Like most folks of my generation I am much more traveled than my parents. My children, with many years left to catch up, will be marathoners compared to me. So maybe it’s no surprise that as we take airplane travel and the wonders of flight for granted, we have begun to be a bit more blithe about common sense security procedures; and unlike a previous column, I’m not referring to the TSA.
Most folks by now have realized those signs really mean it when they instruct not to alter, destroy or disable a smoke detector in an airplane lavatory. Do it and get a fast pass through the terminal when you land (after the shrill alarm you immediately endure). Besides, given how careless some smokers are, do you want them to be able to toss a butt into the trash or hide it while possibly still smoldering, to avoid detection?
The “Miracle on the Hudson” now has a lot of us formerly blasé passengers paying extra attention to the emergency exits and the placards detailing the procedures for a water landing. For the first time in years I sat on a flight recently where a seatmate asked where the life jackets were stored.
Then this week comes the scariest story of them all. A woman on a Continental flight to Houston left the plane possibly paralyzed due to turbulence. When was the last time you heeded the instruction to remain seated with your seatbelt on whenever the seatbelt sign was illuminated? “Free to move about the cabin” seems to most to be an inalienable right. Maybe not from now on.
According to reports, the 47-year-old woman hit her head on the ceiling when the plane suddenly dropped. She was either in, or exiting, the lavatory. So far, it hasn’t been disclosed if she willfully ignored a warning to stay belted – or if she had left her seat before the warning sign was turned on. The episode also sent one other passenger and a crew member to the hospital. They have both subsequently been discharged.
The unidentified passenger in the lavatory, who broke her neck and back, remains hospitalized after two emergency surgeries to restore movement and sensation. Doctors are cautiously optimistic and say she is regaining some feeling in her toes. Originally paralyzed from the chest down, she has endured a total of 11 hours of surgery already. Probably not her original plans for a touchdown in Houston. At least not all her luck was bad, a physician who happened to be on the flight made sure she wasn’t moved until the paramedics came on board.
So, the lesson I’m taking away from this is that no matter how many miles I’ve flown, or how amusing the Southwest safety spiel is, I think I’ll listen to any advice they can give me. My life, or quality of life, may depend on it.
