Why we don't do what we're supposed to in flight emergencies
Passengers during the emergency landing of the Southwest Airlines Flight 1380 plane.
Safety briefings have become such a predictable part of air travel that people switch off because they think they know it all already. Some frequent flyers could probably recite the briefings by heart.
Everyone who has ever flown on a plane knows how it goes: once the cabin crew starts presenting the safety briefing in the aisle, or the safety briefing video starts, most people distract themselves by talking, napping, or using their devices.
But on Tuesday, when the Southwest Airlines Flight 1380 plane suffered a major engine failure and made an emergency landing, a photo from the plane showed passengers were wearing their oxygen masks incorrectly.
Safety briefings take place before takeoff on every flight, so why didn't they know what to do?
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Principal director for the Flying Without Fear programme, Grant Amos, who is also trained as a psychologist, said every person in the photo was wearing the oxygen mask incorrectly.
"First of all, the oxygen mask should have been over their mouth and nose, and the elastic band should have been around their head. Many were holding the mask by hand over their mouths," he said.
"Some of them are too busy worrying about selfies and sending texts to worry about oxygen - when getting oxygen was the most crucial thing."
A Civil Aviation Authority spokeswoman said the photo underscored the importance of paying full attention to the passenger safety briefing.
"In an emergency, a well-briefed passenger will depend less on crew members and have a greater chance of survival."
Grant Amos says many plane passengers don't actually understand what they're getting themselves into when they fly.
While frequent flyers may assume they already understand all the safety precautions, she said equipment and procedures varied depending on the airline and aircraft type.
"Therefore it is important that people pay attention to the safety briefing to learn or to refresh this information for their own protection."
Amos said after 35 years of flying, he still took out the safety card on each flight to learn about the plane he was sitting on.
There have been dramatic scenes on board a Southwest Airlines flight in the United States.
In 1982, Air New Zealand asked Amos to set up the Flying Without Fear programme to help Kiwis become more informed, safe and comfortable passengers.
He said people needed to become more aware about how to behave in an emergency on a plane.
"Humans tend to operate on the basis that 'I'll be fine in an emergency because I'm sure I'll know what to do'. There is that sort of concept that 'I'm sure I'll be able to handle it'. People don't fully understand what they're getting involved in."
But Amos said the Southwest flight proved many US passengers didn't know what they were doing.
"With Southwest, I don't know how they do their safety briefing and how thorough it is. It may just be the cabin attendants demonstrating it halfway down the cabin, which the passengers don't really watch."
The fact that the Air New Zealand safety videos regularly changed up their content and delivery meant people were more likely to pay attention and watch because they were novel, he said.
There were many other safety instructions that people tended to disregard, Amos said.
"It is actually quite common - there's a whole range of things that people will not listen to the safety rulings because most people work on the basis that it won't happen to them," he said.
"It's not just not watching the safety briefing ... people take on more baggage than they're supposed to have, and in an emergency they look for their handbag instead of getting out of the aircraft.
"Cabin crew have given instruction on every plane that I've been on to keep your seatbelt loosely fastened in case of turbulence. Yet on long-haul flights where there is turbulence, cabin crew are waking people up to get them to put their seatbelts on."
Flying has been made "seamless and very easy" over the years, Amos said.
"Basically anybody can get on a plane, but we don't have passengers being conscious of the fact that it's not their living room, and if something goes wrong they have to know what to do - properly."
HOW TO WEAR AN OXYGEN MASK
Air New Zealand's most recent safety video says: "If you need some 21st century air, oxygen masks will fall down from above ... Just pull down on the mask, and place it over your nose and mouth. Pull on both sides of the elastic to tighten it. Don't worry if the bag doesn't inflate, oxygen will flow easily. And make sure you've got your own mask on before helping children, or those who are less able."
If the mask does not cover both your nose and mouth, you risk not getting enough oxygen into your bloodstream.
- Stuff
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