You Can't Call 911 at 35,000 Feet

People often view flight attendants as airborne waiters and waitresses. In reality, this is far from the truth. Flight attendants spend over a hundred hours learning, practicing, and being tested on safety and emergency procedures. In this day in age, serving peanuts is the last thing on the mind of a flight attendant. Flight attendants are constantly watching passengers for suspicious activity and mentally preparing for an emergency. They can resuscitate a cardiac arrest victim, evacuate a burning airliner in less then 90 seconds, and do everything in between.

Of course emergencies are extremely rare and most flight attendants will never ever have to use their emergency training. However, when things do go wrong flight attendants can, and do, make all the difference. We've all heard about Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, the pilot who heroically landed US Airways flight 1549 in the Hudson. As we all know, Sully did an incredible job. However, we rarely hear about the actions of the three flight attendants; Donna Dent, Doreen Welsh, and Sheila Dail. They were the ones who initiated the evacuation and evacuated all 150 passengers from that rapidly sinking plane. They were the ones who kept the passengers calm during that crisis situation. Had the three flight attendants not had their act together its highly likely that passengers would have panicked and been unable to evacuate in under 90 seconds.

Flight attendants can also find themselves on the front line of the war on terror at any moment as was the case with American Airlines flight 63. Flight attendant Hermis Moutardier found herself face to face with an Islamic terrorist, Richard Reid, the infamous shoe bomber, on December 22, 2001. She confronted Reid as she thought he was smoking but then it became vividly apparent to her that the situation was much more dire. Reid had a shoe in his lap with wires running out of it. Moutardier instantly jumped into action. She yelled for help and she attempted to grab the shoe from Reid. Cristina Jones, another flight attendant on board AA63, came running, and with the help of several passengers, the shoe bombers deadly plot was foiled. Had it not been for the quick actions of those flight attendants, a very different story likely would have unfolded on that flight.

There are dozens and dozens of cases where flight attendants have had to perform actions that go well beyond serving a can of Coke. They are the first responders in the air and their actions can make the difference between life and death for hundreds of people.