The cabin crew is responsible for the safety and security of passengers on board an aircraft. They undergo months of rigorous training to prepare them for any emergency situation that may arise inside an aircraft. There are some cases, however, that are rare, and sometimes, these are situations that they least expect to happen, but flight attendants must deal with them. I now present some unusual and intense inflight situations encountered by some cabin crew.
In the book Cabin Fever: Sizzling Secrets of a Virgin Airlines Flight Attendant, Mandy Smith, a former flight attendant, recounts some of the bizarre incidents that occurred during her decade of flying around the world. “Laging handa,” as the boyscouts say.
Helping land the plane
Copilots are supposed to take over if an aircraft’s pilot is unable to continue flying for any reason, but it turns out that two people should still land the plane. Although this sounds terrifying, Smith explains that some airlines have a backup plan. First, the crew determines whether there are any off-duty pilots on the flight, and if so, they approach them for assistance. When there aren’t, our dependable flight attendants are trained to step up and handle the situation. However, the procedure may differ depending on the airline or the country’s aviation laws.
Caring for a plane-load of airsick passengers
There is a sick bag in your seat-back compartment for a reason. Smith and her colleagues had to assist an entire plane’s worth of vomiting passengers during a particularly brutal hour of turbulence. All of the bags and biohazard sacks onboard had been used by the time they arrived. The thought makes me feel a little queasy.
Providing serious medical care
Flight attendants can handle not only basic first aid but also more serious issues. I had mistakenly assumed that for serious medical problems, you’d have to hope for a doctor onboard and a quick emergency landing, but that’s not the case. Smith and her colleagues were responsible for everything from assisting a woman who had a miscarriage mid-flight to stitching up a five-inch surgical wound that had reopened onboard. They also cared for heart attack victims on several occasions.
Managing unruly passengers
Although the average passenger just wants to get from point A to point B without incident, others can’t seem to stop drinking too much, starting brawls with other passengers, trying to enter restricted zones, and so on. More often than not, the flight crew must intervene to bring these troublemakers under control.
Pacifying celebrities
It’s not just ordinary people who struggle to be pleasant passengers. Celebrities have been known to cause havoc at 35,000 feet. Courtney Love was once banned from Virgin Airlines, according to Smith, “following an air-rage incident that ended with her allegedly flailing around the cabin and branding a stewardess ‘a f**k**g b*t*h.'” An apology to the CEO eventually got her out of the doghouse.
Other passengers were friendlier than they should have been. Smith and her friends were frequently hit on by their celebrity patrons. After sleeping with a famous TV presenter, one of Smith’s coworkers ended up on the same flight as him — and his wife.
Calming hysterical passengers
Passengers are understandably concerned, if not terrified, when mechanical problems occur mid-flight. Of course, the flight crew is responsible for putting on a happy face and calming everyone down. Smith was once on a plane that had an engine fire, and when the passengers found out, they were all convinced they were going to die. It took a lot of soothing to reduce the tension. Free booze?
Generally saving the day in emergencies
You were wrong if you thought a crash would end up being an all-for-one situation. Flight attendants are the Boy Scouts of the skies, always prepared. They go through survival training and act out “every imaginable life-or-death scenario under the sun,” as Smith explains.
As cabin crew, you must be basically ready to deal with any situations on board. No matter how common or uncommon they are.
Attribution: With some excerpts by Stephanie Topacio Long of The Bustle
First love never dies. I fell in love with airplanes and aviation when I was a kid. My dream was to become a pilot, but destiny led me to another path: to be an aviation digital media content creator and a small business owner. My passion for aviation inspires me to bring you quality content through my website and social accounts. Aviation is indeed in my blood and blog!
