]

Just one anecdote about what cats might do in a fire.

OMG, that makes me sad.  Going back to your original post, I thought the same thing as you.  I mean, it is a plane with lots of jet fuel -- I'd be thinking, get me out of this fucker before it explodes!  People grabbing their luggage and blocking the exit makes me think of when I see an ambulance trying to get down the street and people won't pull over to get out of its way.  It almost makes me cry sometimes.