Effects of Cabin Crew Location and Passenger Motivation on Aircraft Evacuations Mark H. George Cynthia L. Corbett

Research Questions l Which cabin crewmember locations and procedures produce the fastest passenger evacuations through a Type III exit? l Can inefficient passenger behaviors be mitigated by the activities of a crewmember?

Factors Directing the Research Questions Factors Directing the Research Questions Exits in the middle of the cabin tend to be more usable in accidents Crewmembers receive training in the safe operation of Type III Exits Crewmembers are often not seated in the Type III exit area, even if it is their primary exit Varying airline procedures Variable passenger behavior reported in evacuations

Crewmember Locations One row forward of exit (condition A) Back of cabin - actively moving through queue of passengers (condition B) Back of cabin - performing evacuation from behind the queue of passengers (condition C) No crewmember participation (condition D)

Subject Motivation l Group 1 - No monetary incentive l Group 2 - $ bonus paid to the first 25% of subjects to get out of the simulator (averaged across 5 trials)

Hypotheses l A crewmember in the exit area would provide the fastest evacuation rates l In high motivation groups, a crewmember at the exit would be able to sort out inefficient subject behaviors

Methods Subjects –12 groups of 50 (actual: ) – years old –Male/female ratio roughly equal –Good physical condition –Unremarkable personality profiles (NEO Personality Inventory)

Methods Design –2 (motivation) x 3 (location) repeated measures –Counterbalanced across “location” variable –6 trial orders

Trial Orders Trial Trial Trial Trial Trial Group 1 D A B C D 2 D A C B D 3 D B A C D 4 D B C A D 5 D C A B D 6 D C B A D

Methods l Apparatus –Narrow-body aircraft simulator –Triple seat assemblies –Single Type III exit –F/A jumpseat ~ 25 feet aft of exit centerline –Trials started by buzzer –Trials recorded on videotape with time code superimposed on tape

Cabin Crewmember ~ 35 years old Physically fit Aurally compelling Procedurally competent Highly motivated

Results l Based on individual exit negotiation times, defined as: the interval of time between when a subject fully cleared the Type III exit until the next subject fully cleared the exit

Crewmember Impedance l Time taken for the crewmember to reach the exit area (condition B): –Non-incentive trials: seconds –Incentive trials: seconds

Conclusions l Crewmember one row forward of the exit provides the fastest evacuation l Did not get significantly different evacuation rates with monetary incentives l Different crewmember/behaviors may produce different results l Repeated-measures designs may be unsuitable for evacuation experiments