Photo: theirishtimes.com
Chaos reigned supreme when an Airbus A320 plane bound for London requested permission to land again at Cork Airport, Ireland, after pilots smelled smoke in the cockpit.
The incident actually occurred in November 2017, but specifics on it have just been made public, thanks to a report from the Air Accident Investigation Unit, obtained by The Irish Examiner. It highlights how panic spreads among passengers in critical situations, especially when they’re not properly prepared and instructed for the unexpected.
In this case, the unexpected translated into having to disembark the Aer Lingus flight, as the plane touched down at the airport 20 minutes after takeoff. The pilots told the entire cabin that they would have to “disembark quickly,” and many people on board thought that it meant they were doing an emergency evacuation.
As a result, 32 of the 143 passengers ended up on the wings on the plane, after opening the emergency exits. Cabin crew were helping a disabled passenger and they blocked the aisle, the report notes. People behind them ran to the emergency exits and opened them, running out on the wings. Some of them climbed down from there on the slides, but most returned to the cabin and exited on the steps.
Other factors contributed to the spreading panic, namely the fact that the pilots’ voices sounded distorted and louder because they were wearing oxygen masks and the sight of firefighter trucks rushing towards the plane, the report added.
During the investigation, which determined the source of the smoke as a defective fan, flight attendants admitted that passengers had no way of telling the difference between the procedure of rapid disembarkation and emergency evacuation, and that their response was “understandable” given the sequence of events.
As a consequence, “Aer Lingus has reviewed its rapid disembarkation procedure and intends to revise it so that there is clearer understanding of the difference between a rapid disembarkation and a full emergency evacuation,” The Irish Examiner notes.
In this case, the unexpected translated into having to disembark the Aer Lingus flight, as the plane touched down at the airport 20 minutes after takeoff. The pilots told the entire cabin that they would have to “disembark quickly,” and many people on board thought that it meant they were doing an emergency evacuation.
As a result, 32 of the 143 passengers ended up on the wings on the plane, after opening the emergency exits. Cabin crew were helping a disabled passenger and they blocked the aisle, the report notes. People behind them ran to the emergency exits and opened them, running out on the wings. Some of them climbed down from there on the slides, but most returned to the cabin and exited on the steps.
Other factors contributed to the spreading panic, namely the fact that the pilots’ voices sounded distorted and louder because they were wearing oxygen masks and the sight of firefighter trucks rushing towards the plane, the report added.
During the investigation, which determined the source of the smoke as a defective fan, flight attendants admitted that passengers had no way of telling the difference between the procedure of rapid disembarkation and emergency evacuation, and that their response was “understandable” given the sequence of events.
As a consequence, “Aer Lingus has reviewed its rapid disembarkation procedure and intends to revise it so that there is clearer understanding of the difference between a rapid disembarkation and a full emergency evacuation,” The Irish Examiner notes.
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