“Ladies and gentlemen from the desk of Grey Matter, this is your author speaking…” Welcome to the third in a four-part series on passenger announcements (PAs) from the flight deck.
In the previous installments of this series we’ve talked about the what, when, and why of PAs, in routine situations. This month, we’re discussing PAs through the lens of non-normal events that arise during the course of a flight.
Let’s start with what constitutes a non-routine or abnormal situation, which isany unplanned or unexpected event occurring during the course of a flight (on the ground or in the air), requiring the flight crew’s attention and possibly some form of action.
These events periodically require a passenger announcement to explain the situation, but not always. Non-routine or abnormal events that typically do require a PA include things like enroute holding, go-arounds, and tow-in gates at certain airports—events that passengers experience with potential impact to their departure or arrival plans, and/or require some form of compliance from them (e.g. remaining seated) until the incident has been resolved. Non-routine events that pilots deal with that do not often require an explanation to passengers include maintenance or deferral procedures for certain aircraft-system failures or malfunctions, wildlife strikes, unique operational considerations or adjustments, as well as other safety and security issues that usually do not warrant notifying passengers.
PAs for this brand of operational inconvenience should be like all other messages to the passengers—quick, timely, succinct, and reasonably truthful, and devoid of technical terms and jargon. Really, just say what the situation means in terms of the passengers’ experience:
“Folks from the flight deck, Captain Smith here. Newark has just gone into a holding program due to high winds and heavy rain on the airfield. We’ve been told to expect about 30-minutes of holding before continuing on in for landing. Without any further changes to the plan, we should be on the ground in about 45 minutes, and into the gate about 10-minutes later. This is likely to make us about 30 minutes late arriving overall. We know many of you have connections and the company will be monitoring all delayed flights to assist you as best as possible once we are on the ground. We appreciate your patience and understanding, and will get you to Newark and on your way as safely and quickly as possible.”
In-flight emergencies on the other hand are just that—emergencies and basically require an explanation from the flight deck at some point. By “at some point,” we mean by following the emergency mantra: aviate, navigate, communicate. Always fly the plane first, manage the emergency, then as you stabilize the situation, ensure you are flying where you need to go whether back to the departure airport, onward to the destination, or to a suitable alternate airport; and finally letting everyone know what’s going on as time and priority allow. Communicate with ATC, dispatch, cabin crew, and then the passengers, generally in this order.
In a calm, cool, and collected voice:
“Ladies and gentlemen from the flight deck, our right engine has failed, and while this is an emergency condition, we are still flying safely; however, we will be returning to Denver to land and will be on the ground shortly, and with emergency vehicles in position to assist us. Please follow all instructions from the cabin crew and we will talk to you again once we have landed. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your cooperation.”
Unlike abnormal events, because of the flight alternating nature of emergencies, it’s usually not possible nor advisable to attempt to hide it from passengers. In many cases, they can see, smell, or feel the emergency even if they don’t know what the problem is. Solve the problem, get everyone to safety, and then talk to them again – from outside the flight deck door if possible.
We mentioned earlier here and in this series that there is a “reasonably truthful” component to PAs. As the pilot, you do not have to nor need to disclose everything to the passengers in order to be truthful and accurate. In fact, in many situations it’s better that you don’t fully disclose everything going on. Rather, you can provide the meaningful aspect (from the passengers’ perspective) on what emergency or abnormal situation is occurring without creating more apprehension nor instilling more concern or fear.
In highly unusual onboard situations, less is often more and the need to communicate the basics of a situation and what it means for the passengers is usually better than spilling your guts and creating panic. Events such as a pilot incapacitation, security events (fights/onboard confrontations or other threats to the flight), a low-fuel situation or loss of a redundant aircraft system create concerns for the flight crew, but really don’t change anything for the passengers, unless it is determined that a diversion is necessary in order to adequately and safely manage the problem.
I had an unusual situation several years ago. About ten minutes prior to push off the gate, a member of the cabin crew accused the captain with whom I was working of being drunk on duty. Although the captain had not been drinking and was ultimately cleared by the company’s substance-abuse response team and allowed to continue operating, it did result in a departure delay. What do you say in this very non-routine situation?
While the captain was calmly addressing the accusation with the lead flight attendant and the accusing member of the crew, the local chief pilot’s office, plus representatives from the pilots’ union, it fell to me to make a PA regarding the delay, that went something like this:
“Ladies and gentlemen from the flight deck, a company policy issue has surfaced that requires our immediate attention. Unfortunately, this will result in a departure delay as we work with company officials to properly resolve the issue. We will update you as soon as we reach a resolution and will get you on your way as quickly as possible. We appreciate your understanding and patience.”
I didn’t lie, but I definitely didn’t create a potentially unstable situation in the cabin by telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me Icarus. The passengers were told what they needed to be told—there is a delay, we’re working to fix the problem, we’ll keep you informed and get you to your destination as soon as possible. If you’re new to making PAs and want a touchstone for this process, maybe this can help.
Catch up with us in the March issue for more. We will build from here and wrap up our series on PAs by sharing some of our favorite announcements and stories.
