Another evacuation, this time on SWISS, and another reminder that many passengers still do not understand the most basic rule in an emergency: leave your bags behind.
SWISS Flight Evacuated In Delhi After Aborted Takeoff, As Passengers Take Bags, Selfies…
A SWISS International Air Lines flight was evacuated at Delhi Airport (DEL) after the crew aborted takeoff when smoke and flames were reportedly observed from one engine during the takeoff roll.
The aircraft was preparing to depart for Zurich (ZRH) when the takeoff was rejected on the runway. Emergency slides were deployed and passengers evacuated onto the tarmac. Several injuries were reported, with some passengers treated for minor injuries sustained during the evacuation and two elderly passengers suffering serious leg fractures. One flight attendant was also injured.
The aircraft involved was an Airbus A330-300 (registration HB-JHK), which happened to the very same aircraft I flew on from Zurich to Chicago earlier this month.
As always after an evacuation, the first question I ask is: did passengers bring their carry-on bags with them?
And here, it appears that yes, many passengers took everything with them. For example, here’s a video:
View this post on Instagram
(and taking selfies as people struggled to get off the plane…lovely)
Shameful.
Why Bags Matter During An Evacuation
I know I sound like a broken record, but just in case, here’s a brief refresher.
Airline safety briefings are repetitive for a reason. In an emergency evacuation, every second matters.
Passengers stopping to retrieve roller bags, backpacks, purses, or duty-free items can slow movement in the aisle, block access to exits, damage evacuation slides, and delay others from escaping a potentially life-threatening situation.
That is not theoretical. We have repeatedly seen passengers attempt to leave aircraft with bags during evacuations around the world.
WHEN YOU DO THAT, YOU SHOW THAT YOU HATE YOUR NEIGHBOR.
Can I say it any clearer than that?
Most passengers fly infrequently. Many tune out safety briefings. Others assume warnings do not apply to them.
That is why airlines and regulators need to keep hammering home a simple point: if an evacuation is ordered, leave everything behind.
Your items can be replaced, b your life, or the life of the person delayed behind you in the aisle, cannot.
There need to be strict punishments for violators. I’ll keep making that point.
But I also acknowledge the point View From The Wing made, that:
- locking overhead bins would probably slow evacuation down even more as people tried to force the bins open
- throwing people in jail won’t necessarily serve as deterrent a for others to avoid doing the same thing
(That said, I think it’s worth a shot…)
One Sweet Moment
One bright spot in this. In the midst of adversity, some people shine. Look at this video of flight attendant P. Sharma helping an injured, elderly passengers after the evacuation:
This is what true professionalism looks like.
CONCLUSION
The SWISS evacuation in Delhi appears to have ended without fatalities, though not without serious injuries. Credit the crew for rejecting the takeoff and getting passengers off the aircraft quickly and for stepping up to care for passengers even on the literal pavement of DEL.
But every evacuation now raises the same uncomfortable question: did passengers once again try to save their bags before saving themselves? The answer is sadly, yes, and that presents a vexing dilemma for policymakers.
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Naw, man.. this anti-Indian hate is a tired, bigoted trope. We do this in Europe and America, too. The only ‘culture’ that seems to ‘get it’ is actually Japan… they evacuated that JAL 516 in record time, no deaths, no bags.
I have a feeling this may be the same person posting the anti-Indian stuff on OMAAT under a different name(s).
It’s possible. Either way, it’s just sad.
I hear you on roller bags, but if I have medication in my backpack that I need, I am bring it with me. Full stop.
That’s fine, but keep those readily accessible to you and not in the overhead bin.
Unless we’re talking about some kind of injection, you should be able to keep your critical meds in your pocket.
Hey, Einstein… put those essential meds (what? Hello Kitty Motrin? Kellog’s Superman Daily? Only someone w/a puerile little mind puts their meds before the lives of other passengers) in your pocket. Or your pocket book.
The policy dilemma is one thing; enforceability and the chaos of any given emergency is another. As a practical matter, most would agree, leaving behind rolly bags in the overheads is a must; however, purses, passport wallets, dog carriers with live animal inside…where do we draw the line? And, does excessive punishment really effectively deter? Like, I’ve made an analogy to the death-penalty; it doesn’t really deter violent crime in-general, but, yes, it does end one criminal’s life at a time. Do we really need automatic lifetime bans for passengers who brought their backpack?
The only way to end people grabbing their crap from the overheads is by having them locked during takeoff and landing. Once people understand that they simply cannot access the bins in an emergency – easy enough by making an announcement on every flight – then it becomes a non-issue.
Meanwhile, I’m with you: flight bans for life for the entire country where the event occurs and six months mandatory in a medium security jail. That would stop a minimum of half the problem. People’s crap is not worth my life. I’m pretty much a pacifist but if someone near me tried to grab their stuff I’d be sorely tempted to beat the $#it out of them.
“flight bans for life for the entire country where the event occurs and six months mandatory in a medium security jail.” …wouldn’t deter anyone.
Vigilante justice… maybe.
Should be a collection burn pile for rollers, backpacks and other items. Those taking selfies while breaking the rules deserve a jail time out.
In crashes with huge amounts of smoke and fire, people have evacuated without bags.
Airlines should provide incentives for evacuation without bags. They could make an announcement before the flight like “In case of evacuation, do NOT take your bags. If you do not take your bags, you will receive a $5,000 bonus in addition to filing a baggage claim.”
I would leave the roller bag but would grab my laptop bag with my passport, laptop and other documents. Sorry but that is a given for me.
Even if those few seconds, theoretically, meant four people in the back could not get out in time?
Put your passport in your pocket. You can buy a new everything but a life.
Put your phone, passport and your wallet (or just a credit card) in your pockets before takeoff and landing. And keep your shoes on.
That way, should you have to evacuate, you have communication, identification and access to money sorted (if you survive the incident).
And then take it out once you have reached cruising altitude (or not).
That’s what I do.
And, this highlights my concern over pets (not true service animals) in carriers under a seat. Someday people will die because Arnold struggled to get Fluffy out rather than leave her.
If we’re evacuating an aircraft and you’re standing at a locker removing your bags and obstructing my exit, I’m gonna push you over and walk over you while you’re on the floor. I might even deliberately stomp your neck, just on general principles.
Airlines must start training FAs to go beyond “assertive” in this situation, and start being aggressive. Yell at people. Use profanity. Clap hands and shout at individuals. The pax can lodge a complaint when they’re in the terminal. No more Nice Guy act.
I do hate my neighbor. I hate pretty much every other human. My property therefore gets priority over them. Selfies are going too far, though.
Why are you holding back? Tell us how you really feel…
During take-off and landing, keep your shoes on and your passport/wallet/phone in your pockets. Everything else can be replaced.
This is the way. 100%. I have to remind P2 of this. She likes to remove shoes when in premium cabins; I’m always like ‘please, keep those on until airborne…’ (and, even then, I’d personally wait for FL100, ideally).
I haven’t taken an official airline safety video survey, but I recall that United Airlines has prominent flip sign that says leave all carry on bags on board during evacuation and American just mentions it in passing.
But the Japanese carriers like ANA, JAL are the best. Their videos show why you don’t bring on carry ons or photograph during evacuation by showing people getting tripped up with rollaboards and blocking dozens of people. They also show how you properly jump onto the slide and shows the damage caused when you wear high heels or bring carry ons down the slide.
In commercial aviation, history often repeats itself.
“Seconds From Disaster!” Speedy recovery to the injured ones!
The aircraft involved was one of 14 A330-300 jets in LX’s fleet and was 14.4 years old.
This is why it’s important to follow the flight attendants’ evacuation instructions and not sleep or use AirPods/EarPods.
Even if all of my life savings were in my bags, I wouldn’t take them. My life is more important, and if it isn’t that big of a deal, then I can just take them later. I assume that they take everything out of ten plane if it isn’t a hazardous situation anymore or if a minor issue.
Maybe pre-flight videos should show “selfies” and actual videos of passengers who have done this during evacuation emergencies….. how stupid, selfish and dangerous they look. But of course the herd mentality will always be there for some, if not most. These are the same people that will scream blue bloody murder if they are fortunate to survive.