UNFASTENED SEAT BELT

admin - News | 2016-03-14 01:53:03

                            

                                                By Roger Rapoport

                                                Contributing Editor

 

 

Editors's Note:  This is a fourth in a series on aviation seat belts.

                                

FSI readers around the world have responded to our series on seat belts.  Pilots, flight attendants, industry and government experts, members of the International Society of Air Safety Investigators, many passengers and manufacturers all have offered their own thoughts on this problem that continues to challenge the industry. Lack of compliance, giving parents a seatbelt waiver on children under the age of two, convincing passengers to remain belted when flights are smooth and design issues all deserve scrutiny.  Inconsistent policies on seatbelt warnings signs is also a key topic.

         

Here is what FSI readers have to say:

                                     

         

I am all for an approved car seat for the under two kids.  Going into Tokyo 5 years ago we encountered severe turbulence and all of the lap children were thrown out of the parents arms, hit the ceiling and slammed into the floor .  The end result was trauma to the baby, concussion, and who knows what else.  A parent can not hold a 30 pound baby or even less in their arms when they encounter 2-3 g's force.  The 30 pound baby turns out to be 100 pounds rapidly escaping the parents arms.  Same flight we had a 200 pound guy in coach leave his seat and landed in the middle of 5 seats in the middle of the aircraft. He was seated in the aisle seat with two seats- 2-5-2 configuration.  I flew with a leading carrier for 33 years and I would not dare let my grand babies go as a lap child.

-Russ Bird, Airline 777 Captain, Dallas.

                                   

         

The FSI commentary on unfastened seat belts by Roger Rapoport brings to mind an observation I have often made, which is relevant to many, if not all current airline aircraft types. A typical scenario, in cruise, is a line of passengers standing waiting to use the bathroom, mostly facing aft.  All the illuminated seat belt signs in the cabin ceiling are arranged facing aft, to be best seen by seated passengers facing forward.  The signs are ineffective for many vulnerable standing passengers, because they are facing the wrong way. I have no idea if this has ever been identified as a factor in turbulence related injury events, but the potential is there. Seat belt signs visible in both directions could help.    

-John Goddard, International Society of Air Safety Investigators, New Zealand

                                         

         

Nice piece on the issue of seat belt usage compliance.  One thing I would add to that list of yours would be flight crew use of the seatbelt sign.  Just a week ago I got off of a 14-hour flight from China where the seatbelt sign was left on the entire flight and there was little to no turbulence.  Some crews leave the sign on far too long and then the passengers don't take it seriously.  Kind of like crying wolf too often or nuisance alarms.  Peopl ers would likely pay more attention.

-Peter Knudson, National Transportation Safety Board Office of Public Affairs, Washington, D.C.

 

                                                                      

 

Until improved detection technology is available on a large scale, it is incumbent upon air carriers to strengthen their practices/policies to ensure the traveling public is encouraged to remain seated with seat belts fastened at all times, supporting flight/cabin crews in efforts to promote safety in turbulent conditions (particularly clear air turbulence) and reduce the likelihood of injury.

-Jeanne Elliott, Cabin Safety Specialist, Washington

 

                                     

 

I am an ex-amateur pilot (Commercial Multi-Engine) and a long time regular airline passenger. Nobody has ever succeeded in convincing me that the seats on an airliner should be turned facing the rear of the airplane to decrease the impact of seat belt and injury during deceleration.                 - Ron Lewis

 

         

While your take on seat belt use in commercial airline travel is valid, it's really a non problem when looking at the bigger picture concerning seat belt use.  School buses, trains, buses, subways, all don't require the use of seat belts.  Trains don't even have a quick way out in case of emergency.  I was a pilot for a major US airline for 36 years, and never had a passenger or cabin crew injured by non use of seat belts.  That doesn't men that you're wrong to point out the importance of seatbelt use (which airlines do before every flight), but it illustrates the minimal impact of non seatbelt use.  Just as some refuse to use sea belts in cars, some just will not use them in flight.  Human nature I think.  I always use my seatbelt btw.

 

                                               

 

 

I understand you welcome ideas for future stories regarding your seat belt series.  I don't know if this idea qualifies for that particular series, but I think it merits a safety story.

         

I had the displeasure of flying coach in an A320 that was configured with the new, thinner, compact seats and a condensed cabin seating arrangement.  I'm an average-size guy, but I found myself squeezed into my window seat to the limit of my endurance.  As I flew, I pondered whether a timely passenger egress was possible with that seating configuration.  The FAA and airlines have certified condensed seating; however, with 40 years of professional aviation experience, I am acutely aware that common sense and logic don't always prevail over airlines' profit motives and FAA lapses in judgment.

         

Any restriction or obstacle within a passenger row would severely reduce the likelihood of timely evacuation.  Let's consider bulky winter clothing.  Ordinarily, winter clothing is accommodated by ordinary seat spacing, but when seating becomes extremely compact in large cabins, bulky clothing becomes a definite egress restriction.  I also found that an inclined seat in the forward row makes it nearly impossible to get out of one's seat or to bypass an inclined seat to exit the row.  From past professional experience I know that Americans' growing obesity is a factor that the FAA has failed to update for evacuation certification requirements. The likelihood that passengers might be somewhat larger than "average"-not so much a factor in past aircraft evacuation drills-becomes a major egress factor when seating dimensions become excessively restrictive.

         

Let's consider just one more factor.  There is a definite correlation between passenger comfort versus air rage incidents.  I doubt whether anyone has researched whether there has been a rise in air rage incidents resulting from thinner seat configurations, but I intuitively sense that might be true.

         

Overall, I seriously question whether emergency evacuation provisions have been adequately tested for the new, thinner seats and smaller dimensional seating profiles they have brought to airline cabins.  Likewise, I strongly suspect that air rage incidents-already on the rise-may be induced by the discomfort this new, overly restrictive seating.

         

By the way, I wrote to American Airlines about my concern and received a stock, vanilla reply.  No surprise there.

 

 

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