An emergency landing of a Airbus A321-200 airplane — which operated as British Airways flight BA422 from London Heathrow Airport — occurred at its destination of Valencia in Spain on Monday, August 5, 2019 after the cabin reportedly filled with smoke while the aircraft descended during the remaining ten minutes of the flight.
“People Were Yelling ‘Open the Doors’”: FlyerTalk Member in Smoke Filled Cabin Aboard Airplane
Some passengers who were aboard that airplane — such as Lucy Brown and Gayle Fitzpatrick — posted photographs and videos on Twitter.
.@British_Airways terrifying experience on flight to Valencia. Felt like horror film. Thankfully everyone safe. Flight filled with smoke and had to be emergency evacuated. #britishairways pic.twitter.com/NT4Gtme9kl
— Lucy Brown SFHEA (@lucyaabrown) August 5, 2019
#BritishAirways #Valencia #EmergencyLanding Still waiting to hear what actually happened on our British Airways flight from LHR to Valencia in which our cabin filled with smoke in the last 10 minutes of flight, had to disembark via emergency chutes. No comms 60 mins and counting! pic.twitter.com/UywuesxHeC
— Gayle Fitzpatrick (@gaylem1978) August 5, 2019
The registration number of the airplane is G-MEDN; and the airplane itself is 11 years old.
“People were yelling ‘open the doors’,” according to this account posted by FlyerTalk member aikaterine, who was one of the passengers aboard the airplane. “Not sure why they took 10 minutes to open them. When they did people in the back few rows tried to run to the front of the plane, which was absurd.” The smoke aboard the airplane was described as “Kind of a slight rubbery burning smell. Definitely more smoke smell than like fog or water vapor stuff.”
Passengers Once Again Retrieving Belongings During an Emergency?
Reports circulated that some passengers once again took precious seconds to gather their belongings and evacuate with them; but was that probably because three hours later, they were permitted to return to the airplane to retrieve them?
Returning to plane to pick up our belongings 3 hours after we were evacuated. No word from @British_Airways on what happened #britishairways pic.twitter.com/TNbft3tAwj
— Lucy Brown SFHEA (@lucyaabrown) August 5, 2019
Although that reportedly occurred, aikaterine noted that “I still bristle at the people who were 3 rows away from the back exit pushing towards the front, the ones who jumped onto the slide with luggage, and the people standing on the tarmac right beside the plane after jumping out. That will stay with me.”
What to Do in an Emergency Situation
Articles which I have written pertaining to the safety of passengers in relation to commercial aviation — and contain valuable information which could save your life during the unlikely event of an emergency situation — include:
- 6 Steps on How to Safely Use an Evacuation Slide In the Event of an Emergency
- 5 Reasons Never to Evacuate an Airplane With Your Belongings
- What to Do to Survive an Airplane Water Landing — A Photographic Essay Which Could Save Your Life
- Why Do Passengers Grab Baggage Before Evacuating an Airplane?
Summary
No injuries have been reported as a result of this incident, thankfully — about which you can read more in this discussion on FlyerTalk, which includes photographs, additional information imparted by aikaterine, and reaction and commentary by fellow FlyerTalk members…
…but what can be done about people who place their belongings as greater importance over the lives of fellow passengers? Why do they not immediately move away from the evacuation slide once they have safely evacuated so that others may also evacuate safely?
Remember to never ever take your belongings whenever evacuating an aircraft in the event of an emergency, as you could very well place your life — as well as the lives of others — in unnecessary jeopardy…
…which begs the question: should passengers who evacuate airplanes with baggage during emergency situations be fined? Please be sure to read the comments of that article, which I wrote on Tuesday,
Even the Federal Aviation Administration of the United States has tried to alleviate this significant problem — but with little success: “If an emergency evacuation is necessary, leave your carry-on items on the plane. Retrieving personal items may impede the safe evacuation of passengers.”
Articles which have covered actual emergencies involving airplanes in the past at The Gate include:
- Some Survivors Grabbed Belongings as 41 People Perished in Airplane Crash in Russia?
- FlyerTalk Member Reports on Experience of Emergency Airplane Diversion to Goose Bay
- FlyerTalk Member Survives Airplane Crash in Maldives
- Fire Burns Airplane at Airport in Fort Lauderdale; 15 People Reported Injured
- Debris, Bodies Found: AirAsia Indonesia Flight QZ8501
- AirAsia Airplane Reported Missing During Flight
- FlyerTalk Member Experiences Severe Turbulence; Gives First-Hand Report and Photographs
An evacuation slide was used during a simulation of a cabin filling with smoke at the world headquarters of Delta Air Lines. Photograph ©2013 by Brian Cohen.
