Effects of Cabin Crew Location and Passenger Motivation on ...

Effects of Cabin Crew Location and Passenger Motivation on Aircraft Evacuations
Mark H. GeorgeCynthia L. Corbett
Research Questions
Which cabin crewmember locations and procedures produce the fastest passenger evacuations through a Type III exit?Can inefficient passenger behaviors be mitigated by the activities of a crewmember?
Factors Directing theResearch Questions
Exits in the middle of the cabin tend to be more usable in accidentsCrewmembers receive training in the safe operation of Type III ExitsCrewmembers are often not seated in the Type III exit area, even if it is their primary exitVarying airline proceduresVariable 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
Group 1 - No monetary incentiveGroup 2 - $ 50.00 bonus paid to the first 25% of subjects to get out of the simulator (averaged across 5 trials)
Hypotheses
A crewmember in the exit area would provide the fastest evacuation ratesIn high motivation groups, a crewmember at the exit would be able to sort out inefficient subject behaviors
Methods
Subjects12 groups of 50 (actual: 46 - 50)18 - 62 years oldMale/female ratio roughly equalGood physical conditionUnremarkable personality profiles (NEO Personality Inventory)
Methods
Design2 (motivation) x 3 (location) repeated measuresCounterbalanced across “location” variable6 trial orders
Trial Orders
Trial Trial Trial Trial Trial1 2 3 4 5Group1 D A B C D2 D A C B D3 D B A C D4 D B C A D5 D C A B D6 D C B A D
Methods
ApparatusNarrow-body aircraft simulatorTriple seat assembliesSingle Type III exitF/A jumpseat ~ 25 feet aft of exit centerlineTrials started by buzzerTrials recorded on videotape with time code superimposed on tape
Cabin Crewmember
~ 35 years oldPhysically fitAurally compellingProcedurally competentHighly motivated
Results
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
Time taken for the crewmember to reach the exit area (condition B):Non-incentive trials: 13.31 secondsIncentive trials: 25.60 seconds
Conclusions
Crewmember one row forward of the exit provides the fastest evacuationDid not get significantly different evacuation rates with monetary incentivesDifferent crewmember/behaviors may produce different resultsRepeated-measures designs may be unsuitable for evacuation experiments