British Airways Fire Raises Safety Concerns

The recent fire on British Airways flight #2276 in Las Vegas raised serious questions about FAA policy, passenger education and the limitations of controlling human behavior during an emergency. Although the fire resulted in only minor bumps and scrapes for evacuating passengers, many were outraged at passengers violating airline policy by carrying their hand luggage off the plane during the evacuation.

However, a closer look at the Federal Aviation Administration’s guidance reveals that passengers are advised, not mandated, to abandon their belongings during an emergency evacuation. And according to Stephen Schembs, the flight attendant union's government affairs director, not all airlines even include these instructions in their preflight briefings.

Although this does not excuse the actions of British Airways’ passengers, it does raise concerns for future flights. Luckily flight 2276 was only half full, but what if it was full and the fire had entered the cabin sooner?

Disobeying the cabin crew’s instructions is illegal in many countries, and passengers can be charged with an offense, but it’s difficult to prove passenger liability if they aren’t aware of the proper safety protocols.

“People react very differently in an emergency. If it went to court, their lawyers could argue whether they had heard everything that was said in the panic”, said one official who asked not to be identified.

Captain Brendan O’Neal, chairman of the BALPA, wants to emphasize safety awareness for future passengers, and make these instructions standard. “Pilots want to work with airlines and regulators to ensure passengers are fully aware of the danger of bringing hand luggage with them during an evacuation,” said O’Neal.

Professor Graham Braithwaite, who specializes in aviation safety and accident investigation at Cranfield University, believes the best way to prevent this in the future is to educate the passengers before the flight.

“I think a lot of it comes down to pre-flight briefing,” said Braithwaite. “That’s the opportunity to tell people what is and isn’t acceptable.”

On another note, there is an ongoing investigation looking into how alcohol may have affected the accident. An earlier report showed that bottles of duty-free spirit may have likely accelerated the spread of fire throughout the cabin, which could potentially jeopardize the sale of duty-free spirit at airports.

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Source:
Independent
Airways News
CNN