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Passengers Can Sometimes Help In Air Emergencies

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Jan 23, 2010 6:14 pm US/Mountain

Passengers Can Sometimes Help In Air Emergencies

Good Question: What should I do when there's an emergency on board?

Written by Alan Gionet

 CBS News Interactive: Eye On Air Safety
Reporting
Alan Gionet
DENVER (AP) ― In the aftermath of the latest reported near-bombing on an aircraft in the US, we're talking about it again: What can we do to help?

We remember the heroes of Flight 93 on 9/11 -- the people who fought with the hijackers and died when the plane went down in Pennsylvania short of its intended target in Washington.

"I guess if I had to be I would be, but it's not something that instinctively crossed my mind," one man told us. Another said, "Some training would be needed." But we won't get training. Still, we can help.

"You're just looking for something out of the ordinary," said Josh Smith an in-flight instructor and safety and security specialist for Frontier Airlines. "If a bag is unattended, if somebody's doing that atypical standing behind a pillar taking pictures of something."

Smith trains flight attendants. The first thing he -- and the TSA told us -- is share information quickly with the right people. On the ground that may be a TSA agent or an airport officer or gate agent.

In the air, it's the flight crew. With cabin doors sealed since 9/11, they are your contact.

"You want to get there safely and that's not a government thing, that's not an airline thing it's not a passenger thing, its everybody combined," said Smith.

It's a bad idea however to presume you know better than the crew.

"We train all of our crew members be situationally aware of what's going on around them at all times. You don't want to be too focused on one thing because that of course takes away from the big picture."

That means not focusing on distractions. Flight crews want and need to be in control of the situation and may need help, but unless you don't have time, don't jump in without telling the crew first.

"Of course we always want passengers in this day and age, that is a very big plus, but at the same time we're going to expect them to do what we ask them to do and if not, then we're going to get other people in there that will do that."

It was necessary on Flight 253 on Christmas when passenger Jasper Schuringa jumped on Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab and patted out the flames from his apparent failed bomb attempt, getting slightly burned in the process.

But most of the time, we should join the fray when needed, taking cues from flight crews.

(© 2010 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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