Germanwings Flight 9525: Thoughts from a Flight Attendant

So I have been hesitant whether to publish this blog post or not. I am aware that the topic is controversial and potentially sensitive for some and the last thing I want to do is offend anyone. Despite this I have been thinking about the Germanwings plane crash since the 24th of March and I felt the need to share my opinions, as a flight attendant, with you all. Declaimer – Although we will never know exactly what occurred that day, the following post is based on information I have gathered from numerous news articles. All the opinions are my own.

The last few years have been deeply saddening for the world of aviation. Since I first applied to become an airhostess there have been a number of high-profile plane crashes and incidents that shook the world. It began on the 8^th of March 2014 with the Malaysia Airline Flight 370 that disappeared over the waters off Southeast Asia. To this day the whereabouts of the aircraft and the 239 people on board is unknown and with this there is huge speculation and a number of theories about what occurred that day. Following this incident another Malaysia Airline Flight, MH17, was shot down over Ukraine in July and an AirAsia flight crashed into the Java Sea after trying to avoid weather. These incidents were just few that have occurred since this time last year.

More recently, Germanwings Flight 9525 has made headline news after Co-pilot Andreas Lubitz intentionally crashed the aircraft into the French Alps. I wont go into great detail about what supposedly happened on the aircraft as it is all over the news and investigations are still being carried out. Instead I want to share my thoughts about the tragic event.

I first heard about the crash when I received a text message from my boyfriend after I had finished working an early shift. As a flight attendant hearing the news that a commercial aircraft has had a fatal crash makes my heart sink. The following day at work, after a pre-flight briefing, the crew and I were discussing what might have happened on Flight 9525. Decompression was mentioned which would have meant, due to a lack of oxygen, the pilots could have become unconscious causing the crash. This would have explained the loss of communication between French radar and the aircraft. The idea of pilot suicide did cross my mind but the thought of a pilot making the conscious decision to murder all passengers and crew on board is much more heart breaking than a technical fault or accident that could not have been predicted, in my opinion. As a member of cabin crew, I have full faith in all of the pilots I work with and trust them completely with my life. It is saddening to know that the crew members aboard the flight that day must have felt the same way – including the Captain who left the flight deck, trusting Lubitz to be in charge.

As the days go on, more information about the incident is being revealed in the news. Reports have emerged suggesting Lubitz may have been suffering from mental health problems and officials say Lubitz had been hiding an illness from his employer. Authorities said investigators found antidepressants and torn-up medical leave notes, including for the day of the crash, in the co-pilots apartment. Germanwings said it never received a sick-note from Lubitz. This makes me hope for change. In light of this incident I would like to see medical professionals personally contacting airlines if a member of crew comes to them and are deemed unfit to fly (especially if the reason is due to mental illness or depression). If the company had been contacted by the medical practice, the awful events that lead to the death of 150 people may have been prevented. I am in no means blaming the doctors Lubitz saw prior to the event. They were only following procedure and they could not have predicted what was going to happen.

When I first heard that the Captain was locked out of the flight deck by the co-pilot, I was shocked to discover that Germanwings did not require at least two people to be in the cockpit at all times. Since the incident other companies including EasyJet and RyanAir have changed their procedures, as they too did not have this rule in place. The sad truth is that we learn from our mistakes. Unfortunately, security and safety procedures change in aviation when an accident has occurred and authorities do the best they can to prevent this happening again in the future. Take 9/11 for example – since that day back in 2001 aviation changed forever. It was that incident that saw reinforced flight deck doors on every aircraft, US Federal Air Marshals onboard some flights and secondary barriers for flight deck doors on long haul flights – These are just 3 changes but there were many more, all of which make flying much safer.

I could write about aircraft accidents and incidents for hours but I would like to finish this blog post on a more positive note. Although I have mostly mentioned Andreas Lubitz, I would like to share my thoughts on the Captain and Cabin Crew that day. Reports say the Captain, Patrick Sondenheimer, was heard trying to break his way back into the flight deck to save everyone on board. He was a married man, father of 2 young children and it has been said he moved to the airline Germanwings in order to be closer to his family. According to CNN recordings from the black box are heard of Sondenheimer pleading with the co-pilot “open the damn door!” The recording also includes the sounds of loud metallic bangs that sound like someone is trying to knock down the cockpit door. As details emerge, Patrick Sondemheimer has been praised all over social media for his bravery and people have hailed him as a hero. As a flight attendant I could only imagine what the crew must have been going through in those last few moments – perhaps calming passengers and helping Sondemheimer’s attempt to open the flight deck door. I have the upmost respect for everyone who tried to save that aircraft. 

My heart and condolences go out to the family and friends of the victims on Flight 9525. May the 150 people on board rest in peace.

SKYPRO Cabin Crew Shoes Review (★★★★★)

As cabin crew, we spend a lot of time on our feet, walking to and from the airport, crew room, aircraft and up and down the aisles so having a pair of shoes that fit correctly and are comfortable is key. After only about 3 weeks of working in the skies I knew I had to buy new shoes as my first pair were leaving my feet aching after an eight-hour shift. Some colleagues had previously mentioned the shoes they wear from SKYPRO so I decided to dig a little deeper and do some research and evidently bought a pair.

The shoes I bought 

Name                   Amelia

Size                      41.5

Colour                   Navy

Heel height           7cm/2.8 inches

Leather lining        Super soft cald magic blue

Upper leather        High quality upper leather

Toe type               Round toe

Midsole                 Ambicork Midsole

Type                    Classic court shoe

Sole                     Anti-skid nitrile natural rubber sole             

 

Amelia Cabin shoes - the shoes I bought (see the super soft cushioning!!)

My opinion

I would recommend these shoes to all of my colleagues and anyone who wears heels on a day-to-day basis. They are super comfortable and look simple and professional.

In my experience the shoes are true to size but do need a few days to break them in. After the first day of wearing them my feet were aching but as soon as they have stretched to mimic the contours of your feet it doesn’t feel like you’re wearing heels at all.

All of the women’s shoes are named after a historical woman in aviation and has a small biography about who she was/is and what she achieved – amazing!

The shoes only come in Black or Navy which is a limited colour range but most airlines do require their crew to wear black or navy depending on the uniform.

About SKYPRO 

SKYPRO is the first company in the world to manufacture certified footwear for aviation professionals. ‘SKYPRO has highly specialized technical experts committed to provide the best airline crew shoes for flight attendants, pilots, and ground-handling users. A continuous research and development activity in footwear construction, together with a selection of top edge shoe materials, lead to high levels of comfort, well-being, safety, and reduced fatigue.’ – www.buyskypro.com

The shoes come with a range of features that make them stylish and, above all else, comfortable

• They have an anti-skid feature that protects the wearer from potential slipping hazards such as airplane oils, jet fuel, wet stairways and slippery airport floors.
• All shoes have ambicork built in which provides the wearer with protection either in cold (snow or ice) or hot environments, providing additional comfort to the feet, through a better thermal insulation. 
• They are antistatic ensures a controlled dissipation of electric discharges, leaving the body and reaching the ground in safer conditions, and ensuring users full protection against electrostatic discharges which are more evident on aircrafts then on the ground.
• They are alarm-free so you don’t have to remove your shoes at security.
• And above all else, they are extremely comfortable with features including shock absorption, breathable materials and extra padding

SKYPRO have a range of heels for women with different styles and heels heights and also men’s crew shoes that look very smart and have the same characteristics seen in the list above.

Buy SKYPRO shoes on their website:
http://www.buyskypro.com/

Check out the latest SKYPRO news and tips on their blog:

http://www.buyskypro.com/blog/

Bye for now x

More than just a "Trolley-Dolly"

Leaving school at the age of 18 I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. I was always very envious of those who had a set plan and knew where life would take them. All I knew is that I did not want to go to university and that I want to travel the world with someone I love but I did need a job.

To cut a long story short a good friend of mine, Clare, told me about how a local airline were hiring for Cabin Crew and how she had applied. On a whim I also applied. I had an interview and I got the job.

Before the training, like many others, I took Cabin Crew for granted. They were they people who did the demonstration before a flight and provided the food and drink service. But there is so much more to being a Cabin Crew member then just that.

What a lot of people don’t get to see is the preparation cabin crew (as well as pilots, engineers, dispatchers and security) need to do before each flight to ensure a safe journey. As cabin crew we need to ensure all paperwork is filled out, conduct and take part in a pre-flight briefing, ensure the aircraft is presentable for the passengers and conduct security searches and safety checks before each flight.

The training process was roughly a month long and I still learn something every time I go to work. Only the last hour in this whole training was based around food and drink service and working with our EPOS machines (to take credit and debit cards). The rest was all safety related. All cabin crew, at any airline need to learn about:

• Safety equipment on board the aircraft- where it is, pre-flight checks, how to use it and when to use it correctly
• Emergencies – what to do in the case of every type of emergency situation and the procedures we have to follow (I wont go into detail, I wouldn’t want to scare the nervous flyers reading this – but I promise, we are trained well and we know what we’re doing)
• How to treat people with first-aid including CPR on adults and children, using a defibrillator, side-effects of flying and physical injuries & trauma
• Passengers – how to treat special assistant passengers (e.g. deaf or blind) in the correct manner. How to deal with intoxicated or unruly passengers

The list goes on and on…

As well as learning in the classroom we also had physical training. This included:

• Raft training and survival in water (during this time we actually got to test out the life vests we have on-board and see how they feel and work)
• We also met with the airport fire fighters and learnt about different types of fires and had a go at putting out fires in an aircraft replica.
• One of the aircraft types we work on is a jet with automatic evacuation sides therefore we needed to learn how to use the doors and what to do in the case that slides do not inflate etc.

Again I could go on…

In learning all of these safety aspects and emergency drills, Cabin Crew have the knowledge to deal with a situation to the best of their ability ensuring the safety of the passengers. The hope is that what we do learn in our training we will never have to use but we are always prepared.

You may have heard over a PA that ‘cabin crew are here for your comfort but primarily your safety’. Yes, we are there to make your flight enjoyable and as comfortable as possible. You may see the crew as your waiters and waitresses, cleaners or personal assistants but cabin crew are first-aiders, fire fighters, lifeguards and lifesavers.

In the event of an emergency cabin crew increase your chances of survival; we are more than just trolley-dollies.

Bye for now x

PS: For more insight on being cabin crew I would highly recommend watching 'A Very British Airline' which was aired on Channel 4 - watch on 4oD. It shows the intense training of the British Airways cabin crew as well as other members working in the airline industry