Original subtitles

Man: All of a sudden there was this gigantic boom.

Man: And all hell broke loose.

Man: Fire!

Man: I believed that we were all gonna die.

Narrator: It's every passenger's worst fear.

Man: We were in the water up to our knees,

and it was just freezing cold.

Narrator: But many people do live to tell the tale.

Woman: Absolutely accidents are survivable.

Narrator: The key is knowing what to do.

Woman: That's when you need to have your wits about you.

Man: I know I need to figure out where the exit rows are.

Narrator: And when to do it.

Flight attendant: Evacuate now!

Woman: Because you never know.

It's right at the very last second

that everything happens.

Flight attendant: Ladies and gentlemen,

we are starting our approach. - Pilot: We lost both engines!

Flight attendant: Put the mask over your nose.

Emergency descent. Pilot: Mayday, mayday.

Flight attendant: Brace for impact!

Controller: I think I lost one.

Man: Investigation starting...

Man: He's gonna crash!

Narrator: July 6, 2013.

Aircraft debris litters the main runway

at San Francisco International Airport.

A burned-out hull is all that's left

of Asiana Airlines flight 214,

after a devastating crash landing.

Controller: Asiana 214,

heavy emergency vehicles are responding.

We have everyone on their way.

Narrator: Cell phone video captures the terrifying scene

moments after impact.

Ben levy: In your head, everything goes into slow motion

and you just don't believe it's happening.

You don't know if you're gonna be dead

at the end of this slow motion or not.

Narrator: The Asiana crew rushes to get passengers off the plane.

Lee Yoon-Hye, translated: My brain was very clear,

and I planned what I had to do immediately.

Actually, I was not thinking, but acting.

As soon as I heard "Emergency escape,"

I conducted the evacuation.

Woman: In their mind, it was like their training

was flashing in front of them. It just became second nature.

Narrator: The Asiana evacuation is remarkably successful.

Of the 307 people on board,

304 make it out alive...

Revealing a surprising truth

about serious aviation accidents:

If you're ever in one, chances are you'll survive.

Barbara Dunn: We know, as a result of studies

that have been done, that 80%, at least 80%

of the accidents are survivable.

Narrator: Barbara Dunn is an aviation safety consultant

and former flight attendant.

Dunn: We take our job very seriously.

We take our safety role very seriously.

I think if you asked any member of a cabin crew

what their primary function on board the aircraft was,

they would tell you that it was a safety role.

Narrator: But how do flight attendants master that role?

How do they become survival experts?

The answer is behind the doors

of a facility passengers rarely get to see.

Richard Kubelka: According to my practice,

the best training is a practical training.

That's why there is a cabin emergency evacuation trainer

of airbus 320.

Narrator: Richard Kubelka is the chief cabin crew instructor

at the Czech Airlines training center in Prague.

It's one of only a few facilities in the industry

that offers realistic cabin emergency training.

Kubelka: The cabin emergency evacuation trainer

is not a real aircraft; it's a mock-up, it's a model.

Narrator: The 28-ton simulator has two emergency slides:

One at the forward door; the other at the over-wing exit.

Inside, there are 40 seats

with overhead bins and realistic lighting.

Kubelka: We can simulate all kinds of flights:

A normal flight or some non-standard situation.

Narrator: Leading today's session

is cabin instructor Tomas Chlupac.

Tomas Chlupac: Take a seat, please.

Narrator: He is preparing 11 young flight attendants

for the worst.

Chlupac: All the training and all the practical drills

have to be performed quickly and safely.

Narrator: They'll take turns

being passengers and crew members

on a series of simulated disasters.

Kubelka: So, we are ready for the flight.

I'm pressing start button.

That means the engines are starting now.

Narrator: From the control room at the back of the simulator,

Richard Kubelka initiates a scenario.

Kubelka: We are now taking off.

Narrator: The simulator's powerful hydraulic lift system

comes to life.

Kubelka: The hydraulic system

simulates the movement of the aircraft

so we can shake the cabin during the training

to simulate the real situation during the flight.

Chlupac: Please fasten your seat belts.

We are flying through a turbulent area just now.

Narrator: In the cabin,

it looks, feels, and sounds exactly like a real flight.

Dunn: The training has to be as realistic as possible

in order to prepare you

for anything that might happen on the aircraft.

Kubelka: I press landing button.

That means we are landing now.

Nobody knows that something will happen in a few minutes.

It is also called an unprepared emergency situation.

Dunn: Most of our accidents take place during takeoff or landing,

and they are unprepared.

You don't know it's going to happen.

Often passengers bury themselves in a newspaper or a book.

Some of them go to sleep.

And that's when you need to have your wits about you.

Narrator: In august 2005,

the cabin crew of Air France flight 358

needed not only their wits, but nerves of steel.

Pilot: Landing. Autopilot, auto thrust off.

Narrator: Their A340

descends through heavy wind and pounding rain

to Toronto's Pearson international airport.

The pilots struggle to put the plane on the runway.

Pilot: Put it down!

Put it down!

Joann Cordary-Bundock: This landing

was more intense and harder

than any time I've ever landed in another aircraft.

Dunn: The bumpiness of the landing

would have caught everybody's attention.

The fact that they were landing in a bad storm

would have heightened the awareness.

Eddie ho: It was a very difficult landing.

Everyone started clapping,

and even the lady sitting next to me--

I remember this very clearly-- she said,

"Wow! That was an amazing landing."

And as soon as she finished that sentence,

then all hell broke loose.

Man: Immediately you could see this orange aura,

and for me, it's a picture I will never forget.

My daughter was sitting ahead of us,

on the right side of the plane.

And at that time, she turned her head towards us,

you know, with very wide eyes, you know, looking at us.

And her face was surrounded by this enormous aura,

orange aura of fire.

Narrator: Then, as it speeds down the runway

at 90 miles an hour,

flight 358 runs out of room.

Philippe Lacaille: At that point,

I believed that we were all gonna die.

It was obvious that no one can survive this kind of thing.

Narrator: As the smell of jet fuel fills the cabin,

panic begins to spread.

Man: Fire!

Flight attendant: Fire! Run! Run!

Lacaille: Emily! Emily! Emily! Emily!

The only thing that matters to me now

is to get my daughter Emily,

who's sitting two seats ahead of me,

get her, get her under me,

and protect her as we blow up.

Narrator: The plane is now a deadly firetrap.

Dunn: The fire started in the aft end of the aircraft.

People in the front

didn't realize the severity of the situation.

So the people in the front of the aircraft

were not as motivated to get out as quickly

until there was an announcement made by one of the crew members

in the back end of the aircraft.

Flight attendant: We have to evacuate now!

Dunn: She motivated people to get moving and get out.

Narrator: In an instant,

the flight attendant's cordial demeanor is gone.

Dunn: We're trained to be forceful,

and we're trained to completely forget

about the service aspect of our job

and focus just on safety.

Ho: People were crawling over the seats.

They were pushing each other.

There was... Basically, all for yourself.

Flight attendant: Stay calm, please.

Narrator: If they can't control the panic...

Man: Open the door! Open the door!

Narrator: The crush of frightened passengers

could quickly turn into a deadly stampede.

Lacaille: Everybody was expecting the plane to go up.

Narrator: Some haven't taken any of the simple precautions

safety experts recommend.

Dunn: Making sure that you wear lace-up shoes

and not a shoe that is going to fly off on impact

and leave you barefoot,

wearing natural fibers that don't burn as easily.

Something that's made out of polyester or nylon

or a synthetic fabric of some description,

when it gets hot and melts, it sticks to my skin.

But if I'm wearing cotton or wool or a natural fiber,

my chances of getting burned are far less.

Man: Open the door! Open the door!

Lacaille: I could see the air attendant there,

struggling with the fact

that should I or should I not open this door,

because the fire was raging in front of it.

Narrator: The attendant quickly makes the decision

to start sending passengers down the emergency slides.

Lacaille: We just ran up as fast as we could--

thorns

and through whatever was left of the ground where the plane was.

Narrator: Astonishingly,

every single passenger and the entire crew of flight 358

make it out alive.

Dunn: In their report,

the transportation safety board praised the crew very highly

for the job that they did

and attributed the fact that everybody got out

to the actions of the cabin crew.

Cordary-Bundock: We really need to take seriously

those safety commands and evacuation information

because you never know.

It was a perfect flight.

There's not any indications that anything can go wrong,

and it's right at the very last second

that everything happens.

Flight attendant: We have to evacuate now!

Narrator: The success of the air France evacuation

had everything to do with speed.

It took just 90 seconds to get everyone off the plane.

That amazingly short length of time

is in fact the target that all crews aim for.

Man: One more beer, please. One more beer.

Narrator: Any moment now,

the Czech airlines trainees will be up against that clock.

Kubelka: So, the cabin must be clear

in 1 minute and 30 seconds.

Narrator: The hydraulic lift rocks the cabin,

simulating a hard emergency landing.

Kubelka: Evacuate. Evacuate. Evacuate. Evacuate.

Chlupac: Seat belts off!

Seat belts off! Leave everything!

Dunn: Our evacuation commands

are designed to get people up and moving

and towards the exit and out of the airplane.

Narrator: The slide on this simulator is already extended.

So to keep the timing realistic, flight attendants must wait

until they hear the sound of the slide being inflated.

Chlupac: Leave everything. Come this way.

Jump and slide. Jump and slide.

Kubelka: It's recommended to cross your hands

when you are sliding, to protect yourself.

Chlupac: Jump and slide.

Dunn: We do what's called looping.

We repeat over and over and over and over again

until we are sure that everybody who can get out is out.

Narrator: The looping helps combat

a psychological phenomenon

known in the industry as negative panic.

Dunn: That's when people freeze in their seats

and they don't want to move.

Instead of getting up and rushing towards an exit,

they just sit there

and wait for somebody to tell them what to do.

Narrator: Research video has shown

that while some passengers freeze...

Flight attendant: Undo your seatbelts and get out.

Narrator: Others will do almost anything

to get off a plane as quickly as possible.

Flight attendant: This way! Come on!

Narrator: A famous study by the U.K. Civil aviation authority

revealed that desperation and outright panic

can take hold in seconds,

even in a simulated emergency.

Man: Take it easy!

Narrator: Evacuation training teaches flight attendants

how to quell that kind of panic.

By playing the role of the passenger,

they get at least some idea

of how frightening a real emergency would be.

Man: This simulator is the state of art

of technology to train the future cabin crews.

I feel that if in real life something happened,

I would really know what to do.

Narrator: But what happens when disaster strikes in mid-air?

Getting off a plane at cruising altitude

is not an option.

One harrowing flight from Alaska

reveals why cabin crews have only seconds to react

to explosive decompression.

Every time you fly on an airliner,

the low atmospheric pressure outside the cabin poses a risk.

Our bodies are simply not designed

for such extreme altitudes.

Normally the aircraft protects us.

Today, the A320 simulator will show what happens

when that protection fails.

Chlupac: Our next topic is rapid decompression.

When the masks are dropping down,

you have to use them immediately.

Kubelka: The passenger's cabin is pressurized,

so that means at cruising altitude

there is a higher pressure inside the cabin than outside.

We are climbing to the cruising altitude.

Narrator: Any breach in the fuselage at cruising altitude

causes an instant depressurization,

leading to a scene that would look and sound

something like this.

Chlupac: Ah, something happened.

Taking the masks...

Take the masks and use them.

Dunn: It could be caused by a window blowing out,

an aircraft door opening.

It could be caused

by a propeller coming through the fuselage.

There's any number of reasons that could cause it.

But it's a rapid loss of cabin pressure.

Narrator: Oxygen masks are critical,

as most of the air in the cabin

gets sucked out by the difference in pressure.

Kubelka: Above the heads of the passengers

there is a chemical generator.

If we pull down any mask

which is connected to the chemical generator,

the generator will come on

and produce 100% oxygen

for approximately 12 or 15 minutes.

Narrator: If all goes well,

15 minutes of oxygen buys the pilots enough time

to descend to an altitude where the masks are no longer needed.

Woman: For us, it's important to know this shock,

when the masks are falling down,

and to react--to take it on

and to try to give the information to the passengers

to pull the masks down and use them.

Narrator: Rapid decompression emergencies are extremely rare,

affecting less than one in a million

commercial flights each year.

In June 1983,

Reeve Aleutian 8 became one of those rare flights.

Ten passengers are flying from cold bay, Alaska.

Wendy Kroon: We were headed to Seattle.

It was a beautiful day.

It was clear, no turbulence, highly unusual.

Highly unusual.

Narrator: In the cockpit,

captain James Gibson and his crew

have noticed something unusual as well--

not with the weather, but with their plane.

James Gibson: You hear that, gar?

Pilot: I do.

Not sure.

Gary Lintner: I noticed that the vibration

that I was feeling in my feet

and the vibration that was in the glass

was different,

and that's the first time I'd ever come across that,

and I thought, "This is a little different."

Gibson: Ah, hell.

Moose, have a look, would you?

Moose: Yeah, you bet.

Narrator: As Gibson and Gary Lintner

wait for moose Laurin to report back,

the vibrations become more pronounced.

Lintner: I distinctly remember looking down

and seeing my control yoke shaking.

And I turned to Jim and I said, "Geez, look at this."

And Jim and I are kind of looking at each other

across the cockpit, and finally he says...

Gibson: Screw this. Let's turn around.

Kroon: The engineer said,

"I want you to come back and check number four engine

and see if you can see anything."

And just as I looked out the window,

the engine went.

As the prop came off, I thought, "Oh, crap!

It's gonna kill me. It's gonna cut me in two."

But it flew forward and then it came back

and slapped the engine and then went underneath.

Narrator: The prop tears a hole in the bottom of the plane.

Dunn: Things would start to fly around.

Anything that wasn't battened down

would be probably heading towards the hole in the fuselage

and disappearing very quickly.

Laurin: I gotta go!

Kroon: I grabbed a hold of the cargo net

and looked down at my foot

and, ah, my heart dropped to my feet.

Fear just ran through me.

I'm looking straight down at my foot

over a hole straight down to the ocean.

I can actually, to this day, see the ocean, that view--

the color, the white caps.

Narrator: The hole is more than a foot and a half wide.

Kroon: That scared the crap out of me.

Narrator: The gash in the fuselage

has caused an explosive decompression.

Lintner: Then of course the cockpit gets all foggy

and there's almost no sound.

Your eardrums are popped.

Gibson: Cabin pressure's dropping!

Kroon: So when you try to breathe,

you end up getting light-headed and you can actually pass out.

Lintner: It's a little disconcerting

because of the fog and it's quiet.

You think, "Geez, am I dead or not?"

Dunn: Depending on what altitude you're at,

and depending on how explosive the decompression is,

you may have slightly longer than at other times,

but you will eventually die from lack of oxygen.

Narrator: Junior flight attendant Victoria Fredenhagen

springs into action.

Victoria Fredenhagen: After the explosions,

I wasn't sure what had happened,

but I got up and got the oxygen walk-around bottle,

put that on.

Lintner: Jim and I got our masks on,

and within seconds,

moose came through the cockpit door and said,

"Holy crap. We just lost number four propeller."

Narrator: The rupture in the fuselage

has damaged critical flight controls.

The crew needs to descend to a lower altitude

where there's more oxygen.

But the yoke is slow to respond.

Lintner: It felt like the yoke was in concrete.

It just felt solid as a concrete block.

Damn it!

Gibson: Calm down. Just a second!

Lintner: Jim saw that the autopilot disconnect lights

were on,

and he reached over and turned the autopilot back on again.

And I personally thought

that was probably one of the smartest things

that anybody ever did in the history of aviation.

Narrator: The autopilot can do what the pilots could not--

Gibson: Wings level. Narrator: Steer the plane.

Gibson: Descending to 10,000.

Narrator: It's a struggle,

but they finally get their Electra L-188

down to 10,000 feet.

Gibson: Okay. Stable.

Lintner: Reeve 8, holding at 10,000 feet.

Over.

Gibson: Thank god.

Narrator: The passengers are no longer in danger of hypoxia.

Gibson: It's now safe to remove your masks.

Kroon: There was no real emergency

'cause we could sense that everything was good.

Fredenhagen: Everybody's fine back here!

Well, there's of course

adrenaline running at that point.

It just felt...it felt good.

I think it was just surreal because we were okay.

Narrator: Reeve Aleutian 8 makes it to safety.

The close call is a good example

of the dual role that all cabin crews play.

Dunn: When you become a flight attendant,

you perform a balancing act every time you go to work

because the passengers look at you as a service provider,

which is what you are,

and you're supposed to be gracious and kind and helpful.

And yet lurking in the background

is always the fact that something might happen

and you may have to introduce your safety skills.

Narrator: At the Czech airlines training center...

Chlupac: Now you'll practice the most complicated case--

firefighting during the in-flight service.

Narrator: The team of young flight attendants

is ready to test what may be

the most crucial safety skill of all:

Fighting fire.

Dunn: Fire is very, very frightening on an airplane

'cause there's nowhere to go.

In a house, if you have a house fire, you can go outside

and you can get away from the fire.

You can't do that on an airplane.

Narrator: And you can't call the fire department.

The cabin crew must respond in seconds,

or face an unstoppable inferno.

On board the A320 simulator...

Chlupac: So, service is in progress...

We have a wonderful meal today.

Narrator: Meal service training

is about to get a lot more exciting,

thanks to an automated smoke generator.

Kubelka: We can simulate an in-flight fire

using smoke in the cabin.

We can choose the place--

for example, inside a lavatory, inside the galley,

under the seat, or in the overhead compartment.

Narrator: As wisps of smoke start to appear in the cabin...

Man: Fire! Fire!

Chlupac: Move the trolley away.

Narrator: The crew springs into action,

clearing the aisle and grabbing the protective

smoke hood and fire extinguisher that are stored on all A320s.

Chlupac: Perfect.

Kubelka: It's very important to start a cooperation

between cabin attendants and flight crew members.

So let's say that the first cabin attendant

will start firefighting procedures.

The second cabin attendant will call the flight crew members.

Woman: Captain, there is a fire in the overhead bin.

We started the firefighting.

Kubelka: And the other cabin attendants

will take care about passengers.

Woman: Come with me and go in the back, please.

Chlupac: Improvised filters.

Dunn: You can get them to breathe through something

so that you're filtering some of the smoke

and the toxic particles out.

Chlupac: Was it extinguished?

Okay. Right.

Kubelka: The experience inside is very, very realistic.

Man: It's quite heavy,

and it's very difficult to orient in the smoke in the cabin

and see the people around and try to extinguish the fire.

Narrator: If putting out a simulated fire

in a simulated plane is difficult,

imagine facing the real thing at 30,000 feet.

June 1983.

All is not well aboard Air Canada flight 797.

Dunn: The Air Canada DC-9 was a watershed accident.

Narrator: 41 passengers are beginning to suffocate.

Dunn: The aircraft was at cruise altitude,

and there was smoke discovered

coming from one of the rear washrooms.

Narrator: The smoke is getting thicker,

but the crew can't find the source.

Raymond Chalifoux: Incredibly harsh smoke

that was really irritating your throat.

You had to take really, really small, small breaths.

Otherwise you would choke.

Connie kirsch: I was crying and scared.

I wasn't hysterical.

The gentleman sitting next to me

explained to me that if I would not cry

and if I could, you know, conserve my...

Not breathe so fast

that it would conserve the oxygen, would help us,

and not to worry, that the flight attendants,

they really know how to handle these sort of situations.

Narrator: The crew may lack

the more advanced fire training of today's crews,

but the flight 797 attendants know to hand out wet towels

to help filter the smoke.

Dunn: There is no ventilation, or very little ventilation,

and you can't open a window or a door to let the smoke out.

Narrator: In the cockpit,

the pilots have managed to reroute the flight

and are preparing for an emergency landing in Cincinnati.

Pilot: Approach, Air Canada 797.

Flight attendant: Seat belts.

We're going to make an emergency landing.

Narrator: In 1983,

it's not standard procedure to instruct passengers

how to open the emergency doors,

but in this case,

the flight attendants take the initiative.

Flight attendant: ...on the ground,

get as far away from the plane as possible.

Controller: You are clear to land.

Dunn: From the time that the smoke was discovered

until the aircraft touched down in Cincinnati,

I believe, was 17 minutes, which was pretty remarkable

when you consider that they had to find an airport to land in.

Chalifoux: When we touched the ground,

I assumed that we're safe now.

Now let's get out of this airplane.

Narrator: But dense smoke is filling the cabin.

Getting off the aircraft suddenly seems more difficult

than anyone could have imagined.

Kirsch: I got up out of my seat,

and I remember putting my hands up on someone's back,

and it was like waiting in a line.

And I knew that was one line I didn't want to wait very long.

Narrator: Flight attendant Sergio Benetti

swings open a cabin door

of the smoke filled Air Canada dc-9.

Sergio Benetti: All right, give me your hand and come out!

Narrator: He helps gasping passengers escape.

Benetti: Go! Go! Go!

Narrator: Passengers struggle to find their way out.

Even with the doors open, the exits are all but invisible.

The smoke is too thick.

Kirsch: I saw a light,

and it was the door that had opened.

Someone had opened the door.

I realized what it was. I ran to the door,

and I just put my face out so I could breathe.

Narrator: Passengers who have found the exits

slide off the wing and stumble to safety.

On the ground,

flight attendants direct passengers out of harm's way.

Flight attendant: Off the wing!

Get off the wing!

Narrator: Fire rescue vehicles surround the plane.

Before everyone can get off...

The entire cabin ignites.

Dunn: Something called flashover occurred,

which is what happens when the fire builds up

and then the oxygen comes in from the outside.

Narrator: Captain Donald Cameron and first officer Claude Ouimet

make it off.

Claude Ouimet: We knew there were people in the airplane,

unfortunately at that point.

That was...that was finished.

Narrator: The cabin fire breaks through the top of the fuselage.

Black smoke can be seen for miles.

Flight attendant Laura Kamaya begins to count.

Chalifoux: I will remember these words forever.

She told us to line up so that she could count the survivors.

If there were survivors, obviously there were dead.

Kamaya: 18, 19, 20, 21, 22.

Dunn: There were 46 people on board,

including the crew, and 23 people

didn't make it out.

Donald Cameron: It was just a shame

we didn't get everybody off.

It still bothers me.

Dunn: When the fire department and the investigators

went into the aircraft afterwards,

they found passengers on their hands and knees

aft of the over-wing exits, facing aft.

So clearly they had crawled back there looking for exits

and didn't find them--

a] because they probably didn't know where they were,

and in those days, they weren't marked well.

You need to have a rough idea

of how many feet it is to your nearest exit

and to an alternate exit

and how you're gonna get there if the cabin's full of smoke.

So you just... You just need to be aware.

Narrator: The tragedy of Air Canada flight 797

leads to significant safety improvements

in the airline industry.

Dunn: We got floor-level lighting.

We got automatic fire extinguishers

in the washrooms.

We got huge improvements

in flight attendant training in firefighting.

Narrator: The cabin crew's impromptu decision

to show passengers how to open the over-wing exits

is adopted as a routine safety measure.

Dunn: It was a huge accident for us

with respect to improvements in the industry,

and we've saved lives because of it.

Narrator: Better fire training means that today's

flight attendants get to actually feel the heat.

Kubelka: We need to train cabin attendants

how to fight a real fire.

That's why the firefighting simulator

is important for the training.

Narrator: The firefighting trainer doesn't move.

It's made of solid steel and is completely fire-proof.

Chlupac: Welcome.

Hello.

Narrator: It can simulate three types of onboard fires:

A galley fire;

overhead compartment fire;

and fire from below the floor--

one that might originate in the cargo hold.

Chlupac: Put your smoke hood on, please.

Narrator: For some trainees, it's the first time they've

had to fight a cabin fire while wearing restrictive gear.

Kubelka: For new employees, it's very important to realize

that the in-flight fire,

it's a very difficult situation.

Chlupac: Here you have the extinguisher.

Narrator: The drill is carried out

with a water-filled extinguisher.

Chlupac: Very short bursts and close it.

Narrator: On an actual flight,

they'd be using even more effective

halon gas extinguishers.

Chlupac: Short bursts and close it.

Check once more, please.

That's it. Don't be afraid. You can be closer. Right.

Good. Good experience.

You can remove the hood.

Narrator: It's the kind of training Barbara Dunn

wishes she'd had...

Chlupac: Next one, please.

Narrator: When she began her career as a flight attendant.

Dunn: When I was hired in 1971, we had no simulators at all.

Our firefighting training

consisted of firing off a water extinguisher into a garbage can,

and that was it.

Chlupac: Don't be afraid. Get closer.

Dunn: So it's changed dramatically.

The training process is comprehensive now.

Chlupac: Okay. That's all.

- Give it to me. - Woman: I can breathe.

Chlupac: Good. Next one, please.

Narrator: Each flight attendant

will face the flames before moving on ...

To the most physically demanding drill of all...

Water survival training.

Kubelka: We need to train all cabin attendants

as well as flight crew members what to do in case of ditching.

Ditching means landing on the water.

Narrator: More than two-thirds of the earth's surface

is covered in water.

When a plane goes down at sea,

passengers face an incredibly challenging ordeal.

Those lucky enough to survive the impact

will then have to survive in the open sea.

Knowing how to use a life vest could make all the difference.

Dunn: You don't want to inflate your vest

until after you've left the aircraft.

We don't want the aircraft filling up with water

and you having your life jacket on,

floating at the top.

You're not gonna be able to dive down with a life jacket on.

So you're really much better off to wait until you get outside

and then pull your inflation toggles.

Man: Ladies and gentlemen,

welcome to water survival training.

Narrator: The training begins with a quick lesson

on how to safely jump into the water from a ditched plane.

Man: The position is like this.

Narrator: That's important. An injured flight attendant

can't be much help to passengers.

Man: And the purpose of this position

is protecting your important parts of your body and my head

against sharp objects in the water.

Is it clear?

Let's go.

Now we have to keep the energy-saving position.

Cross your arms and legs,

and bend.

Narrator: Ocean water temperatures can be frigid--

as low as 50 degrees across much of the Atlantic.

Flight attendants learn to preserve body heat

to ward off hypothermia.

Man: And stay in such position as long as necessary.

Narrator: All long-haul flights over water

are equipped with life rafts.

Some, like this one, are slide rafts--

evacuation slides that convert to a raft.

Man: Please just now, we will board the slide raft.

Narrator: They carry up to 70 people,

but they are next to useless

if you don't know how to get in quickly and safely.

Man: Use all of the red loops.

Narrator: In order to be seaworthy,

the raft needs sturdy side walls

that rise three feet above the surface.

Anyone trying to board from the water

must negotiate a flimsy fabric ladder.

Dunn: You have to be in good shape

to get into a slide raft, or very motivated.

Narrator: Even with help from those already on board,

it's a physically demanding challenge--

all the more reason to put flight attendants through it

on a regular basis.

Kubelka: New employees, they usually say to me

that the practical training is much more difficult for them

than they expected.

Narrator: Though water ditchings are rare,

perhaps the most famous aviation emergency of all time

ended with passengers fearing for their lives

on the open water.

January 2009.

U.S.

Airways flight 1549 departs New York's La Guardia airport.

There are 150 passengers on board

bound for Charlotte, North Carolina.

Dunn: The aircraft took off uneventfully,

and very shortly after takeoff

they lost all engines as a result of birds.

Jeff Skiles: I caught something out of the corner of my eye,

and slightly to our right but still ahead of us

was a line of... - Pilot: Birds.

Skiles: And they were very, very close--

too close for us to maneuver around.

Whoa!

And that fast, we were just on top of them.

Clay Presley: Then all of a sudden,

there was this gigantic boom.

It seemed like it stopped in mid-air,

like you hit a brick wall.

Then all of a sudden, somebody said,

"The left engine's on fire!"

- Skiles: Uh-oh. - Pilot: We got one roll.

Both of them rolling back.

Skiles: Both engines rolled back to idle.

Dunn: There was very little time to warn the cabin.

There was no time, actually.

The captain and the first officer

were busy trying to control the airplane.

They were trying to figure out where they were going to land.

Skiles: Thrust levers.

Narrator: After quickly assessing the situation,

Captain Sully Sullenberger and first Officer Jeffrey Skiles

realize that, without engine power,

they're not going to make it to any nearby airport.

Sully Sullenberger: We're gonna be in the Hudson.

Skiles: I thought to myself, "Great."

The Hudson River was our best opportunity.

It was really the only thing in sight

where we could land this airplane.

Sullenberger: Let's go.

Put the flaps out.

Brace for impact.

Presley: What does he mean, "Brace for impact"?

I had no idea about how to brace for impact.

Dunn: You need to be aware of your brace position.

In many, many accidents,

the cabin crew are trying desperately

to get the passengers into the brace position,

but because the passengers

haven't read the safety features card,

they don't know what that means.

Flight attendant: Get your heads down

and stay down!

Narrator: Proper brace position

is knees together, feet flat on the floor,

body bent as far forward as possible

with arms wrapped under the legs

or braced against the seat in front of you.

Dunn: Your body's going to be thrown forward.

So if you can get yourself into that position beforehand,

the amount of movement back and forth

is going to be reduced,

and the level of injury will be less.

Narrator: In the cabin,

the passengers prepare for the inevitable.

Presley: All the passengers

really started kind of pulling together,

and somebody yelled out as we were going down...

Man: Be ready at the doors.

Presley: The folks at the door says, "We're ready."

Narrator: Clay Presley does what all passengers should.

He stays calm and tries to think ahead.

Presley: So I started thinking about, if we're gonna crash,

I know I need to figure out where the exit rows are.

If the water comes in, you need to be able to hold your breath

long enough to get to those four or five rows

and get the doors open if you can.

Narrator: But before anyone can escape,

they must first survive a high-speed impact...

Sullenberger: We're going to brace.

Narrator: Into freezing cold water.

Skiles: It looked like the airplane

was going right for the bottom of the Hudson River.

All we saw was water cascading over the windshield.

Presley: It was like a tornado.

Pieces of the plane were being torn apart.

Some people were thrown around pretty good.

Skiles: Then the airplane popped up...

And it was just sort of gently rocking in the waves.

Narrator: In an instant,

the $75 million plane has become an unlikely boat

floating down the Hudson River.

It's now filling with freezing water.

Presley: That water was cold.

It was very cold, and so your feet are freezing.

Dunn: You land in the Hudson in the middle of the winter,

the water is going to be very cold

and you're gonna suffer from hypothermia very quickly.

Their feet and their hands will get numb.

They're going to be useless.

Narrator: Passengers nearest the exits open the doors.

Presley: I just jumped up very quickly

and started making my way to the emergency door.

And so I worked my way out onto the wing,

just a few steps to start with.

Dunn: Fortunately, they had slide rafts

rather than just slides, so what they were able to do

was evacuate passengers into the slide rafts.

Narrator: At the back of the plane,

water continues pouring in.

Flight attendants direct passengers forward.

Flight attendant: Go over the seats if you have to.

Skiles: We were actually in the water up to our knees,

and it was just absolutely freezing cold.

Every part of your body that was in that water

just ached to the bone.

Come forward!

Is there anybody here?

We were very confident there was nobody left on the airplane.

Narrator: Since the plane came down near midtown manhattan,

it's not long before rescuers are on the scene.

Presley: I saw the first ferry,

and I could see the wheelhouse.

I felt like, "okay, we're really gonna be okay."

There was a sigh of relief.

Narrator: In the end, all 150 passengers

and the entire crew of flight 1549

are brought to safety--

another example of how serious aviation accidents

often end well.

Dunn: Absolutely, accidents are survivable.

The next time a passenger gets on an airplane,

I want them to be aware of their surroundings.

I want them to know where they're sitting,

how they're gonna get to an exit if they have to.

You also need to do your seat belt up so tight

that it's uncomfortable because that's the only thing

that's gonna keep you in your seat

and keep you restrained properly.

Narrator: Seats at the front of the plane

are often close to the point of impact

when a plane hits the ground, leading many experts to believe

the safest seat during an accident

is one near the back of the plane.

Dunn: Obviously sitting near an exit is a good idea,

but that exit may not be usable in this particular scenario.

So I would say, rather than choosing

where you're going to sit,

be aware of where you are sitting.

Narrator: For flight crews and passengers alike,

there's one more important statistic.

The odds of dying in a plane crash

are incredibly small--

less than one in ten million.

That means that this Czech airlines flight crew,

and every other crew around the world,

will almost certainly never need to draw

on their well-honed safety skills.

But if disaster does strike,

passengers can rest easy

knowing their cabin crew has the skill to get them out alive.

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