Better prepared than sorry: 4 tips for a safe airplane evacuation | Cruising Altitude

What a year 2024 has already been for aviation. In just the first two weeks of January, we saw two major incidents: a Japan Airlines jet that struck a Japanese Coast Guard plane on the runway at Haneda Airport in Tokyo, and an explosive decompression on an Alaska Airlines flight that resulted in many 737 Max 9s being grounded worldwide.

Despite two high-profile and admittedly scary incidents, I’d argue that it’s been a positive year for commercial aviation safety in at least one key way: no airline passengers died. That speaks well about safety protocols but also underscores how important it is to know what to do when something goes wrong.

So, if God forbid, you ever have to evacuate an airplane, here are four things the experts told me you need to know.

1. Leave everything behind

Two experts, two versions of the same advice: do not take your stuff with you if you’re evacuating an airplane.

“During an evacuation, seconds matter. The time you take to grab something from in front of you or from the overhead compartment, it’s wasting time, and that time could result in a fatality,” Anthony Brickhouse, director of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Forensic Lab told me. “It creates clutter, and it could damage the slide, which can make it inoperable … The most important thing is to get yourself out of that aircraft as quickly as possible.”

Although the formal investigation of the Japan Airlines incident is still underway, many observers noted in the immediate aftermath that none of the passengers appeared to take their belongings with them, and lots of experts said that was likely a significant factor in the survival rate of that crash.

Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants, said airlines have some leeway over the exact contents of their inflight safety briefing. Still, they all include instructions to leave your belongings behind, which shows how crucial it is.

“The fact that the FAA and regulatory bodies around the world have made this a part of the flight attendant demands shows you how important this is,” she told me. “It’s a very serious issue and we’ve seen people die because of it.”

2. Listen to the safety briefing

I had the chance to interview Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, for the 15th anniversary of his miraculous landing on the Hudson River, and he said that he still listens to the safety briefing whenever he flies.

He said that doing so is “cheap insurance” and you’ve “armed yourself with the knowledge and the ability to save your own life.”

Nelson said flight attendants are there for passenger safety above everything else, and it’s crucial to listen to their instructions.

“It’s important, no matter how many times you fly, to spend three minutes to put your phone aside, stop your conversations and other distractions and listen to the safety demonstration,” she said.

3. Be aware of your surroundings

It’s a good idea to get a basic sense of the layout of the plane you’re traveling on and have a path to the nearest exit in mind on every flight.

“When you sit down, take note of where the emergency exits are. Keep in mind that the closest exit may be behind you; it may not be the door you came in through,” Brickhouse said. As you’re settling in, try to keep distractions to a minimum until the flight is well underway.

“A lot of people get on board that aircraft and it’s all about comfort and inflight entertainment and things like that,” Brickhouse added. “I fly with my noise-canceling headphones, but I literally do not put them on until we’re above 10,000 feet and you get that ding.”

Being aware of your surroundings includes listening to flight attendant instructions too.

“When flight attendants are preparing the cabin, putting your seatbacks up, putting your tray table up, all of those things are preparing for the worst possible scenario, giving you the best chance to get out,” Nelson said.

Sure, it can be annoying to have to put your laptop away if you have a few minutes left in a movie or put your seat back upright if you’re still having a nice little nap, but everything that’s done in preparation for landing is about making an evacuation easier if the worst happens.

4. Leave your shoes on for takeoff and landing

Takeoff and landing are the most dangerous phases of any flight. Obviously, tens of thousands of flights take off and land safely every day, but it’s still a good idea to be ready if something goes wrong.

“At a minimum, you want to have those shoes on, especially for takeoff and landing because that’s most likely when an incident like this is going to occur,” Nelson said.

Brickhouse agreed.

“We had a crash in Dubai a few years ago. It was well over 100 degrees and a lot of people had their shoes off, relaxing. They had to evacuate that aircraft without their shoes. They survived, but now they’re standing on that tarmac, and it’s over 100 degrees and you’re barefoot,” he said, adding that it’s a good idea to plan your outfit for an evacuation in general. If you’re in a fire incident like the passengers on Japan Airlines were, you’ll want to be wearing less flammable clothing made of natural fibers.

Brickhouse also said it’s a good idea to keep a form of identification on you, rather than in a purse or another bag you might not have access to in an evacuation, and to eat a meal before every flight in case you wind up in a remote area awaiting rescue.

Last week's Cruising Altitude: I've covered Boeing's 737 MAX for years. A quick rundown of the issues

Despite the warnings, flying remains safe

I know this advice can make travelers imagine the worst, so I want to emphasize again that flying is still an extremely safe way to travel. That said, although I was never a Boy Scout, I know it’s good to be prepared for things to go wrong.

“People don’t get on board an aircraft thinking they could crash,” Brickhouse told me as our conversation wrapped up. “I’m not saying I want flyers to be paranoid, but you do need to (take) a couple of seconds and think about your personal safety in case something does happen.”

Zach Wichter is a travel reporter for USA TODAY based in New York. You can reach him at zwichter@usatoday.com

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Expert tips to stay safe in an airplane evacuation | Cruising Altitude