A minor incident which happened recently justifies a reminder of 7 reasons never to evacuate an airplane with your belongings, as doing so very well could be a matter of life or death for passengers and members of the flight crew who are aboard an airplane in distress.
7 Reasons Never to Evacuate an Airplane With Your Belongings
The recent incident was an evacuation of passengers from the Airbus A321 airplane that was to operate as American Airlines flight 2045 from San Francisco to Miami on Friday, July 12, 2024 occurred after smoke from a laptop computer battery filled the cabin. Some passengers on the flight used emergency chutes to evacuate from the airplane to the ground…
…but not before encountering a logjam of passengers who were trying to collect their belongings before evacuating. Even after at least two minutes and 35 seconds of time were consumed, the airplane was still not emptied of all of its occupants despite efforts by exasperated members of the flight crew to get the passengers evacuated as quickly as possible, as confusion and anger abounded among the passengers.
“Do not take your bags!” This is tense. Fire breaks out on American Airlines plane in San Francisco. Emergency evacuation slowed down by selfish passengers insisting on taking their bags out of the overhead bins. pic.twitter.com/O9T012kJWT
— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) July 13, 2024
Two Other Incidents as Examples
The reported collapse of the front landing gear of an Airbus airplane that operated as US Airways flight 1702 as it was taking off to Fort Lauderdale on Thursday, March 13, 2014 with 149 passengers and five flight crew members resulted in an evacuation of the airplane at Philadelphia International Airport. Three people who witnessed the incident recall what they observed — including passengers who interrupted their evacuation by taking the time to retrieve their belongings.
That incident was certainly not the first time where passengers carried their personal belongings while evacuating from an airplane in an actual emergency — and it was not the last time, either, as demonstrated by the crash landing of a Boeing 777-31H airplane which operated as Emirates Airline flight 521 on Wednesday, August 3, 2016 at approximately 12:45 in the afternoon and carried 282 passengers and 18 members of the flight crew from Thiruvananthapuram to Dubai. Although the aircraft did not climb, its gear touched down on the runway and burst into flames after it was retracted. All occupants of the airplane evacuated via slides, 13 passengers received minor injuries, ten passengers were taken to hospitals, and three passengers were treated at the airport. The aircraft burned down completely. Although all passengers and members of the flight crew were evacuated safely, one firefighter lost his life.
This video by Keith Walker shows passengers taking their bags along with them as they evacuated from the airplane, which was completely destroyed by the time the fire was extinguished.
I have been involved with what is known as Road Warrior Training — which basically condenses a fraction of the intensive training endured for weeks by flight attendants into only a day or two — at the world headquarters of Delta Air Lines multiple times; and I have descended from an aircraft simulator multiple times as well using the evacuation slide which you see in the left side of the photograph at the top of this article. I remember one time where I came to a complete stop towards the bottom of the evacuation slide simply because I did not build enough speed — and if someone behind me is barreling down the slide and cannot stop, both of us could be seriously injured.
The seven reasons never to evacuate an airplane with your belongings are as follows:
1. Even One Second is Too Precious to Waste
If every passenger on the airplane during the Emirates Airline incident took only one extra second to grab their personal belongings before evacuating an airplane which is on fire, that would be 282 seconds collectively — that equates to 4.7 minutes — of time you do not have to escape from a dangerous situation which could cost you and other passengers and members of the flight crew your lives…
…and if the airplane is on fire, then oxygen becomes more precious as well — and staying on the airplane any longer than necessary needlessly uses up oxygen which could literally save the lives of others who leave the aircraft later than you.
We all know that collecting your personal belongings takes significantly more time than one second — and again, multiply that by 282 in this particular incident.
Please — get off of the airplane as soon as humanly possible.
2. Carrying Your Belongings Can Slow You Down Upon Evacuation
Assuming everyone is carrying their belongings with them, everyone still has to exit via the evacuation slide, as the fuselage of an airplane is typically too high off of the ground to jump or otherwise exit. Carrying belongings can slow each person down — starting with getting into position to jump and then slide while maneuvering how to hold your belongings to ensure that you have the proper balance to slide down as fast as possible.
As I already said, even one second is too precious to waste — and although you might get yourself to safety, other passengers and members of the flight crew have a right to reach that safe haven as well.
3. Injuries Increase When Carrying Your Belongings
Injuries typically occur when people use evacuation slides during an emergency — for example, a slower person can be injured by being hit by a person behind him or her sliding faster. The slides are steep and designed for the quickest egress from a dangerous incident. Add baggage and belongings to the mix; and the likelihood of injuries — or even deaths — exponentially increases.
Imagine suddenly being hit in the head by a wayward bag speeding down the evacuation slide which is heavy and hard, as that can cause serious injury and potentially kill you.
4. Evacuation Slides are Inflated…
…which means that they are filled with air. Although they are constructed of a durable material, all it takes is one sharp object to puncture the evacuation slide. Voilà — the other passengers suddenly cannot evacuate.
5. Keep Your Back Pockets Empty
In addition to the possibility of something sharp potentially puncturing an inflatable evacuation slide, objects in back pockets can create a drag resistance that could slow the momentum of a person who is attempting to get to the bottom of the evacuation slide as quickly as possible.
6. Leave Behind Potentially Dangerous Footwear
Shoes with high heels and “flip flops” can potentially impede upon an evacuation from an airplane — as can footwear with laces if they are not secured properly. Buckles and straps on footwear can also be potentially hazardous in an evacuation — especially if they are loose.
Wear sensible shoes. Flip flops, sandals and other loosely fitting footwear could inhibit your egress from the aircraft; and pointy high heels could potentially poke a hole in the otherwise strong materials of which the inflatable evacuation slide is comprised. You are better off wearing socks than escaping with bare feet — again, to reduce the friction component of escaping down a slide.
Please refer to this article: 6 Steps on How to Safely Use an Evacuation Slide In the Event of an Emergency for additional important information.
7. Water Ditchings Can Be Even Worse
Attempting to carry your belongings during a water ditching — in the unlikely event where an airplane crash lands in water — is even worse. You will be wearing an inflatable life vest, which you do not want punctured should you need it to help keep you buoyant…
…and in the event that you and fellow passengers use an inflatable raft to escape, not only can the possibility of puncturing an inflatable raft increase and render that raft useless; but space and room are precious commodities when cramming as many passengers into a limited number of inflatable rafts
Final Boarding Call
Burning up precious time for your safety and ensuring that your belongings are also safe is purely selfish and thoughtless, as that is time spent which could literally save lives — including yours.
Remember that your belongings can always be replaced; but your life cannot be replaced. Is retrieving that portable electronic device really worth sacrificing the life of someone else?
I keep important items in my front pants pockets at all times — such as a mobile telephone, credit cards, passport, and cash to name a few items which will not impede upon evacuating from an airplane in any way whatsoever.
Hopefully, you will never need to be concerned about the 7 reasons never to evacuate an airplane with your belongings at any time during your travels…If you have experience as a flight attendant or have been in an actual emergency situation with an airplane, please feel free to impart additional information in the Comments section to assist with the safety of fellow readers of The Gate With Brian Cohen.
Hopefully, you will never need to be concerned about the 7 reasons never to evacuate an airplane with your belongings at any time during your lifetime while you travel…
All photographs ©2013, ©2016, ©2017, ©2019, and ©2023 by Brian Cohen.
