Seat belts - are they really necessary?
 

<i>Forty-seven people were injured when an airliner was hit by severe turbulence as it neared the end of a flight from Manila to Tokyo.
Terrified passengers told how those without seatbelts fastened shot up and hit the ceiling of the plane.
At least six passengers on the Northwest Airline plane were seriously injured, officials say.</i>

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7900892.stm


I just hope our friend Wally was not on that flight, standing around and enjoying his glass of cheap wine....

High price to pay if you were one of the 6 seriously injured......

Except for bathroom trips mine is on from the time I sit down until the plane has come to a stop.
You never know when you might hit turbulence.

Me, too. I don't find them confining. Even when dozing on overnight flights, I leave it on.
The really sad thing is people holding babies in their laps, don't they realize they cannot hold on to the child in extreme turbulence?

That's right. These airlines should just hand everyone a diaper and they can pee and poop to their hearts content in it during those 10-15 hour flights!!!

BTW, has anyone ever flown on Air Force One? Do they make Obama strap down for the entire flight, or do they turn off the fasten seatbelt?

I bet Northwest Airlines is saying the fasten seatbelt sign had been on for 14 hours straight, so no one should have been out of their seat.

Mine's on all the time to except for bathroom breaks for exactly the reason stated in the article.

What's the big deal about keeping your seatbelt on when seated? It's common sense.

And it doesn't have to be straight-jacket tight either. Of course, if you're obese it may not be able to be loosened.

Seat belts can prevent you from being injured in severe turbulence; they can even prevent you from being killed. I don't understand why anyone would refuse to wear them when they are just sitting, anyway. I suppose those are the same people who refuse to wear seat belts in a car.

Yes, President Obama and everyone else on board Air Force One has to wear seat belts when the seat-belt sign is on. The pilot in command has the final say, not the President. Besides, a person has to be relatively stupid to refuse to ensure his own safety, and Obama is hardly stupid. However, I presume that in calm air, the sign is turned off.

Most flights follow the same exact route of the previous flight and the communicate with the pilots ahead and behind them.

They will warn each other of air pockets and in most cases that seems to work fine as the first report gives the pilots behind a sense of what's going on.

Unfortunately, on occasion, the first one that experienced the air pocket had no warning, as it appears happened in this case, and the idiots that refuse to keep on their seat belts when sitting down, regardless if the sign is on or off, will get hurt.

I never had a problem using a bathroom even if the seatbelt sign is on, unless it was obvious that there is heavy turbulence.

Apparently our friend Wally has a hard time understanding the simple safety concept.

What I'm trying to say (I wish you would stop saying it for me) is that if you are on a flight and the fasten seatbelt sign is on for six hours straight but there is no turbulence, one will probably feel that the pilot forgot to turn of the fasten seatbelt sign and get up and use the needed bathroom. Then the turbulence hits.

It still amazes me that foreign airlines usually turn the fasten seatbelt sign off as soon as the plane reaches 5,000 feet while U.S. airlines keep it on until the plane reaches cruising altitude and some just keep it on all of the time.

I like to try to use the toilet before the flight attendants get their carts out. I have no problem keeping my seatbelt fastened when I'm sitting.

If the seat-belt sign seems to be on excessively and there is no obvious turbulence, ask the crew to ask the captain why the light is still on.

If the captain doesn't have an explanation and the light stays on, remind the crew that if you wet your pants, you might feel inclined to sue for the emotional distress and physical hardship that results, and then the captain will have no choice but to explain what legitimate safety concerns motivated him to keep the light on.

Anthony

It is common practice for Continental to keep the fasten seat belt sign on to all flights to Europe (night flights), at least that is what I was told by the flight attendant.

"Airpockets"? You are showing your age. There are no holes in the atmosphere, just rising and descending air currents. If you fly into a column of descending air, you will descend (duh). I'm sure that it will come with time, but right now there is no technology to warn of clear air turbulence; radar needs to bounce off of something, and air does not fit the bill.

Actually CAT radar does exist as evidenced by a cursory search on The Google. However, the cost seems to be extremely high due to the high power required.