A time for Reminiscence

At work a friend of mine brought up the subject. She asked me whether I had any emergency situations onboard any flight in Air Deccan... And that took me back in time...Like in the movies , flashback as they call it.
The vigorous emergency procedures , the grooming, the tests, the first aid training(particularly the CPR !).More than glamour the job revolves around safety.More than make-up time goes to fill in safety check list forms, performing safety procedures pre and post flight  ensuring passenger safety during flight. The job is more than just looking pretty and serving refreshments, its about being alert and keeping passengers safety first.Also sticking a plastic smile on your face even when the passengers are being obnoxious and impolite. I’ve found that working for an airline  has been one of the hardest jobs I ever had, and yet the most enjoyable.So what emergencies I had on board you ask? Can remember 3 major ones that I would love to share..

Flight delay/Cancellation:
It was the month of December. According to my roster,I was to fly Bangalore-Delhi-Bangalore flight on an Airbus(A320).We took off from Bangalore early morn and reached Delhi ,an uneventful flight..December time in Delhi can be very cold and foggy. At times the visibility drops to  'zero'. In such conditions the pilots are not allowed to fly for safety reasons. Our flight back to Bangalore was delayed due to dense fog which was not very uncommon.Delays in Air Deccan were not uncommon hahahaha.So we gals disembarked from the flight for a lay-over.. Little did we know that this would be a once in a lifetime experience..The Flight got cancelled again eventually as the conditions did not improve. The next morning we girls got the news that the weather conditions are still not favourable. Hence the continued delay. The aircraft sat at the tarmac for 2 whole days until we got the the thumbs-up sign to fly back to Bangalore.We were instructed to follow the security guards to enter our air-crafts..Why? The passengers who were stranded for 2 whole days were fumingly furious!The media was there, so were the TV Cameras..Its a sight I will never forget.. We were a crew of 4 girls being surrounded by the security guards protecting us from the angry ,threatening mob in the crowded terminals.The provoked passengers recognised the Air Deccan Crew by our uniforms and tried to pounce on us!I clearly remember a few chanting; "Air Deccan hai hai"
We reached the aircraft but the worst was not yet over. We had a fly back 180 angry passengers back to Bangalore! A two and a half hour flight of angry looks and mockery!! Luckily all the training and fake smiles got us through the day. Yet an horrifyingly unforgettable experience, almost being attacked by marroned irated crowd.

Cockpit window Crack:
Another Bangalore-Delhi-Bangalore flight. A320 flight.  (Why does it happen on Delhi flight? I wish I knew).After the flight announcements, headcount , safety demo with the passengers seated,their seat-belts fastened the plane was ready for a take off. We taxied alonng the runway. The 4 cabin crew seated in our respective stations.I was in the rear of the aircraft being the junior most among the crew. We were on our brace positions sitting on our jumpseats at the Galley area. And the purser informs us of the emergency situation on hand. The Pilot alerted the crew of a crack in the Cockpit window. The situation is serious than it sounds. As the plane flies to a higher altitude the pressure increases with altitude. The chances are the window might break complelety resulting in the rapid decompression. The oxygen inside the cabin depletes resulting in suffocation and ultimately death.The Captain took a wise decision of turning around immediately and landing  after getting the permission from the ATC(Air Traffic control). That day the aircraft was abandoned in the  ramp  to be serviced  and we had a lay-over.. again.The whole episode again horrifying as every minute was precious till we landed back to safety.Every minute praying for a safe landing at the same time recalling all the evacuation and safety & emergency procedures from our training days in case there should be a mishap. The pilot in commands presence of mind and all the prayers brought us back on sweet mother earth without a scratch whatsoever.. An amazing experience..

Fuel cap blew off during take off:
It was a 46 seater ATR 42-500, and guess what I was the only Cabin crew on board! Of course along with a Captain and a first officer. As far as my memory goes it was a Bangalore-Trivandrum-Bangalore flight. After all the pre-flight procedures , I took a head count finished all formalities and closed the aircraft door.The In-flight annoucements were done , also the safety demo showing the passengers how to fasten their seat-belts, how to use oxygen masks in case of decompression, how to use life-jacket in case of emergency. The passengers seated near the emergency exits were briefed how to operate the exits during an emergency. After the Captain-in-command announced the take-off I went back to my jump seat preparing the galley for the take off. The aircraft taxied along the runway and gained momentum for the take-off. While I was seated in my brace position I hear a commotion in the small bus-like aircraft. The seat-belts signs were on so it would'nt be right for me to unbrace and walk to the cabin. Yet curious about the passengers safety I walked my way to the emergency exit seats to find a panicky passenger sitting in the window seat yelling that he saw something fly off the wings. I was alarmed and immediatley informed the Pilot. All this while the aircraft was taking off! The pilot came to a safe alltitude and turned back to Bangalore to  land safely.The 'thing' the passenger saw flying off the wing was the fuel cap which would have proved fatal if the Captain had not decided to touch ground instantly. Either  we would run out of fuel soon while cruising OR the aircraft would explode mid-air . Phew...Was I scared?frankly  I dont remember..

The uniform in Air Deccan was pathetic!Compared to that of Kingfisher Red now that it is..I wish I had lots of picturesto show you.. But I have only a few to share..Back to my old ways???..Another post about ME   ;)

In Uniform...The only picture..