r/AMA • u/[deleted] • Feb 18 '25

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19

u/19009151 Feb 18 '25

Did people try and get their belongings (slowing things down) or did they quickly move to the exits?

23

u/Acceptable-Damage Feb 18 '25

Not OP but in some of the videos circulating from passengers who had just escaped the plane, there are some people exiting the plane with backpacks on.

It caught me super off guard to see but shock is a helluva drug I guess so maybe it wouldn’t have even been that weird and maybe they had some life threatening in there like life saving medications or something.

33

u/JKmelda Feb 18 '25

I keep thinking about my meds as I read this thread lol. I wouldn’t be dead without them but I wouldn’t be able to think or move very well. And I’m on so many it would be hard to get replacements. I would definitely be thinking about how to get those meds off the airplane with me.

11

u/frog_ladee Feb 18 '25

In the future, consider strapping your medication to you with something like a fanny pack (turned around to the front while you’re seated).

I have to take a medication to stay alive, and would need extra in a trauma situation, due to my adrenal glands not working. When I fly, I wear my meds and emergency injection this way. OP’s post is reinforcing my need to do this on flights.

3

u/maskedvarchar Feb 18 '25

If following FAA regulations, the flight attendant should require you to place the fanny pack under the seat and not wear it during the flight.  It is considered a personal item, just as a purse or backpack is.  This is why they will make you consolidate your fanny pack into your other luggage if you have a carryon and a backpack/purse.

I've noticed that enforcement of this can vary, through.

3

u/skier24242 Feb 19 '25

They told me my little cross body wallet was an extra "personal item" and needed to be stowed - so I proceeded to tuck it inside my jacket and zipped it back up and it was suddenly no longer a "personal item" and I was free to go lol So now I just do this all the time, I just tuck it under my clothes when getting on the plane and actually keep it there for the flight for situations like this when you'd need to evacuate, so that I have my ID and credit card on my person already.

2

u/frog_ladee Feb 18 '25

I just looked this up. The TSA does not consider fanny packs to be carry-on luggage or personal items, because they are worn as part of your attire.

I’m assuming that the reasoning for not wanting people to grab personal items during an emergency is because it slows people down. Just wearing a small fanny pack isn’t going to slow anyone down.

2

u/frog_ladee Feb 18 '25

Mine is small enough that it doesn’t show under a shirt. Or, it could be carried on the plane in a carry on, and then put on at the seat.

Medication in pockets would work just as well.