VUELING’S EVACUATION

A few days ago we have seen an evacuation of the flight VY2212 where passengers left the plane with their belongings, bags, suitcases etc.

First of all our gratitude and deep respec to all professionals involved in this incident. They did a truly good job.

Most of us in the aviation industry see these actions as a significant danger to the effectiveness of the evacuation, as well as to other passengers and the crew itself.

Remember that the plane must be able to leave in 90 seconds through half of the emergency doors.

https://avherald.com/h?article=50bd60c7&opt=0

But I would like to delve more than into the problem and its effects, into the causes.

What makes a person leave a plane with their things?

What are the reasons that take you to put your own life and the one of others in danger ?

We are going to propose some options with data and in this way we open the perspective of what other people who may be our passengers during an evacuation see, hear and feel.

Reasons why a bowel movement doesn’t go “by the book” most of the time:

· PHYSIOLOGICAL:

The heart and therefore its heart rate is controlled by two systems (sympathetic and parasympathetic).

To make it easy we will say that the sympathetic prepares you for action and the parasympathetic for rest. As if they were an accelerator and a brake.

During the time we exercise, both work together to regulate the effort.

But what about in an evacuation?

Then it is different.

The FFF (Freeze, Fight or Flight) occurs.
We stay frozen in the face of the situation.
we fight or
we run away

They are primal instincts. Those that make us save our life in a critical moment (and an evacuation is a critical moment for most of us).

When a situation like this occurs, the heart of the 180+ passengers on an average flight goes into overdrive.

I’m going to rewrite it.

SHOOTS.

How much does it shoot?
Logically it depends on the person, their genetics, their beliefs, their physical form and (very important) their training.

Let’s see the data:

· Between 115 and 140 beats per minute is the “optimal” zone for reaction and coherent thought.

This is where we would like to have our passengers when the “EVACUATE, EVACUATE, EVACUATE” is heard.
But in reality, most of them are normal people, from the street, who go on vacation with their loved ones, to a work meeting, to see family or friends…

So that …

Let’s speed up the heart of our passengers a little more…

It is then when the sympathetic nervous system begins to shut down systems that are not essential for survival.

· At 145 beats, muscle movement is no longer optimal. (It is harder to open a door, pull down a ramp, unfasten a seat belt…). We must be patient with the “sudden clumsiness”, ours and the ones of those who are with us at that moment).

· At 170 pulses tunnel vision occurs, you do not see well around you and also the ear stops hearing. (Let them not see the emergency doors that are not directly in front of them and they do not hear most of our commands).
Reason why many passengers evacuate through the door through which they entered despite having a closer door behind and despite being asked to locate it during the security demonstration.

· Above 170 beats, thinking is reduced to the most primitive, fight or flight, run or fight is at its peak.

In other words, depending on who the person evacuating is, depending on their fear and therefore depending on their heart rate, they may not move freely, they may not see or hear us. And that may include us.

· TECHNIQUE

Opening a door, a rack, an overwing, requires a technique (for that you train), but we must remember that for a passenger this technical movement (so well known to us) is new, or rare, and at that time he does not think calmly enough to carry out the action in the required time. Let’s think about ABPs. Sometimes a more detailed explanation helps a lot in this step.

· CULTURAL

We do the DEMO, sometimes on a personal screen, other planes on screens for groups of passengers, and sometimes in person.
Passengers meanwhile chat, read, watch their Netflix, wear headphones and some (the fewest) pay attention.
The culture of respect towards the client makes us leave them alone at a time when the obligations and responsibilities of each one are explained and of course…

… many ignore them or do not know them.

That is why they evacuate with a mobile phone, they film, they take suitcases, bags, etc.

Emphasis should be placed on forcing them to attend, but the reality is that it is NOT done. This point is a SYSTEMATIC problem of aviation. A norm is set, it is intended that it is complied with and it is tolerated that it is not done.

(It’s not what you preach, it’s what you tolerate.)

· NORMATIVE

90 seconds for half the doors.
90 seconds MAXIMUM, because studies indicate that after that the chances of having a flashover (all the material burns) are very high.
You have to be fast and the previous points show that the passengers rather slow down the operation.

PROCEDURES
They are trained, reviewed. It depends on the type of training of the company

Memory in aviation is divided into mental and physical (pilots have “flows” which are movements of the hands on the buttons and levers that we memorize by PHYSICAL repetition).

In the review of an evacuation, since the steps are memorized, it should include more physical memory.

If possible, more training so that the steps to follow settle in the head, then in the muscle memory and finally in the intuition.

Intuition in aviation is repetitive memory performed thousands or millions of times.
A review not only metal (Silent review) but also physical would establish this procedure much better.

· MASS CONTROL
Personal behavior is not the same as the one of a group, nor the same among a (non-organized) mass of people, much less than among a (Chaotic) mass of people who fear for their lives and that of their loved ones.
Here the most primitive instinct prevails and it is this mass of people that a CABIN CREW has to face, control, direct and lead.

(This is where the personality comes out, the training, the leadership, and the reality of a flight attendant’s job is demonstrated.)

Natural leaders appear (we bring company CEOs, spiritual leaders, team captains, security forces, etc. on board).

We have to put these on our side (they must trust us and our professional capacity), so that their leadership strength joins our specific knowledge.

PROFESSIONAL REALITY

The reality is that the current training (the market commands) is fast (very fast) and help to develop these capacities.

in a normal time they are requested in a short time (in some companies or academies in record time) and this means that our professional reality gave a little (or a lot) of what is desired and required by the regulations (the paper holds almost everything ).

The reality is that leadership in our area of ​​responsibility is generated and demonstrated during normal operation. Passengers must understand that in our work, we are sure of what to do and when to do it.

We must convey that solvency and security to our passengers so that when the time comes (hopefully we don’t have to see it) they trust us and our actions and follow our commands without hesitation.

It is difficult, complicated (that is why an experienced CABIN CREW is worth much more than people think), and we have to value those who already have such fluency in flight and respect the times of those who are acquiring it.

Put more on everyone’s part, the CABIN CREW in their self-discipline, the companies in their training and the regulations adjusting to the reality of the market.

Hoping we all have normal landings.

Find peaceful heavens (and earth).

Enrique
Qrewmentor Team

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