I flew for seven years on both shorthaul and longhaul routes, on Tridents, TriStars (L10-11s) and Boeing 737s, 747s & 757s. In all that time, on all those aircraft, I never had anything even remotely approaching an emergency - but I was always prepared, just in case!

Following the birth of my daughter, I decided to stop flying and took a job in the BA Training Centre at Heathrow, instructing Flight & Cabin Crew in safety and emergency procedures. After eight years in that position, I acknowledge that whilst I am not an expert, I feel able to impart basic advice on safety issues in flying. I left BA in early 1999 and have since been pursuing a career as an independent training consultant.

I have written this not as a definitive paper on surviving aircraft accidents, but more as a set of guidelines to raise your level of awareness when flying, in the hope that in the unlikely event you should be confronted with an emergency situation, you will know how best to act to increase your chances of surviving.