Holiday terror as passengers f led stricken jet
PASSENGERS panicked as they struggled to flee a smoke-filled cabin of a Boeing 737 following an aborted take-off.
And in a second emergency, a cabin crew member took it upon herself to open the main door to let frantic passengers escape when the landing gear collapsed.
The two evacuations from stricken planes were described yesterday in reports from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB).
The Boeing 737 incident involved a Jet2- operated aircraft f l ying f rom Glasgow to Alicante in Spain early on October 19 last year.
The captain halted the plane on the runway following the aborted take-off and entered the flight deck. With smoke or vapour and a strong smell of burning filling the cabin, he ordered an immediate emergency evacuation.
The investigators said the evacuation was delayed by passengers who were
‘Escape carries a degree of risk’
busy trying to recover their bags from the overhead lockers and by the ‘age or infirmity’ of some of the 187 passengers.
The incident resulted in one serious injury and 15 minor injuries.
The AAIB said several passengers re-entered the cabin through the overwing exits rather than slide down the extended flaps as they considered it would be safer to use an escape slide.
The report said: ‘The injuries suffered were as a result of the evacuation due to passengers bumping into each other on the slide or being knocked to the ground.
‘In the case of the over-wing exits, sliding 6ft off a wet flap can be a daunting experience but the aim is to escape from the aircraft and carries a degree of risk.’
The report said no source for the smoke was identified ‘but excessive moisture in the air conditioning system was a possible factor’.
The other incident, on June 16 last year, involved an ATR 42 aircraft operated by Channel Island carrier Blue Islands, which had landed at Jersey airport from Guernsey.
Investigators said some passen- gers left their seats before the plane stopped as they were anxious about the aircraft rolling to the left.
Once the engines had stopped, a stewardess led the evacuation, in which four passengers were hurt.
The report said: ‘She realised the aircraft had suffered an accident and that it would be difficult to contact the pilots whilst trying to control the passengers wishing to leave the aircraft.
‘She opened the main door which, due to the angle of the aircraft and the fact the door was hinged at the bottom, could not be opened fully.’
The AAIB said the landing gear collapse was due to fatigue failure.