Latest news with #emergencyevacuation
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
'Leave All Carry-On Items Behind' During An Emergency Plane Evacuation Does Not Mean 'Grab Your Bags First', You Dinguses
It seems like every couple of days, a commercial flight makes the news over something that went wrong, and that's even before you account for all the small, private plane crashes. In one of the most recent examples, CNN reports an American Airlines flight leaving Denver International was evacuated prior to takeoff after experiencing a "possible landing gear incident." The good news is, everyone got off the plane with only one reported injury. The bad news is, a video of the evacuation showed many passengers ignored crewmember instructions and grabbed their bags before leaving the plane. That, my friends, is what we call "a bad idea," and it's not just because you're supposed to follow all crew orders. You're supposed to leave your bags on the plane during an emergency evacuation because it slows you down, and in turn, lengthens how long it takes to get everyone else off the plane. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, commercial aircraft need to be able to be fully evacuated in 90 seconds or less, but according to CNN, evacuating this American Airlines flight took 10 to 15 minutes. Yikes. Thankfully, the brake fire that broke out as a result of the landing gear issue wasn't big enough to take the entire plane with it, but that also isn't something you're going to know when the crew gives the order to evacuate the plane. And when they say to leave all carry-on items behind, they're serious. You get up, get off the plane and worry about your designer luggage, laptop and charger cables later. Pausing to grab your bags doesn't just make you selfish. It makes you a danger to everyone else on the plane. Read more: These Are The Worst Tire Recalls In Recent History Leave Everything Behind The good news is, as you can see in the video above, not everyone on board ignored crew instructions. Some people did what they were told and left their bags on board, but you can also see that wasn't the case for far too many of them. And even if you care more about your bags than other people getting off the plane safely, there's another lesson to be learned here, too. Going down the emergency slide and landing gracefully on your feet at the bottom isn't exactly guaranteed, but it looks like the passengers carrying their bags had a much harder time doing so than everyone else. So, even in a situation like this one, where passengers taking at least 10 minutes to evacuate the plane didn't prove deadly, you significantly increase your chances of injuring yourself on the tarmac when you lose your balance. You also run the risk of your luggage puncturing the slide on your way out, potentially injuring other passengers and making it far more difficult for the crew to manage the evacuation. As the video above points out, even if you travel with nice luggage, the Department of Transportation requires airlines to cover any damage to your bags while they're under the airlines' control. So even if the entire plane burned up and took your luggage with it, you'd still be entitled to compensation for what you lost. It's also just stuff, and stuff can be replaced. People, on the other hand, are much more difficult to replace, and prioritizing your personal convenience over other people's lives is bad, actually. If the crew announces an emergency evacuation, just leave your bags. It'll be fine, and no bag is worth risking someone else's life. If that isn't a good enough reason for you, at least leave your bags behind so you don't get mocked for your bad behavior online. Surely, you don't want that, right? Want more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox... Read the original article on Jalopnik.
Russia Today
21 hours ago
- Russia Today
Condemned Soviet-era residential building crumbles in southern Russia (VIDEO)
A condemned residential building partially collapsed in the southern Russian city of Astrakhan on Monday, prompting an emergency evacuation. Multiple apartments in a vertical section of the five-story brick building gave way. Rescue teams from the Emergencies Ministry were dispatched to the scene. While search dogs were deployed over fears that someone might be trapped under the rubble, initial reports indicated that the affected section was unoccupied at the time of the collapse. Regional Governor Igor Babushkin said the building had already been slated for full relocation after a safety inspection deemed it uninhabitable. Of the 131 units in the structure, 94 were already vacant, he said. The authorities subsequently evacuated 22 residents from the building. One disabled individual suffered a panic attack and was hospitalized for observation. More than 200 emergency personnel are involved in the ongoing response operation. The building, which was constructed in 1962, consists of three vertical stacks and five floors, according to local media reports. Officials in Astrakhan have launched an investigation into potential negligence and unintentional property damage. Astrakhan is a key urban center near the Caspian Sea in southern Russia. It is about 1,300km southeast of Moscow. The collapse follows a powerful gas explosion last week in a ten-story apartment building in Saratov. Seven people were killed in the incident, including one child, while multiple apartments were destroyed or damaged.
Russia Today
a day ago
- Russia Today
Boeing 737 Max catches fire prior to takeoff (VIDEO)
An American Airlines flight carrying 179 people caught fire on the runway at Denver International Airport prior to takeoff, prompting an emergency evacuation. The incident occurred Saturday evening when the Miami-bound Boeing 737 Max suffered a landing gear malfunction that led to a brake fire, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). One person was hospitalized with minor injuries, and five others were treated at the scene, airport officials said. Firefighters quickly extinguished the flames, and the aircraft was taken out of service for inspection. A replacement plane was arranged. Passengers described moments of panic after a loud bang was followed by smoke. 'The plane started vibrating and shaking really bad,' Shay Armistead told CNN. Another passenger said she saw 'flames coming out from under the plane' before the evacuation began. Video shared on X showed travelers using emergency slides to flee the aircraft as smoke billowed from the fuselage. This is becoming routine for airline travel. This is American Airlines in Denver. Rear wheels blew. The fire caused delays for more than 240 flights at Denver International, according to flight-tracking data. The FAA has said it is investigating the incident. The incident comes amid heightened scrutiny of Boeing's 737 Max series. In January 2024, a door plug blew off an Alaska Airlines Max 9 mid-flight, prompting the FAA to ground the model, impose production limits, and require stricter inspections - measures that remain in place. Denver's airport has seen other recent safety scares, including an engine fire on another American Airlines jet in March and a United Airlines plane that caught fire after hitting an animal in April.
CNN
2 days ago
- CNN
Passengers evacuated from plane onto Denver runway after landing gear issue sparked fire and left 1 injured
More than 150 passengers on an American Airlines flight departing from Denver International Airport Saturday were evacuated onto the runway after a 'possible landing gear incident' left one person injured and sparked a fire, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. After the Boeing 737 MAX 8 experienced a 'maintenance issue' involving an aircraft tire prior to takeoff, emergency personnel at the airport and the Denver Fire Department responded to the issue and those on board were evacuated on the runway, according to American Airlines and Denver International Airport. The evacuation is the latest in a string of alarming aviation incidents at Denver International Airport – the sixth busiest airport in the world. In March, dozens of passengers were forced to stand on the wing of an American Airlines plane as they evacuated the aircraft after one of its engines caught fire. A month later, a United Airlines plane hit an animal on takeoff and shot out fire. On Saturday, passengers on the plane, which was departing to Miami International Airport with 173 passengers and six crew members, panicked when they heard a loud bang and saw flames before being evacuated on a slide attached to the plane. The combination of blown tires and the deceleration of the plane during braking resulted in a brake fire that was extinguished by the Denver Fire Department, according to American Airlines. 'All customers and crew deplaned safely, and the aircraft was taken out of service to be inspected by our maintenance team. We thank our team members for their professionalism and apologize to our customers for their experience,' the airline said. Five people were evaluated at the scene, and another person was evaluated at a gate and taken to the hospital with a minor injury, according to the airport and airline. The plane had been scheduled to depart from the gate at 1:12 p.m. local time, according to FlightAware, and the incident occurred around 2:45 p.m., the FAA said. FlightAware data shows 240 flights out of Denver International Airport were delayed as of Saturday evening. Customers will depart to Miami on a replacement plane later today, according to the airline. The FAA is investigating the incident. The evacuation comes a day after a harrowing moment for passengers on a Southwest Airlines flight. A privately owned Hawker Hunter fighter jet crossed less than two miles in front of a Boeing 737 plane within a few hundred feet of its altitude, according to the flight tracking site Flightradar24. Shay Armistead, a 17-year-old passenger from Minturn, Colorado, who was headed to Santiago, Chile, for a ski trip with her club team, said Saturday's ordeal was 'kind of traumatizing.' As the plane moved down the runway, passengers heard a loud bang and believed the tire popped, Armistead said. 'The plane started vibrating and shaking really bad,' she told CNN. 'We started tilting to the left side of the runway, and then we heard the sound of the wind from them lifting up the brakes of the plane and slamming on them really hard.' Just a few seats down, Armistead's teammate, 16-year-old Margaret Gustafson, had a clear view out of the window and saw the maintenance issue, she said. Gustafson said she knew something was wrong when she saw flames coming out from under the plane. 'That's when I started fully panicking,' she said. When she heard a big boom, Gustafson was unsure where the noise came from. 'Some of us just thought we hit something and then we started really swerving on the runway,' Gustafson said. 'I personally grabbed my friend's hand who was in front of me because we didn't really know what was going on.' The scary moment was met by immense panic among passengers. 'One passenger was screaming, 'We're all gonna die,'' Armistead said. 'Another passenger was not sitting down and cooperating, and so it was kind of just a lot of panic.' Passengers lined up the back of the plane, where they slid down the slide attached to the plane, Armistead said. The entire evacuation process took about 10 to 15 minutes, she recalled. Although their ski trip plans were derailed, the teammates' flight was rescheduled to tomorrow morning. This story has been updated with additional information.
New York Times
2 days ago
- General
- New York Times
Passengers Evacuate Smoky Plane on Emergency Chute at Denver Airport
Passengers slid down an emergency chute and dashed onto the runway amid the haze from an airplane's smoking brake system as they evacuated a flight on Saturday at Denver International Airport. American Airlines Flight 3023 was departing for Miami around 2:45 p.m. local time but the plane, a Boeing 737 Max 8, had a mechanical issue involving an aircraft tire while accelerating ahead of takeoff, the airline said on Sunday. Videos showed passengers sliding down an inflatable emergency chute near the front of the plane while holding onto children and luggage. Some passengers — including a man and a child — were seen stumbling at the end of the chute, and falling onto the runway. The 173 passengers and six crew members were taken to an airport terminal by bus, the airline said Sunday. One of the passengers was taken to a hospital with a minor injury, the airline said. Five people were evaluated for injuries at the scene, but did not require hospitalization, airport officials said. The Denver Fire Department said it quickly extinguished the fire beneath the plane, which may have started from a combination of the blown tire and the abrupt braking of the airplane, which was headed for takeoff. 'The aircraft was taken out of service to be inspected by our maintenance team,' American Airlines said, adding that the passengers were flown to Miami on another plane later in the day. The Federal Aviation Administration said it was investigating.
