How to Fly Safely

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Common sense

Step 1

Before you are flying.
Before booking a flight, a lot of people want to know if the airline they are going to fly with is a safe one.
However it's very difficult to say if an airline is 'safe' or 'unsafe' just by looking at fatal accident statistics. Thus, a ranking of airlines by for example fatalities per passenger/kilometer flown does not say anything about the safety of the airlines listed. I will give you one example: Quantas is considered as one of the safest airlines in worlds. And this is true – they had very few accidents over the years. But an interesting fact is that the majority of their flights have overseas destinations, which means long hours in the air and less take-offs and landings. Most North American carriers, to the contrary, fly between cities within the same continent – an average of 2 hrs flights which much more take-offs and landings. So safety can not be measured always consistently, and in this particular case statistics work in Quantas favor.
Step 2

Fly on Nonstop Routings
Most accidents occur during the takeoff, climb, descent, and landing phase of flight so flying nonstop would reduce exposure to these phases of flight.
Step 3

Choose Larger Aircraft
Currently, aircraft with more than 30 passenger seats were all designed and certified under the strictest regulations. Also, in the unlikely event of a serious accident, larger aircraft provide a better opportunity for passenger survival. This one is not always easy to follow, but still possible, since all information about the fleet is available on the Internet these days.
Step 4

Pay Attention to the Preflight Briefing
Although the information seems repetitious, the locations of the closest emergency exits may be different depending on the aircraft that you fly on and seat you are in.
A good example is the latest incident here in Toronto 2 weeks ago. After Air France jet skidded of the runway, all passengers were evacuated within 2 minutes. Later the cabin crew has been praised for the outstanding performance, so reading materials and following the instructions can make the difference.
Step 5

Keep the Overhead Storage Bin Free of Heavy Articles
Overhead storage bins may not be able to hold very heavy objects during turbulence, so if you or another passenger have trouble lifting an article into the bin, have it stored elsewhere.
Step 6

Keep Your Seat Belt Fastened While You are Seated
Keeping the belt on when you are seated provides that extra protection you might need if the plane hits unexpected turbulence.
One of the areas well known for turbulences is the Japan Sea region. A lot of flights experience severe turbulence over there. It happened many times when passengers, not fastened with the seat belt, actually hit the sealing and sustained serious injuries as a result
Step 7

Listen to the Flight Attendants
The primary reason flight attendants are on an aircraft is for safety (an not to serve drink, as you probably thought), so if one of them asks you to do something like fasten your seat belts, do it first and ask questions later.
Step 8

Don't Bring Any Hazardous Material
There are rather long lists of hazardous materials that are not allowed, but common sense should tell you that you shouldn't bring gasoline, corrosives, poisonous gases, and other such items on the aircraft unless they were allowed by the airline and shipped in a proper container. Even if you try, most likely, you would be stopped by the security guards, and the item would be confiscated.
Step 9

Let the Flight Attendant Pour Your Hot Drinks
Flight attendants are trained to handle hot drinks like coffee or tea in a crowded aisle on a moving aircraft, so allow them to pour the drink and hand it too you.
Step 10

Don't Drink Too Much
Current FAA regulations require that cabin air pressure must be no lower than the air pressure that naturally occurs at 8,000 feet.
The atmosphere in an airliner cabin is pressurized to about the same altitude as Denver (5280 feet), so any alcohol you consume will affect you more strongly than at sea level. Moderation is a good policy at any altitude.
Step 11

Keep Your Wits About You
In the unlikely event that you are involved in an emergency situation such as a precautionary emergency evacuation, follow the directions of the flight attendants and flight crew and exit the aircraft as quickly as possible.
Step 12

Summary
Aircraft accidents are actually survivable, it is a known fact, proven with statistics. Based on NTSB survey, which studied 568 accidents over the last 15 years, the survival rate for all accidents involving commercial aircraft, including minor mishaps, is roughly 96 percent.
Just keep in mind that in many cases you can make a difference. So, every time you take a flight (and does not matter whether it is1 hour flight to Montreal or 7 hours to London) – please read carefully those safety instructions and listen to announcements- they may actually help.