EXCLUSIVE Why bungling cabin crew could have been reason behind terrifying evacuation of Ryanair jet in Majorca that left passengers with broken bones as they jumped from wing
Several people ended up in hospital after getting seriously injured when panic spread onboard the jet from Palma in Majorca to Manchester on Saturday night.
Ryanair are being urged to investigate the evacuation procedure that left at least two British citizens with broken bones and six people hospitalised. 18 were injured in total.
The airline has been accused of playing down the incident by claiming passengers only suffered 'very minor injuries' like ankle sprains in a statement where they 'sincerely apologised' to those involved.
Danielle Kelly, 56, whose right leg and left arm are now in plaster, claims people started 'jumping for their lives' after a member of the cabin crew with a phone to his ear ran down the plane shouting: 'Everyone get off the aircraft now, everyone evacuate'.
Air crew apparently told travellers to leave behind their belongings 'in case there is a fire and the plane explodes' which, passengers said, only added to the panic.
An aviation expert told MailOnline today that the cabin crew and passengers shouldn't have found out that there was a fire warning - the reason panic spreads really quickly and often unnecessarily.
The expert said that cabin crew should remain calm and are trained not to evacuate until instructed by the captain over the PA.
The pilot and co-pilot have a checklist to complete, include shutting down the engines and lowering the flaps, before ordering an evacuation to ensure that passengers can can slide off the wing without serious injury.
In Majorca Ryanair cabin crew deployed the emergency slides at the front doors but passengers sitting in the middle claim they were left with no choice but to jump up to 18ft from the wings onto the tarmac.
When done properly, the drop should be around 4ft, MailOnline understands.
Ryanair has blamed 'a false fire warning light indication' - and insists that passengers only suffered 'minor injuries'.
There is a possibility that passengers panicked and decided to open the overwing exits without being told to, MailOnline's expert claimed.
But people on board are blaming the staff on board.
Ryanair has been asked to comment.
It came as traumatised passengers hit out at Ryanair after they were seriously injured jumping off the wings of a holiday jet when panic spread about a suspected fire onboard.
Danielle Kelly, 56, a self-employed fitness instructor, who was sat in row 18 with her daughter, Frankie, 26, said she feared there was a terrorist onboard so followed other passengers out onto the wing in the chaos.
'I saw a member of the cabin crew run from the back to the front of the plane, he was on the phone and suddenly started shouting, "everyone get off the aircraft now, everyone evacuate".'
'It was utter chaos, passengers were screaming, 'open the doors, open the doors'. It was terrifying, I thought there was a terrorist on board, so I grabbed my daughter and got out.'
Mrs Kelly, who had been on a week-long holiday in the resort of Portals with her daughter, Frankie, 26, friend Francine Elkinson, 57, and her daughter, Savannah, 26, suffered a broken right heel, fractured left wrist and smashed elbow, when she plummeted to the concrete below.
Speaking from her hospital bed, in Palma, Mrs Kelly, of Whitefield, Greater Manchester, added: 'There was no announcement from the pilot or any of the other cabin crew. The door nearest to us opened and everyone ran onto the wing and started jumping off.
'I'm 56-years-old, I didn't want to jump but I feared for my life. It felt like a life or death situation. I knew as soon as I landed that I was seriously injured, I couldn't walk but the ground staff were shouting for everyone to move away from the aircraft in case it exploded.
'It was terrifying, we've been left completely traumatised by the experience. I've got my foot and arm in plaster and I've got to have three different surgeries to pin my foot, wrist and elbow tomorrow, I'm in a mess.'
Mrs Elkinson, 57, also suffered a bad break to her right foot and underwent a three-hour operation yesterday, when surgeons inserted pins and plates to repair it.
The company director said: 'People were screaming, 'get off the plane now,' there was no organisation, everyone was scrambling and screaming, it was complete chaos. There was no guidance about what to do from the captain or the crew.
'I was petrified, my daughter went first and was standing on the tarmac telling me to jump and she would catch me. I hit the floor and my foot blew up, I thought I had snapped it. I couldn't walk and my daughter had to drag me away.
'I was put on an airport ambulance but it took about 40 minutes for the paramedics to arrive. Danielle was crying she was in so much pain, it was horrendous.
'The way Ryanair have dealt with it is terrible, saying that people only suffered minor injuries and the evacuation was under control. Absolute rubbish, they are just trying to play it down because no one knew what they were doing.'
Another passenger, who didn't want to be named, told the Mail she suffered a double fracture to her pelvis and broke a bone in her lower back when she jumped from the wing.
'A member of the cabin crew was screaming on the Tannoy for everyone to get off the plane, they were saying, 'leave your bags, the plane could explode', which obviously just made everyone panic,' she said.
'People were clambering over each other to the exits, it was chaotic.
'I'm usually a rational thinking person. No one wants to throw themselves off the wing of a plane unless the alternative is worse – everyone was led to believe it was an emergency and they had to get out immediately.
'When we got onto a bus back to the terminal people were asking a member of the cabin crew how it happened and saying it was awful. But he simply said, 'we did our best, we are only human.' But there was no direction from the crew and they just weren't very competent. There was no clear guidance, it was every man for himself.'
She said doctors had told her it could be three months before she is walking again and plans to take legal action against the airline.
In total 18 people were injured, with six people hospitalised as a consequence of the way the evacuation was handled.
At least one female member of the cabin crew is thought to be among the injured.
A Ryanair spokesman said: 'This flight from Palma to Manchester discontinued take-off due to a false fire warning light indication.
'Passengers were disembarked using the inflatable slides and returned to the terminal.
'While disembarking, a small number of passengers encountered very minor injuries (ankle sprains, etc) and crew requested immediate medical assistance.
'To minimise disruption to passengers, we quickly arranged a replacement aircraft to operate this flight, which departed Palma at 07:05 Saturday morning.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Britons are racking up VAT-free shopping bill on Continent of £742MILLION
British shoppers are deserting UK stores and flocking to the EU to benefit from tax-free shopping. VAT-free spending on the Continent by Britons increased fivefold from 2021 to £742 million last year, Association of International Retail (AIR) data shows. The figures pile fresh pressure on ministers to reintroduce tax-free shopping for international visitors to the UK. Rishi Sunak scrapped it in 2021. But the move enraged many businesses, and the Mail's Scrap The Tourist Tax campaign was launched in support of calls for it to be reintroduced. Campaigners believe that the decision to axe the scheme is driving tourists away from London and Edinburgh to cities such as Paris, Madrid and Milan. Derrick Hardman, chairman of AIR, said it makes 'no sense for the UK to remain the only destination in Europe not offering tax-free shopping'. Hotelier Sir Rocco Forte added: 'The decision of the last government to scrap tax-free shopping, which had been available for decades, should be reversed immediately.' A HM Treasury spokesman said: 'We are supporting the continued growth of this industry.' Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been blamed for pushing restaurants and pubs into 'survival mode' as two venues have shut per day for the first half of 2025. The number of hospitality sites plunged by 374 to 98,746 sites at the end of June, market research firm NIQ and consultancy AlixPartners found. Labour's tax raid on employers was blamed for the fall.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Zendaya flashes her $200k engagement ring as she enjoys a romantic dog walk with fiancé Tom Holland in Richmond Park
They got engaged over the Christmas holidays after first meeting on the 2016 set of Spider-Man. And Zendaya flashed her dazzling $200k engagement ring during a low-key stroll with her fiancé Tom Holland in Richmond Park on Monday. The couple cut low-key figures for the outing, with Zendaya, 28, opting for a pink knitted jumper and black jorts. While Tom, 29, donned a plain blue top and a pair of black joggers for the stroll. The pair appeared in good sprits as they spent some quality time together outside their busy schedules. The loved-up couple are set to share the screen for the fourth time in Christopher Nolan 's latest highly-anticipated project, after previously playing love interests in three Spider-Man movies. Tom is set to play one of the main roles in The Odyssey, starring as Telemachus, the son of Odysseus - while Matt Damon will take on role of the legendary Greek king of Ithaca. While Zendaya's role has been undisclosed so far, despite her being spotted filming on the Aegadian Isle of Favignana in March, wearing a sleeveless off-white Grecian gown. The Golden Globe winner is rumoured to be playing the Greek goddess Athena, who serves as divine counselor to Odysseus and meddles with gods like her father Zeus in his quest to return home. Others have suggested she will star as Calypso, a nymph who keeps Odysseus captive by force on her island Ogygia for seven years while attempting to make him her immortal husband. There's also a chance she could be playing Nausicaä, the beautiful daughter of King Alcinous who helps Odysseus when he's shipwrecked on her island. Filming for the mythic action epic began in February on location in Greece, Morocco, Italy, Iceland and Los Angeles, with shooting now based in Scotland. The Odyssey is set to become the most expensive project of Nolan's prestigious career, with a reported budget of $250 million, and will also be the first film in history to be shot entirely using brand new IMAX film technology'. He is directing from his own screenplay - based on the epic poem by Homer that dates back to the 8th Century BC and was first published in English in 1614. Anticipation for the mammoth film has already reached a fever pitch, with the incredible cast including a huge number of Hollywood's biggest stars. Anne Hathaway is said to be playing Odysseus' wife and Queen of Ithica, Penelope, whom he's eager to reunite with following a perilous journey back home. While Charlize Theron has been reported to be starring as the witch goddess Circe in the 3000-year-old fantastical tale full of sirens and a cyclops. The star-studded cast also includes the likes of Lupita Nyong'o, Robert Pattinson, Jon Bernthal, Benny Safdie, John Leguizamo, Elliot Page, Samantha Morton, Will Yun Lee, and Mia Goth. And Universal Pictures gave eager fans the first glimpse at the film in a short teaser clip, attached to screenings of Jurassic World Rebirth earlier this month. The trailer begins with an unknown narrator speaking about the title character Odysseus, who in the original poem is trying to return home to his wife Penelope after his victory in The Trojan War. They begin: 'Darkness. Zeus' law smashed to pieces. I'm without a king since my master died. He knew it was an unwinnable war. And then, somehow, he won in'. Dramatic footage of the sea crashing against the shore, shows what appears to be a mammoth statue of the famous Trojan Horse. Jon Bernthal's unnamed character is then seen claiming: 'I know nothing of Odysseus, not since Troy', while Tom is seen for the first time as Telemachus, insisting: 'I have to find out what happened to my father. When did you last see him?' While brief shots of the film are shown, Jon's character shouts to the room, 'Who has a story about Odysseus? You? You have a story? Some say he's rich. Some say he's poor. Some said he perished. Some said he's imprisoned'. The trailer ends with an old man laying on pieces of driftwood, presumably Matt as the title character. The Odyssey is scheduled to hit IMAX theaters on July 17, 2026 - just two weeks before Tom and Zendaya will be back for Spider-Man: Brand New Day on July 31.
Times
2 hours ago
- Times
Confessions of a freelancer
It's a beautiful night as we park the cars at the estate cottage and make our way to the river. I've never been to this swimming spot before but my friends say it's one of the best. To get there we meander down a lime avenue, the kind of thing for which Perthshire is famous. The leaves are so bright when seen from below, it's as if the air has been stained green. As we walk horses pass with their riders. A bird of prey wheels overhead. We take turns to catch up on our news before reaching the riverbank. It's 5.30pm, a time all three of us used to be chained to our desks. Listen, we're still chained, although for one of us the desk is a potter's wheel. It's just that we make our own timetables now. We're self-employed and in our mid-thirties, with all the stresses and joy that brings. We work late and we work early, through lunch and on the road. So we can shut laptops and down clay at 4.45pm to drive here. Down then, off the path through shallow woodland, where I spot a cep and chop it loose for my breakfast tomorrow. The undergrowth opens to reveal the Tay, pitch-black water and stony beach under a big mackerel sky. We lay out our towels and open the crisps as we talk about our old city jobs. My friends are more international than me. Their past lives were in London, Paris and Stockholm. I only have Edinburgh and Glasgow to add to the list. We were different people then. There's no way I could have imagined this. The brown butter light bouncing off the curving hedgerows on the way to Dunkeld, one of my favourite drives in the world. Past kale fields and a bluebell wood, ginger cattle scratching their backs on wire fences. Yes, I cower at the vans going 70mph on the single-track roads. But then I get to the river and forgive everything. The water is the warmest it has been this year. Our bravest friend goes first and dunks her head like always. I hang back, wincing as I navigate the slimy pebbles. Suddenly we're all under, at eye level with the stony beach. • Five of the best wild swimming spots in Scotland The surface is a fairyland of skeeters. They're illuminated by the sun edging down beneath the horizon. You've gone so far, my friends call to me, as the current pulls me downstream without my noticing. I swim sideways, trying to break the loop. We worked hard to get here and we work harder to stay here, through the maze of HMRC self-assessments, the precarity of the gig economy and unpredictable incomes in creative fields. We don't know what we're doing most days, we agree, and yet we keep going. It's partly because we left the city that we can. One of my friends is restoring a handsome old hotel. The other is about to host her first solo show. They're the ones going far, never mind me in the current. We like to talk about the past and the future, recalling who we've been and urging each other to be ambitious about who we might be. Who we are now involves water. It's just what happens out here. There are no galleries open late, no concentration of bars and restaurants where we can drink till the wee hours. And so we swim, and we sauna, and we go to the village disco at the legion where we rave under strobe lights with £3 pints. We take turns at making dinner. We drink wine — lots of wine — and we stay over, because it's the country and you have to drive everywhere. • Read more from Gabriella Bennett Kim reminds us of another evening a while back when we went to a pool near us and I wept in the hot tub. That year I wasn't getting anywhere fast, the kind of frustration that boils over just before something great happens. It all worked out. I got my book deal and spent 15 months travelling the world. I've hardly been home to see these girls, hardly done the picnics and hikes we've been used to. We take it in turns to drop off the radar when small children are sick or hormones threaten to tip us over the edge. Freelance work doesn't always guarantee attendance. One person is usually missing, standing downwind of the reality of living. Last summer one of the gang moved to Copenhagen to chase her dream job. Later, in the WhatsApp chat, we post the river pictures and she sends a heart from 1,200 miles away. Somehow we're all swimming, all going far on this ever-gold night. @palebackwriter Kristie de Garis's debut memoir, Drystone: A Life Rebuilt, is many things. A drystone waller, photographer and writer based in Perthshire, she tells the truth of rural Scotland through worlds spun from a creative mind (Birlinn £14.99). Buy from or call 020 3176 2935. Free UK standard P&P on online orders over £25. Discount for Times+ members.
