FA asks for headphones to be taken off for landing

[MEL_Traveller]

Have a look at the Asiana accident - out of the blue so potentially too late by the time you notice.
It's pure selfishness the attitude of those who think they know best.

to be fair... many airlines allow the use of head phones with their gate-to-gate model. So the passenger could be excused on that ground. But the next stage is using common sense to say 'hang on, has this been thought through?'.

most of the cabin crew I speak to haven't even though if the safety element. CC are very good at doing what they're told... what is written down. And they need to be. But many are also unable to take things to the next step.

 

[ftm]

Have a look at the Asiana accident - out of the blue so potentially too late by the time you notice.
It's pure selfishness the attitude of those who think they know best.

I don't think wearing a headset in the Asiana accident would have made any difference. Slamming into the ground would get your attention well before anything was said from the crew. By the time the aircraft stops and the crew have the doors ready, whether you had a headset on or not wouldn't delay you.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I don't think wearing a headset in the Asiana accident would have made any difference. Slamming into the ground would get your attention well before anything was said from the crew. By the time the aircraft stops and the crew have the doors ready, whether you had a headset on or not wouldn't delay you.

while there was no brace command issued in the Asiana incident, it is quite possible cabin crew may notice abnormal flight conditions and issue a command before impact. this is part of their regular training.

whether you had a headset on may mean you do not hear the brace command, and your subsequent injuries may hinder the evacuation of others.

 

[mannej]

while there was no brace command issued in the Asiana incident, it is quite possible cabin crew may notice abnormal flight conditions and issue a command before impact. this is part of their regular training.

whether you had a headset on may mean you do not hear the brace command, and your subsequent injuries may hinder the evacuation of others.

Exactly my point - to try and argue otherwise just emphasizes the selfish nature of the opinion.

 

[flying_double]

while there was no brace command issued in the Asiana incident, it is quite possible cabin crew may notice abnormal flight conditions and issue a command before impact. this is part of their regular training.

whether you had a headset on may mean you do not hear the brace command, and your subsequent injuries may hinder the evacuation of others.

LOL, cabin crew don't monitor flight conditions and issue a brace command of their own volition. The initial instruction comes from the flight deck.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

LOL, cabin crew don't monitor flight conditions and issue a brace command of their own volition. The initial instruction comes from the flight deck.

you might be confusing planned and unplanned emergencies.

during an unplanned emergency cabin crew can, and should be prepared to, issue a brace command.

flight deck crew may not have time to issue a brace command during an unplanned emergency.

 

[QPProletarian]

Anyway to fix the blasting ear assault that is a PA announcement on a 380 when using your own headphones?

I have to rip them out of my ear very quickly.

 

[Fnordish]

I generally try to wear my Bose QC2's gate to gate, although I remove the whole cable from the headset for Safety Demo, Takeoff and Landing.
I'm not trying to be a rebel but I find that I can understand everything far better with the background noise removed by the cancellation, especially voices and the FA's.
It hadn't been an issue until I started seeing a lot of Dash 8's last year and was consistently asked to remove them.
I just thought that the FA's were taking the 'electronic devices' thing to an illogical extreme, but it seems to be the Qantas Link way.
That said, even if I don't agree with it I still do as they ask.

 

[Robbi]

For starters Bose QC headphones are electronic and should be switched off....

However most airlines in US/EU now allow you to keep electronic devices on from gate to gate.

Your watch is an electronic device, do you take the battery out? Mine has BT, GPS receiver, Polar receiver. The tv screen is electronic. The PA....the lighting system.

There is no radio or EMI hazard from headphones, they would not get the appropriate approvals if there were.

 

[Robbi]

Only time I heard this was on two EK flights when the attendants were collecting the headphones and let me keep mine on.

I think I was the only person on the flight to see the end of my movie

 

[flying_double]

you might be confusing planned and unplanned emergencies.

during an unplanned emergency cabin crew can, and should be prepared to, issue a brace command.

flight deck crew may not have time to issue a brace command during an unplanned emergency.

The brace position is used when preparing for an imminent impact / crash. If the impact is expected, the flight deck will be aware of this (given it is expected) and will issue the instruction. If the impact is unplanned, then it will be too late for anyone to issue a brace instruction. As a matter of course, which cabin crew member should initiate an instruction? And what would be the protocol for other cabin crew to follow if one cabin crew member decides its appropriate to start yelling "brace, brace, brace"? There is a chain of command for a reason - the captain makes the call.


An evacuation command likewise will come from the flight deck, subject to them being capable of giving this instruction. The cabin crew then carry out the procedures attached to the command.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

The brace position is used when preparing for an imminent impact / crash. If the impact is expected, the flight deck will be aware of this (given it is expected) and will issue the instruction. If the impact is unplanned, then it will be too late for anyone to issue a brace instruction. As a matter of course, which cabin crew member should initiate an instruction? And what would be the protocol for other cabin crew to follow if one cabin crew member decides its appropriate to start yelling "brace, brace, brace"? There is a chain of command for a reason - the captain makes the call.


An evacuation command likewise will come from the flight deck, subject to them being capable of giving this instruction. The cabin crew then carry out the procedures attached to the command.

most if what you write does not reflect reality.

you will note from the qantas crash in bangkok that cabin crew started to issue brace commands as the landing started to go wrong. there was no command from the flight deck. and some cabin crew did, and some did not, issue brace commands.

I'm not sure of your actual qualifications but if you are cabin crew, you should consider that other airlines may have different procedures than yours and indeed some other airlines might have better practice than yours.

it is absolutely incorrect to suggest that an evacuation command will only come from the flight deck.

cabin crew can initiate an evacuation and will do so without any instruction from the flight deck if the emergency is such that it is warranted. the Asiana incident is an example where a flight attendant initiated an evacuation despite instructions not to evacuate.

all airlines (as far as i know) permit cabin-crew initiated evacuations if necessary, even if the flight deck crew are capable of issuing the instruction, but for whatever reason don't.

 

[flying_double]

most if what you write does not reflect reality.

you will note from the qantas crash in bangkok that cabin crew started to issue brace commands as the landing started to go wrong. there was no command from the flight deck. and some cabin crew did, and some did not, issue brace commands.

I'm not sure of your actual qualifications but if you are cabin crew, you should consider that other airlines may have different procedures than yours and indeed some other airlines might have better practice than yours.

it is absolutely incorrect to suggest that an evacuation command will only come from the flight deck.

cabin crew can initiate an evacuation and will do so without any instruction from the flight deck if the emergency is such that it is warranted. the Asiana incident is an example where a flight attendant initiated an evacuation despite instructions not to evacuate.

all airlines (as far as i know) permit cabin-crew initiated evacuations if necessary, even if the flight deck crew are capable of issuing the instruction, but for whatever reason don't.

I suggest you re-read my post before incorrectly attributing statements to me... where did I say that an evacuation will only ever be initiated from the flight deck? I said the flight deck will issue an evacuation command subject to being capable of issuing such an instruction. Circumstances dictate this - if the flight deck can't or don't for whatever reason, the cabin crew must then act as the circumstances dictate. Common sense says that if the cabin is filling with smoke or the plane is on fire, the cabin crew will act to get everyone out as quickly as possible regardless of any inaction from the flight deck.

Long story short: The probability of missing a cabin crew brace or evacuation instruction because of wearing noise cancelling headphones is so ridiculously small that I will continue to wear them throughout my flights, and I don't consider myself to be 'selfish' for doing so.

 

[JessicaTam]

Anyway to fix the blasting ear assault that is a PA announcement on a 380 when using your own headphones?

I have to rip them out of my ear very quickly.

Not really. Unless you have a pair of headphones that have a 'hi/lo' switch on them. Eg Bose QC15.

 

[Ausbt]

Anyway to fix the blasting ear assault that is a PA announcement on a 380 when using your own headphones?

I have to rip them out of my ear very quickly.

As a lover of canal-bud earphones I feel your pain! For many years, I have used a noise attenuator (brand: Koss). Essentially it has a analog dial and I actually sit there with my thumb on the dial, waiting for any sign of the PA cutting in over the AVOD. As soon as it does, I wind that dial back hard. Of course, there has been the odd occassion I've wound it the wrong way - double-ouch!

 

[Robbi]

On my flights last weekend we were never asked to removed headphones at any point in the flights and on the international legs the captains on both legs said we could watch the entertainment right up until we reached the terminal which I did.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

On my flights last weekend we were never asked to removed headphones at any point in the flights and on the international legs the captains on both legs said we could watch the entertainment right up until we reached the terminal which I did.

I guess in trying to understand this my question would be 'why?'

is it because you think it is safe because the pilots told you so, or because the airline has decided so? the QF bangkok accident shows an airline can have inadequate policies and procedures, and that crew don't always make the right decisions.

 

[milehighclub]

Any cabin crew member can initiate brace commands if it is during the 'no contact' phase. If one crew member yells it out the other crew must follow. Flight crew can instruct the cabin crew to yell the brace commands by either a PA "brace brace brace" or flickering of the seat belt sign on and off.

Cabin crew do not initiate an evacuation on land. An evacuation can be triggered by either an evacuation alarm, a PA, or a pilot running out yelling "evacuate evacuate evacuate" all of which are from flight crew.

An attempt must be made to contact the flight deck in a land emergency. If this can't be done and everyone is in direct danger, cabin crew may then order an evacuation and other crew must follow.

If the aircraft has ditched, cabin crew initiate the evacuation immediately. They do not need to wait for any instruction.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Cabin crew do not initiate an evacuation on land. An evacuation can be triggered by either an evacuation alarm, a PA, or a pilot running out yelling "evacuate evacuate evacuate" all of which are from flight crew.

this is talking about qantas procedure?

And if the flight deck crew is incapacitated?

If cabin crew are prohibited from initiating an evacuation in any circumstance (including fire or smoke in the cabin and imminent danger to life) that causes me some concern as it differs from well established policy in other airlines.

 

[milehighclub]

An attempt must be made to contact the flight deck in a land emergency. If this can't be done and everyone is in direct danger, cabin crew may then order an evacuation and other crew must follow.