A flight attendant in the Philippines has explained why the crew can often be seen sitting on their hands during takeoff and landing.
Henny Lim, a flight attendant for Cebu Pacific airlines, shared the reason for the unusual sitting position in a post on TikTok.
Despite how it may look, flight attendants aren't sitting on their hands to try and warm them up amid the cold plane air conditioning.
It's entirely possible that you've spent every plane journey far too focused on finding a good series to watch to pay attention to how the flight attendants are sitting, but the more attentive flyers of you may be familiar with the position Lim adopts in her video.
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In the clip, the flight attendant presented the question: "Why do cabin crew sit on their hands while in their jumpseats?"
Jumpseats are the seats that crew members can settle in while they are not moving about the cabin during takeoff and landing.
After demonstrating the position with her hands under her thighs, Lim explained the position is called the 'bracing position'.
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Unlike the head-down brace position may of us might be familiar with from the flight safety cards, Lim explained that this position involves 'fastening seatbelt securely, sit upright, sit on hands, palms up, thumbs tuck[ed] and arms loose'.
The position also features feet 'flat on the floor', with the aim of the position to 'keep the body in a rigid pose'.
It doesn't sound like the most comfortable position to adopt during the sometimes shaky periods of takeoff and landing, but Lim said it's designed to protect the body in the event of 'any impact from an unplanned emergency'.
"This keeps body movement restricted so there's less chance of injury if there is an impact," Lim said.
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While in the position, crew members also take the time to go through the 'silent review', according to Lim.
The review includes 'being aware of emergency equipment in the location, door operation, commands given and any visual clues outside the aircraft', the attendant explained.
Being aware of all of these factors helps the crew prepare for emergency situations.
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After Lim revealed the reason crew members sit on their hands, TikTok users responded to say the information was interesting to know and thanked Lim for sharing her insights.
People couldn't ignore the reason behind the position though, with one writing: "Always preparing for a crash is scary."
Ideally there won't ever be an emergency that requires the position, but I suppose it's always better to be prepared!
Emily Brown