As safety professionals, we are asked to perform human miracles on a weekly basis… when someone gets hurt on the job, it is our role, and far too often our role alone, to somehow make sure that not only does the injured worker not “do that unsafe act again” but to also ensure that no one else commits said act. Often times this would be considered an absolute miracle if we could actually pull off such a feat. Case in point, this week’s video, filmed on August 3 after a commercial passenger jet crash landed hard in Dubai, showed passengers grabbing their personal belongings from the overhead compartments even as oxygen masks dropped down and smoke started to fill the cabin. Flight attendants were trying their darndest to get people out of the plane WHICH WAS ON FIRE and SMOKE can be seen filling the cabin. Not only does this behavior shock me to my core (although sadly it does NOT surprise me), just watch the behaviors of the passengers during the flight safety briefing on your next flight – and we wonder why this is the resulting behavior. Sometimes I do not think people realize the flight crew will NOT leave anyone behind so if the plane catches fire or explodes while they are getting everyone off, they go down with the proverbial ship. So stopping to grab your belongings is an unbelievably selfish act and could cost the life of the crew. You can hear the urgency in the crew’s voices as they attempt to get people to leave their belongings and exit the plane down the slide.