Definition

This article provides guidance on briefing passengers during emergency and abnormal operations. The content is derived from flight crew experience and is general in nature. Nothing herein supersedes a company's Standard Operating Procedures (SOP), Flight Operations Manual (OM), or other official guidance.

Background

A small segment of the population fears flying under any circumstances. Other passengers who do not normally fear flying might become more nervous in the aftermath of a highly publicized accident or incident. During an aircraft emergency, their understandable lack of aviation knowledge may cause them to imagine the worst. Time and workload permitting, flight crews can counter this with information. In simple terms, the more you talk to your passengers, the less they will worry.

Pilots are taught that during emergencies, they should aviate, navigate, and communicate -- in that order. And communication with Air Traffic Control (ATC) and crew members naturally takes priority over PA announcements to passengers. But as long as safety permits, informative announcements to passengers can reassure them and even help prevent passenger disturbances.

Tell Them What HAS Happened

Tell passengers what has happened, and be specific. For example, if you lose a hydraulic system and you say, "We have a systems problem," the vagueness may create more anxiety than it relieves. But if you say, "We have lost one of the hydraulic systems that lower the landing gear, but we still have another system to get the gear down," passengers should understand that there is no danger.

Often, when passengers complain about a situation with an airline, they say they weren't given enough information, or even that they were kept in the dark. Seldom do they complain about too much information. 

Try to remember that aviation terminology can confuse or frighten the uninitiated. "Flameout," may sound like a fire rather than an engine failure. "Bingo fuel" may sound like running completely out of fuel rather than the fuel level at which you must leave holding.

Tell Them What IS Happening

Are you in a holding pattern? Tell them why. Are you burning off fuel to get down to landing weight? Explain that. Are you on the ground in a hold pad, under clear skies but waiting for a thunderstorm to move away from your planned route? Describe how the issue is en route weather, even though the weather they can see out their windows looks good. Are you in continuous light to moderate chop with no smoother altitude available? Reassure the passengers that the aircraft is built to withstand far worse.

Have the passenger oxygen masks dropped? Time permitting, explain why that took place. Is that pressurisation leak causing a whistling noise? The passengers might be relieved to know it's only air escaping around a seal, with little effect on cabin pressure. Mist flowing from the environmental control system's gaspers on a hot, humid day -- something completely normal -- might be mistaken for smoke by a nervous traveler.

Tell Them What IS GOING to Happen

Are you performing a ground reset procedure that requires you to power down the aircraft to clear an electrical problem? Don't surprise the passengers by putting them in the dark without warning them. Do you need deicing? Inexperienced travelers might not understand why they see trucks moving around the aircraft.

Are you diverting to an alternate? Describe why that's the safer option. Will crash trucks be standing by? Explain that it's a routine precaution. Do circumstances such as a short runway or a gusty crosswind require a relatively firm touchdown? Give the reason.

After landing, will emergency personnel inspect the aircraft before it taxis to the gate? Once at the gate, will medical or law enforcement personnel board the aircraft? If so, advise the passengers to expect that. 

Tell Them What IS NOT Going to Happen

Nervous passengers may worry about whether the landing will be safe, regardless of the nature of the emergency. You may be diverting for an avionics overheat, for example, which has nothing to do with landing the aircraft. But the uninitiated still might envision sliding off the end of the runway. If the malfunction does not affect landing performance, tell them so. 

If you're diverting to an alternate and do not have an assigned gate, advise passengers that the aircraft will probably not taxi directly to the terminal. 

Repetition Does Not Hurt

No new information? Even if you simply repeat what you told the passengers 20 minutes ago, they will know you haven't neglected to keep them informed.