Flightster

Heads Down! Stay Down!

• by Bobby Laurie
• on November 18th, 2010
• 2 Comments

Did you know that your flight attendant goes through training every year to refresh their skills in saving lives and evacuating airplanes?

It’s true. It’s called “recurrent training.”

Each year each flight attendant must attend and pass a training program designed to keep vital life saving skills fresh in their minds. Each airlines’ program varies in length from one to two days (and in some rare cases, three days) but flight attendants can expect to be tested and demonstrate their knowledge of aircraft safety.

In October I completed my third recurrent at my airline. For me, I start feeling the stress of recurrent training in September. The stress associated with the class stems from the fact that failure to prove to your instructors that you can evacuate an aircraft, perform CPR, know everything there is to know about the aircrafts emergency equipment, diagnose and treat common ailments, know the latest security measures and directives and can properly and effectively fight a fire can cost you your job. Failure to obtain a passing grade on any recurrent exam allows you one re-take. If you fail the retake you may be let go from the airline or be required to attend the next training event.

Day one of recurrent at my airline is “T” day, or “Test Day.” Everything that we have to demonstrate or be tested on happens on day one. When I first entered the room two pieces of paper were on my desk face down. The first thing we do on day one is a test that demonstrates our off-the-top-of-your-head knowledge of airline policy and procedure as well as your ability to use your inflight manual. A flight attendants manual is their lifeline during an emergency and is/can be used on a daily basis as a reference point. The manual is jam-packed with company policies and procedures, federal aviation regulations, passenger announcements, a detailed description of what each flight attendant is should be doing at any particular time, a first aid section with common illness’ symptoms and treatments along with other vital and useful information. Needless to say inflight manuals are quite large and knowing how to use it and locate information quickly is a necessity.

I passed my 25 question written exam with a 100%, the passing grade was 92%.

Next on our agenda was watching videos on how to properly evacuate an aircraft. We were reshown how the slide deploys when we open the door and how quickly planes can be evacuated. We watched a video on the mock-evacuation of the A380 before it was certified to fly. They evacuated 800 people in 90 seconds. It’s amazing until you realize that the situation you witnessed is a “perfect world” scenario. Each passenger knew they were evacuating and they weren’t in grave danger. Each passenger also knew exactly where the doors and exits were located. After watching the videos, it was out turn to prove that we could do it. My class of 14 2-3 year flight attendants added our names to the sign up sheet and waited our turn to enter the aircraft mock-up and show our trainers that we knew what we were doing. When my turn came around I sat in the jumpseat, strapped in, reviewed my commands and my actions.. Took my brace position and then all of a sudden you heard my trainers yell: “Brace! Brace! Brace!” That’s our cue from the flight deck to start screaming out commands: “Bend over! Heads down! Stay down!” Finally, you hear “Evacuate! Evacuate! Evacuate!” and we spring into action getting the doors open and the people off.

Everyone passed.

Next up: Emergency Equipment. You’ve probably seen them in the overhead compartments or attached to the walls of the aircraft. Each airline is required to have certain items on board to aid flight attendants handle emergency situations. The flip side is that flight attendants have to know how to use them and ensure they’re operational before each and every flight. Equipment such as automated external defribulators (AEDs), fire extinguishers, oxygen bottles, first aid kids, medial kits, flash lights, etc., can be found on board. Our next test was to show our trainers that we know how to “pre-flight” or “check” our equipment before boarding begins to ensure it’s operational and ready for use.

We all passed.

Once day one is over everyone breathes a collective sigh of relief. By this point, everyone knows if they’re passed the tests essential to keeping their job.

Day two begins with another demonstration of our skills. Fire fighting. At 8am we were bused over to a warehouse in which a row of airplane seats was lit on fire, and we had to put it out. Not one did we just have to fight the fire, we had to remember the process in which to do so which includes pulling circuit breakers, notifying the flight deck, using the proper equipment and giving the right instructions to your fellow crewmembers and passengers.

We all passed.

After arriving back at the training center we sat through lessons on CRM (crew resource management, which is an emphasis on good, clear, and concise communication between the flight attendants and the flightdeck), Hazardous Materials, and Security. The day ended with a lesson in self defense, something we all hope we never have to utilize while at work.

In the end, this years recurrent wasn’t that difficult. In fact, it was laid back and pressure free to the extent that I feel as though I actually benefited from the program and refreshed my memory on things we can easily forget. I returned to flying the very next day with taking my refreshed skills back to the skies and feeling rejuvenated and confident in my skills to keep my passengers safe, secure and happy.

Bobby Laurie

Bobby Laurie, author of the book Planely Speaking and television travel correspondent, currently works as a Flight Attendant at a low-cost airline and as a freelance journalist. After graduating from the Pennsylvania College of Technology with a degree in Mass Media Communication, Bobby combined his passion for both journalism and travel by writing about the travel industry through his insider knowledge and personal experiences. You can read Bobby's blog about being a flight attendant and the airline industry by visiting UpUpAndAGay.com.