Flight attendants perform cross-checking before takeoff and landing to ensure that emergency slides are armed and doors are disarmed for safe passenger disembarkation. It is part of safety procedures to ensure aircraft safety. Passengers should pay attention to safety announcements to know emergency procedures.
Many people who have flown have heard the cryptic announcement “flight attendants, please prepare for cross-checking” on the public announcement system. This is a procedure that is performed by flight attendants before a plane leaves the gate and again when the plane lands before the doors are opened so passengers can disembark. Flight attendants check that the doors have been “armed” with emergency slides at this time.
When an aircraft’s doors are armed, they are attached to inflatable slides that open and automatically inflate when the doors are opened, allowing people to quickly escape the aircraft. After an aircraft is first loaded with passengers, flight attendants close and arm all doors when prompted by the pilot as part of routine preparations for takeoff. During the cross-check, the flight attendants double-check that all doors are armed, reporting to the chief flight attendant.
In many areas, an aircraft may not push back from a gate or stairway until the doors have been armed, in the event of a tarmac emergency requiring evacuation. Emergency slides can also be used as flotation devices, in case a plane crashes into water and the passengers survive the crash. Cross-checking is part of a series of procedures designed to ensure that an aircraft is safe to fly.
Once a plane lands, the doors must be disarmed before passengers can disembark, otherwise the chutes will inflate as the doors open. Once the aircraft has come to a complete stop, the pilot asks the flight crew to disarm the doors and check them to make sure they have indeed been disarmed so that they can be opened safely, allowing passengers to exit the aircraft. plane and continue on their way.
Incidentally, while safety announcements on planes can be boring, it’s a good idea for passengers to listen to them, because each airline’s plane layout is slightly different. Even if a person has flown on a particular type of aircraft before, he may not be familiar with the safety procedures for the aircraft he is actually on. By paying attention to the safety lesson, passengers can ensure they know what to do during an emergency.
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