AIRLINE RESPONSIBLE FOR PASSENGER'S DEATH

Expert witness Diana Fairechild, who testified in this landmark aviation case (U.S. Supreme Court, 021348) where an asthmatic passenger died in flight, believes the passenger lost his life because the flight attendants acted incompetently.

"The flight attendants were frazzled from overwork and the court found the airline responsible for the flight attendants' conduct," said Fairechild.

Prior to takeoff, the widow of the passenger had repeatedly asked the flight attendants to change her asthmatic husband's seat. It was a smoking flight. (U.S. passengers beware: smoking is still permitted on some foreign airlines.)

The couple was three rows in front of the smoking section, which was not separated by a partition, and the flight attendants ignored her pleas.

After the meal, engulfed in second-hand smoke, the husband collapsed. Flight attendants then couldn't get the medical oxygen working, and the captain did not improve the air quality by lowering the cabin altitude or illuminating the no-smoking sign. Tragically, the passenger died in flight.

"Today, in tandem with the flight attendants' diminishing standard of living (lower wages, reduced health care, possibly no pensions) against which they are currently picketing, there is an eroding standard of care that now puts passengers at risk," warns Fairechild.

This diminishing standard of care has resulted in a flurry of lawsuits on which Fairechild has been asked for her opinions.

"Passengers are now routinely neglected," Fairechild believes, "because airline cost-cutting policies, such as short staffing and long duty days for crew, creates frazzled flight attendants."

"Today's flight attendants," she adds, "can work 16-hour shifts, unheard of in other industries, in airplane cabins that are low in oxygen. Add to this a daily dose of jet lag and chronic sleep deprivation."

A number of flight attendants have confided to Fairechild that they suffer from what they're calling "jetzheimer," chronic forgetfulness and confusion.

Fairechild advises passengers, "When you fly, the bottom line is this: Passengers are much more on their own than they used to be and, therefore, they need to stay better informed so they can take care of themselves."

Fairechild, who flew 10 million miles as an international flight attendant, has created a web site, Flyana.com, to inform passengers on how to protect themselves in this new flying environment. Her newest book, 'Strategies for the Wise Passenger,' offers information on how to handle just about every medical emergency in the sky.

Fairechild is president of the nonprofit passenger advocacy group, the Fair Air Association. She believes it is in the passengers' best interest that flight attendants are treated equitably by the airlines with decent wages, health benefits and retirement.

Fairechild advises airline management to "walk a mile in a flight attendant's shoes, remembering to choose shoes a half size larger than normal because feet swell at high altitudes."

RELATED PAGES

Oxygen Deprivation
Emergency Oxygen
Bankruptcies
Mergers
Poor Air
Crew Fatigue
Fast Facts
Bill of Rights

FROM READERS

"You make a good point about the flight attendant in the Olympic case being frazzled from overwork. It was certainly one of the factors that led to a finding by the judge that she consciously disregarded the safety of her passengers. We will no doubt see more callousness unless working conditions for flight attendants improve. This is but one reason why your perspective was so important to an understanding of the evidence: I take great pride in having had the foresight and good judgment to identify you as an expert witness in the Olympic case. Your contribution cannot be overstated –you added so much." -Susie Injijian, Esq.

"Diana: Bless you a thousand times for being an advocate and pouring your heart and soul into a very worthy cause. Flying has become downright horrendous. There is a huge increase in fatigue, dizziness, headaches, nosebleeds and fainting, since we got out of bankruptcy and the pilots attended "fuel school." My health suffers with multiple hospitalizations. I am noticing at the end of a 14 hour day, my flying partners and I can't even string a coherent sentence together anymore from fatigue. I have been using the portable oxygen, writing up dirty filters (some so bad you can't see through them), informing the pax (many who are shocked and outraged), and interrogating pilots (which is like nailing jello to a wall)." -Laurie

"I am happy to have found your website while searching for information on the long term effects of flying. I am a flight attendant, working internationally out of Canada. I enjoy my job tremendously, but have definitely noticed an enormous change in the health of my body since I started flying, and it scares me as I am still quite young! I am trying to discover the reason behind the way that I feel physically unwell, as I have already pinpointed that it must be linked to my job."-Carol