by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
Whenever Don Maciejewski travels by plane, the aviation litigator begins his flight the same way: By preparing for a crash landing.
That might sound like a macabre mindset to carry along on a business trip, but 15 years spent trying airplane and helicopter crash lawsuits convinced Maciejewski of the need for in-air alertness. That experience, along with a pre-law career as a military pilot, has made Maciejewski a certified expert in aircraft safety.
Travel & Leisure Magazine thought enough of his expertise to ask him to prepare a safety checklist for the business traveler. The article is expected to run later in the summer, but Maciejewski offered the Daily Record an early look at his recommendations for staying safe once the wheels leave the ground.
Most often those wheels touch safely back down. Maciejewski stressed that air travel is still one of the safest ways to travel. But, while air accidents are rare compared to car collisions, Maciejewski points out that when things go wrong on an airplane they go very wrong, very fast. He recommends some simple preparations that will dramatically increase any traveler’s chances to survive an in-air emergency.
The first precaution takes place before the traveler leaves the house. Maciejewski recommends wearing light-colored clothing that doesn’t hang too loose. Loose clothing is more likely to snag on impediments or catch fire in an emergency. Dark colors transmit heat to the body more quickly.
Leave the nylon stockings and other artificial fabrics at home. Stick with natural fibers, they resist heat better, he said. Maciejewski also recommends long pants and sleeves for better coverage in the event of a fire. Wear a jacket or sweater and keep it on during takeoff and landing, he said. Also, travel light. Less carry-on luggage means less objects flying around the cabin in a crash.
Maciejewski recommends the same attention to detail be used once passengers step on the plane.
“People don’t realize that 70 percent of casualties from air accidents could be avoided if people just follow a few simple rules like knowing the plane’s escape routes,” he said.
The term “escape route” probably sounds vaguely familiar to most frequent fliers. Flight attendants point them out at the beginning of each flight as part of the pre-takeoff safety briefing. Problem is, most of the passengers are already tuning into their headphones or thumbing through the in-flight magazine by the time the briefing is given. The briefing leads off every flight for a reason, said Maciejewski, and it’s not just to demonstrate how the seat belt works.
“People who fly a lot think they know everything in the briefing, but there are differences in the way planes are designed,” said Maciejewski. “I’ve seen crashes where bodies are piled five high in the cabin because the person in the exit row didn’t know how to open the emergency door.”
In any emergency landing, knowing the quickest way out is the best way for passengers to improve their chances of walking away, said Maciejewski. He taps his hand against a seat in each row as he boards and figures out the distance to the emergency exits when he sits down. The safest seats are in the back of the plane, because crashes typically impact nose first.
Once seated, Maciejewski feels under his seat to make sure the life vest is there. It’s too late to request one once the cabin starts filling up with water, he said. Maciejewski also recommends reviewing the plane’s boarding card tucked into the pouch in the seat ahead.
His final piece of pre-takeoff advice? Fasten the seat belt snug around the hips. A loose-fitting belt might be more comfortable, but it won’t keep a passenger’s face from smashing into the tray table.
Once seated and oriented to the plane’s safety features, take a look around the cabin. In the post-9/11 world, passengers should be on the lookout for anything suspicious. If something doesn’t look right, report it to the crew, said Maciejewski.
Passengers should also look at the exit rows. If the passenger seated in front of the emergency exit doesn’t look up to the task of opening it, alert a flight attendant.
“The passenger in front of the emergency exit is extremely important in any kind of emergency or forced landing,” said Maciejewski. “You want someone there who can open it, go through it and get out of the way. No kids in the exit rows, no two-ton Annie, no 400-pound guys.”
Maciejewski’s last piece of advice likely won’t be popular with many business travelers: Leave the liquor alone. Free drinks in business and first class may be tough to turn down, but sobriety is a definite advantage in an emergency, said Maciejewski.
And drunks don’t just put themselves at risk. Their behavior can threaten everyone in the cabin. Maciejewski doesn’t drink when he flies, a policy enacted after an in-flight emergency scare.
“They said to prepare for evacuation, and I looked around and I was surrounded by drunks,” he said. “I thought, ‘I’m going to be trampled to death by drunks.’”