A flight deck of a Boeing 777.
Today, we at AirlineReporter share two different opinions on passenger evacuations of an airliner during an emergency. In recent incidents, we have seen passengers taking their bags and people reacting. This story shares the opinion that passengers should leave their bags and is written by Captain Owen Zupp, who is a published author, journalist, and experienced commercial pilot with over 17,000 hours of varied flight experience. His story was originally published on ThePilotsBlog.com and shared here, with permission. Be sure to read the opposite opinion and share your thoughts in the comments.
The smoke plume from British Airways Flight 2276 was still reaching skywards as people were posting dramatic images across the internet. Both distant shots and photos from passengers were blinking across the globe as fire crews tended to the stricken Boeing 777. It was a day and an event that aviation professionals dread, and yet it is also the very eventuality that endless hours of training have been directed towards.
Some of the damage on the British Airways 777-200ER at Vegas – Photo: NYCAviation
On the flight deck, a “rejected takeoff” is a maneuver that is part of every recurrent simulator session for pilots. Crews are tested for a range of scenarios, from engine failure and fire, to tire deflation and loss of visibility. Sometimes, the choice to reject the takeoff is obvious; in others, it is more obscure, such as when the failure occurs at low speed with its own directional control issues, or when the problem arises at high speed when the aircraft is beyond its decision speed, or ’˜V-1’, and the takeoff must continue.
Factored into this is the pilot’s own ’˜startle factor’ – those valuable seconds when shock initially drives adrenaline while the brain endeavors to rapidly process, diagnose, and act upon the abnormal situation it has been confronted with. And then those hundreds of practiced maneuvers prove valuable as muscle memory acts and the crew members work as one to quickly and methodically secure the aircraft as needed.
Too often, cabin crew are merely seen as waiters and waitresses in the sky, while in truth their primary objective is to provide safety in the cabin. And while emergencies are not taking place, they are able to serve tea and coffee. However, if one examines their ongoing training, it is always safety-focused, encompassing the procedures and equipment needed in an event such as Flight 2276. It is training that calls for a great many items to be recalled from memory, for should that dreaded day arrive there won’t be time to flick through the manuals. They must overcome their own fears and act decisively, particularly when smoke and fire are involved.
Over the years there have been notable losses of airframes and passengers when flames have engulfed an aircraft on the ground. The Air Canada DC-9 at Toronto and British Airtours Boeing 737 at Manchester are two that come to mind. Flames took hold with frightening speed, and tragic consequences for those inside who could not escape. Safety recommendations were made in the wake of these tragedies, based upon the lessons that were learned. Everything from procedures to the materials used in the cabin were examined with outcomes designed to make future air travel safer. Still, at the core of these events was the ability to efficiently evacuate passengers in a rapid manner.
The Las Vegas Airport during sunset – Photo: amboo who? | FlickrCC
Aircraft certification standards call for manufacturers to demonstrate the evacuation of passengers in 90 seconds, but a good deal must be remembered when this figure is quoted. The trials are conducted in a controlled environment with both crew and ’˜passengers’ primed for the evacuation. The exercise does prove that such a flow of passengers is possible, but on the day of a real emergency a range of variables will undoubtedly come into play. That is why some of the images emerging from the evacuation of British Airways Flight 2276 are both dramatic and disturbing.
As one would expect, the emergency slides appear to be deployed with the exception of the left side slides, forward of and ’˜over’ the wing ’“ this is not by chance. The cabin crew’s first task before deploying a slide, or using any exit, is to check that it is safe to do so. If it is not safe they will not evacuate passengers into flames and fire but stand at the exit and declare it unusable, redirecting passengers to a viable exit. The photos of the Boeing 777’s burnt out left wing root would suggest that the cabin crew’s training and actions definitely proved beneficial in this instance.
However, some of the images of passengers moving clear of the aircraft are less satisfying ’“ they are carrying luggage. In the event of an evacuation, the speed of the passenger flow is of the essence. A large number of passengers need to file down relatively narrow aisles to the exits and jump down the pre-inflated slides. And let’s not forget that this Boeing 777 appeared to have two exits blocked out of action.
A new GE90 engine, like the one involved in this incident
Critical medications and passports can be physically kept on one’s person, but the carriage of any hand luggage compromises the entire evacuation process. There is the delay involved as passengers retrieve their luggage, the potential for aisles to be blocked, the chance for luggage to pile up at the funnel approaching the exit, and the risk of the luggage puncturing the slide or injuring passengers on the way down. On so many levels, this is a selfish act in a situation where seconds can mean lives. And it is not as if they have not been told.
On every flight the safety briefing highlights this point among others, yet time and time again, passengers speak over the briefing or blatantly ignore its contents. At times it’s as if some frequent flyers use the opportunity to ignore the safety briefing to advertise how frequently they fly in some misguided search for status. It is too late to ask for a repeat performance when flames lick the fuselage. Meanwhile, the pilots who fly every sector will undertake a safety briefing and cabin crew members will conduct their silent review prior to every take-off. They are the true frequent flyers and they realize the importance of preparation in an emergency.
As with any incident in aviation, there will be a great deal to be learned in the wake of the British Airways flight’s successful evacuation of its passengers. Hopefully one outcome will be to publicly highlight the futility of taking bags from an aircraft during an evacuation and the potential tragedy that such an act can cause. The photos of BA Flight 2276 highlight the drama and the survival, but they also show the reality of an emergency situation. And when we look closer at those passengers emerging from the smoke with their bags in their hands, we can also clearly see that sometimes the devil can be in the details.
What do you think? Read the other opinion and then share your feelings in the comments!
I’ve never been in a situation like that, so I don’t know how I would react. I won’t lie, though, and I confess I’d feel tempted to take at least my laptop.
Anyway, one thing I wonder is: provided the bags are not destroyed, how long would it take to get them back? It wouldn’t be a problem to wait a few hours (maybe even a couple of days), but if it might take months while the investigation is being done, or some other bureaucracy, the temptation to take the bag increases. Does anyone know anything about that?
Great words from the Captain. The crew is trained, the passengers generally are along for the ride and need to obey all rules. Emergency meds can be had from first responders on scene. FYI – The AirCanada DC was enroute to Toronto, the hull burned after an emergency landing in CVG.
Hi. One dummy question. The BA planes of Las Vegas was full of fuel since it was going to take off. Why didn’t it explode? I see in the photos a lot of damage in the wings. Isn’t there where the fuel is supposed to be? Is it just a miracle that there wasn’t and explosion, or are planes able to catch fire without exploding like in the movies? Thank you
Well the fact is : fuel doesn’t explode it just burns and there are mechanisms in aircraft in case of fire or leakage to prevent fuel loss and producing more fire .
There’s an AirlineReporter picture of an economy class interior of a triple-7 in the September 20 story about “[Not so] Accessible On-board Lavatories – Flying Disabled” https://www.airlinereporter.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/ANZ3.jpg. The 10-across (3 x 4 x 3) seating leaves aisles that appear to be even narrower than those on singe aisle 737s and A320s! I wonder why the FAA and USDOT allow such high-density seating and such narrow aisles? Those aisles look too narrow for an aisle chair carrying a disabled passenger to and from their seat. But even worse, between the excessive passenger load and the inadequate aisles, these new “high-density” 777s appear to be a disaster waiting to happen the next time a fully loaded plane catches fire on the ground. I see the issues of overcrowding AND lack of accommodation for the disabled to be related issues. Forget about saving laptops in the event of an emergency evacuation – wheelchair passengers are totally screwed!
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Air incidents. I think on occasions they occur aerial incidents, principalmete those involving fire and smoke in the passenger cabin, and where the procedures for evacuation of passengers by the escape ramps, must be met with the shortest time, passengers should keep in mind, those seconds is precious to safeguard their lives and in this case, their lives must be zero zero priority
Hand luggage, personal documents can be recovered after these lives are saved and the environment is safe, under the supervision of the airline’s security sector.
The aisles of the aircraft in this case, both wide and narrow aircraft should serve as veins leading to an organized and continuous flow of passengers to the nearest escape chute.
Captain Owen Zupp, has a very clear vision of this reality and believe that his teachings should serve as a basis for further training in general crew.
” And when we look closer at those passengers emerging from the smoke with their bags in their hands, we can also clearly see that sometimes the devil can be in the details.”
Can’t be better said. I came to this article after the recent Emirates crash landing and its really horrendous how many people will actually defend taking bags!