"They train a lot not just rehearsing the drill, but also in emergency evacuation procedures"

Hyderabad: Airline passengers across the country have begun paying close attention to the pre-flight security demonstrations by the cabin crew, following the miraculous escape of 155 passengers of US Airways A320 which ditched into river Hudson in New York two days ago.
While the modern aircraft play recorded versions of the demo on the TV consoles on the backrests, in a majority of flights, it is the cabin crew who go through the mechanical drill in Hindi and English.
“You might think the crew goes through the drill mechanically. But they train a lot not just rehearsing the drill, but also in emergency evacuation procedures,” said Swarna Subrahmanyan, who flew for more than 20 years, before she took up a training assignment at the Air India’s Cabin Crew Training School in Hyderabad.
The school is part of the Central Training Establishment (CTE), one of its kind in the country equipped with two A-320 cockpit simulators, where Air India pilots undergo periodical training to tackle different emergencies on Airbus aircraft.
“We believed ditching is very rare. We thought it would never happen. But look at the Hudson river ditching. The cockpit and cabin crew did a remarkable job,” said Pooja, who till recently was an airhostess, but now in the Air India corporate communications wing. The role of cabin crew in abnormal landing situations like the Hudson event, is as crucial as that of the cockpit crew.
The most difficult and seemingly impossible task is to evacuate 150 passengers in 90 seconds. “They are trained to do so,” said Ms. Subrahmanyan. The cabin crew’s reaction to an emergency situation is well-rehearsed. “We train them in every move. Where they should sit or stand. What they should say. Everything is visualised and training given.”
The Cabin Crew Emergency Procedure handbook lists out even the announcements to be made. The CTE, which has a replica of an A320, trains crew in evacuation procedures during simulated emergency conditions.
The ‘Dingy Drill’ which follows a ditching operation is also practised in the replica where passengers are made to slide into water in a specially constructed pool.
On the cockpit operations side, Air India pilots undergo periodic training in handling various emergencies in the two A320 simulators at the CTE.
“Every six months, pilots undergo rigorous training in procedures for tackling abnormal situations, bird hits, ditching and other emergency procedures” said Ashok Raj, Executive Director of Operations and Training at the CTE.
In one of the simulators two young pilots were tackling a simulated emergency situation of a bird hit on one engine and fire in another, as Aditya Dev, DGM of flight safety kept a close watch. “Ditching is practised here every day. Before the aircraft lands on water, there are many emergency protocols to be performed by the cockpit crew,” Capt. Dev said.
“The A320 can turn into a floating vessel too. It can stay afloat for a good amount of time during which we can evacuate the passengers.” Once the pilots alert the ATC with a Mayday message, the ‘Ditching Switch’ is activated to close all openings of the aircraft. “This is to ensure water does not enter the aircraft and it floats for sometime.”
19/01/09 K. Srinivas Reddy/The Hindu

To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline

Categories: Safety Jan 2009