INSIDE AIR TRAVEL
Avoiding Serious Consequences from Air Rage
By Dr. Todd CurtisIn the U.S., airline travel on large jet transports is extremely low risk. Since the crash of an American Airlines A300 in New York in November 2001, no passenger on any U.S. jet airliner anywhere in the world has been killed due to accident, hijack, sabotage, or due to any other action of another person. This over three and one half year gap of no fatal events (for a definition of a fatal event, visit http://www.airsafe.com/events/method.htm) in a U.S. jet airliner is the longest since U.S. airlines started flying jets in the 1950s, and is the result of continuing efforts by various parts of the air transportation industry to reduce the risks of air travel.
One recent event shows that one kind of risk can lead to a passenger death, but is largely outside of the industry?s control. That risk is passenger behavior. In March of this year, a 48-year-old passenger on an American Airlines flight from Los Angeles to New York allegedly assaulted a flight attendant and was later restrained with the help of seven passengers on the flight. At some point, the passenger had difficulty breathing. After landing, the unconcious passenger was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. The New York City medical examiner's office ruled that the death was an accident caused by acute cocaine and alcohol intoxication and aggravated by the passenger?s heart condition.
What happened on this flight could be considered an extreme form of air rage where the passenger?s actions were well outside the bounds of acceptable behavior. While the resulting death was an unusual outcome of an air rage incident, based on media reports as well as reports sent to AirSafe.com cases of air rage are quite common. Based on the insights gained from reviewing a variety of air rage events, AirSafe.com developed a basic set of guidelines for how to avoid being an air rage instigator. By following these common sense guidelines, passengers can avoid not only extreme outcomes like death at the hand of fellow passengers, but also more common sanctions such as arrest, civil and criminal fines, and public embarrassment:
1. Do not threaten or attack flight crew or cabin crew members: In the post 9/11 era, it is very likely that passengers and crew members will interpret such behavior as being part of an attempted hijacking or act of sabotage and they may use any available means to neutralized that threat.
2. Do not threaten or attack other passengers: Passengers and crew members could also see such behavior as part of an attempted hijacking or act of sabotage. While disagreements with other passengers may happen for any number of reasons, there is no need to resort to violence or threats of violence. Contacting a flight attendant or even moving to another part of the aircraft are just two options that can avoid a direct confrontation.
3. Do not attempt to open the cockpit door or threaten to enter the cockpit: This is considered a quite serious act that will almost certainly result in an arrest and that would be seen by others as part of an attempted hijacking or act of sabotage.
4. Do not attempt to tamper with other aircraft doors or with other equipment in the cabin: Once again this is behavior that is both suspicious and that may put you at risk of injury from the passengers and crew.
5. Avoid behavior that could be interpreted as threatening: This could include actions such as ignoring cabin crew safety instructions, being very argumentative, or behaving in an unusual manner. While not directly threatening, the response of the crew and the other passengers could cause the situation to escalate.
6. Limit your alcohol consumption: This is good advice on or off the aircraft.
7. Manage your prescribed medications: If you are taking one or more prescriptions, consult with your medical professional to find out if the stresses of air travel, such as disrupted eating or sleeping patters or exposure to changes in cabin pressure may lead to unwanted behavioral side effects. If this is the case, take the appropriate steps to avoid these side effects.
8. Minimize or avoid the use of other drugs: If you are taking over the counter medications, review the directions on the warnings to see if there are any behavior related side effects. Illegal drugs fall into the category of things that should be avoided, if for no other reason than that there is usually no way to guarantee the purity of the drug or the possible side effects.
9. Learn more about air rage: AirSafe.com has a variety of air rage resources at http://www.airsafe.com/issues/rage.htm. In addition, the Safe Flier Foundation at http://www.airsafe.com/issues/rage.htm has ample advice on how to deal with an air rage situation.
Other Resources
Fatal Event Definition:
http://www.airsafe.com/events/method.htm
Fatal Air Rage on American Airlines in 2005:
http://www.airsafe.com/events/airlines/american.htm
Fatal Air Rage on Southwest Airlines in 2000:
http://www.airsafe.com/events/airlines/luv.htm
Dr. Todd Curtis is president of the AirSafe.com Foundation and creator of the web site AirSafe.com. Todd Curtis conducted research in several areas of aviation risk assessment and accident prevention. Author of the book Understanding Aviation Safety Data as well as a number of articles on Web site planning and airline safety. Licensed private pilot.
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