When United Express Flight 5925 collided with the King Air on the runway in Quincy IL, everyone survived the initial impact but the passengers didn’t know how to release their seatbelts to evacuate the aircraft. After this accident, the FAA made it mandatory to demo the seatbelt under 121.571 along with other safety features of the airplane.
In flight attending most flight attendants are aware of the blood rule, "If you dont get yourself out, you won’t survive." Yes, flight attendants sit in their jumpseats looking pretty but when the macaroni and cheese hits the fan, the flight attendant and his/her ABPs are the most important people in that cabin to remain alive for the other surviving passengers. In short, Get as many out as possible without endangering yourself. Sounds selfish. But true.
Over my vast amounts of flying and talking to passengers, one of the top items was "What do I do if my seatbelt fails to unbuckle? Will I be trapped?" The answer is pretty much yes. We can look at Eastern Airlines Flight 401 in the everglades back in the 70s. When the L1011 hit the water, flight attendants were found alive harnessed to their jumpseats and passengers were found alive strapped into their seats trapped. When the seats started to submerge, the passengers were going under with them. Same scenario in UsAir Flight 5050 and UsAir 481 that went into the drink in LGA. Passengers were drowning because their buckles wouldn’t move.
In a low speed, shallow angle accident, the chances of survival are at its highest. This is the type of accident we're most likely going to find our flight attendants, pilots, and passengers alive and the seat tracks most likely intact. This is good and what we hope for, but still if there is an immediate hazard to the passenger, how do we fix it so we get the passenger out of the cabin fighting a stubborn safety harness.
The idea for seatbelt cutters first came to me when I saw them on the bus ride to high school one day. Granted this was in a post 9/11 world where blades are not part of the friendly skies, i was met with a challenge.
Can we find a way to get a seatbelt cutter onboard an airplane without having the blade used to fight back against crew to take control of the airplane? Yes. The seatbelt cutters do not have exposed blades that could be used to hijack an airplane.
Next, Where would we put them?
Well as the flight attendant is the most important person in the cabin when the mac and cheese hits the fan, we want them to be as accessible as the flashlight. Just as the flashlight floats with the beam pointing up, we would make these cutters buoyant with reflective colors such as orange like a crew life vest.
The flight attendant could also use them for himself/herself if her/his harness was to ever fail.