Ask the Captain: Surviving an emergency evacuation

Question: Captain Cox, I have two questions about surviving emergency situations. 1) The last time we flew, I noticed for the first time that some of the flight safety cards appeared to show passengers initiating the role of evacuating the cabin. Under what circumstances would it be appropriate for passengers/non-crew to initiate an evacuation following an emergency landing, crash or other danger? 2) There are some newer planes that have the emergency exit doors hinged to the plane which pivot out of the way when opened. What if there is damage to the fuselage that prevents these doors from functioning? Can they be manually opened and discarded? Thank you for the work you do!

-- Submitted by reader Maggie Mathis, Shreveport, La.

Answer: Your questions are well-thought-out and I'm glad to answer them.

1. A passenger-initiated evacuation may be appropriate in rare cases, however following the commands of the flight attendants, who are trained for such emergencies, is the best plan. In the very rare case where the flight attendants are incapacitated and there is clear evidence of the need to immediately get out of the airplane, such as the fuselage being broken open and a fire growing nearby, then passengers should initiate the evacuation and help others to evacuate. This is a judgment that should be considered carefully. If the airplane is moving, then initiating an evacuation may add more risk than it solves. If the airplane is stationary, and you are considering if it is necessary, try to get a flight attendant's attention. Look carefully and do not let the panic of others cloud your judgment.

An example of how quickly the situation can go wrong is when the auxiliary power unit in a Boeing 727 would occasionally torch, sending flames out the exhaust that was located in the wing near the fuselage. On more than one occasion, passengers saw these brief flames and initiated an evacuation. The evacuation was a much greater risk; the appropriate action would have been to call the flight attendant.

2. The canopy over wing exits you describe cannot be removed. They are designed to open in most cases. Remember that in the older plug exits that can be pulled into the cabin, it is also possible that deformation of the fuselage can cause them to be immovable. There is no greater risk for the canopy exits than the plug ones.

Q: In a previous column, you said that the window shades on an airplane must be open during takeoff and landing to see if there is a fire that should be avoided during evacuation. On a recent flight the shades were down. It was not hot in the airplane. The flight attendant said that only the exit row shades need to be up. Is that correct?

-- Allen Rotz, Washington, D.C.

A: It varies from airline to airline. The FAA, or another country's national regulating authority, approves this requirement. The answer to your question is that it probably was correct for that airline.

John Cox is a retired airline captain with US Airways and runs his own aviation safety consulting company, Safety Operating Systems.