Opening the hatch

[duncbo]

I have a pilot question about flyers being stranded on flights for
hours. It's a federal offense to open the hatch, but what if a group
of people did it and no one pointed the finger to one particular
person? Do you feel that if we as flyers begin doing this more and
more and are willing to accept the consequences that eventually the
airlines will no longer keep passengers captive for endless hours?
And, don't you as employees of the airlines talk about being held
captive on that plane and truthfully would desire us flyers to take
more aggressive action so that you can get off the plane also?

Please let me know when you get a chance because I think this really
is at the heart of the issue. If we as consumers take our rights in
hand and take action, then and only then will the airlines take notice.

[Parvaz]

Here is a link to a discussion we had several months ago regarding
this topic. It was orginally on the coalition for airline passenger's
bill of rights. It is a long thread and there is some information
directly related to your question. I will give you a more direct
answer but it will take me a day or two to put together a good
answer. The name of the thread was "an airline captain's perspective"
or something like that. I did not start the thread.

Nobody thinks stranding passengers on a jet for 8 hours is reasonable
- it's not. Given the circumstances those stranding take place the
"solution" may not be as simple. I hope the link gives you some
things to think about. I will be responding more directly later. I
have been out of the country again and have some other things I need
to attend to.

Respectfully,

http://groups.google.com/group/strandedpassengers/browse_thread/thread/13b151543fd1fd14/a2b4534976320e31?lnk=st&q=&rnum=48#a2b4534976320e31

[Parvaz]

Duncbo,
Thank you for the question, you bring up several important points.
Nobody thinks stranding passengers in a jet on a ramp for anywhere
near 8 hours is reasonable.
Respectfully, I would most emphatically not want you "flyers to take
more aggressive action (open the emergency exits and start your own
evacuation) so that you (the crew) can get off the plane also". I
wouldn't want you to do this any more than the coach of your favorite
sports team wants a well intentioned fan full of passion jumping out
of the stands running out on the field to "assist" the team during
some critical juncture. It will cause much larger problems than it
will ever solve.
You mentioned the phrase "accepting the consequences" and we need to
talk about some of those consequences. Evacuating an aircraft is an
emergency procedure. The outside environment is likely to be hostile;
otherwise you wouldn't be stranded in the first place. Your flight
crew, who is specifically trained in this maneuver, is not involved if
you do this on your own. The airport emergency response people and
equipment are not expecting you to do this. Under the prevailing
conditions they are likely deployed elsewhere.
If you egress utilizing the wing emergency exits you will be on the
upper surface the wing. Now, what are you going to do? The surface
of the wings are probably going to be slicker than a ball bearing
covered ice rink? Depending on the airplane you are 8' to 15' off the
ground. The ground is awfully hard and most likely an unfriendly
surface. Are you ready to make the necessary jump to get to the
surface?
If the engines are still running they pose extreme danger at both
ends. The exhaust will burn you and is powerful enough to knock you
over and send you tumbling away, the intake end will suck up and kill
anyone near it. Even at idle power they are hazardous! (See the
picture entitled "business end of a jet engine" in the files section
of this blog.)
Using the doors will deploy an emergency slide. Again depending on
the airplane you will be at varying heights above the ground. The
slide will look intimidating, and it should. Going down the slide
will not be like some tame ride at the kiddy park. There is a good
probability that some of the evacuees are going to get hurt. At the
bottom they will find the same hostile hard frozen pavement. All will
be exposed to the elements and a whole host of new hazards.
The conditions outside are going to be miserable, cold, wet, windy
maybe dark. Where are you going? How far away is the terminal?
Exactly how cold is it with the wind-chill factor? How badly injured
are the worst cases: are we dealing with broken bones or just sprains,
scrapes and bruises? How long is it going to take you to get
someplace where the conditions are better?
When you get there, wherever there" is, how are you going to get in?
Virtually all of the doors are locked and security code guarded? Who
is going to come to your rescue and how long will that take? The
terminal itself is probably in almost as bad of shape as the jet was.
Bust in the wrong door and now you have caused a security breach. How
do you think the TSA and or the airport police are going to react?
Remember nobody has coordinated this.
Being stranded on the jet is unpleasant and can be psychologically
disturbing. It's physically uncomfortable. But outside the aircraft
there is a storm raging that has temporarily overwhelmed both the
airline ground support personnel and the airport facilities. That
storm will pass. In the confines of the jet you are in little real
physical danger. It is completely understandable that you are
uncomfortable, unhappy, stressed, and angry but you are not in mortal
danger and the condition is temporary. Be assured your flight crew
(whatever airline you are flying) is making every effort to end your
confinement at the very first opportunity. I'm afraid that "opening
the hatch" on your own, under those conditions, may be just as bad as
jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire. I wouldn't recommend
doing it. I vote "no".