[canucklad]

Interesting article in the Sydney Morning Herald

http://www.smh.com.au/business/aviation/british-airways-plane-fire-passengers-escaped-with-their-lives–and-baggage-20150910-gjjnb2.html

[BigDog.]

Anthony Dunn 09/09/2015 15:01 BST is spot on. Valued passengers need to make their point to BAEC. Even if there is a queue for the emergency exit this does not justify time to get luggage.

Hauling wheelie bags down an aisle and onto the chute will delay others, worse, the bag could damage the chute.

It needs to be made an offence. There is no justification for risking other peoples’ lives.

[MartynSinclair]

I still think the fundamental problem is with the safety briefing. This should be made compulsory and crew need to have the authority to enforce. The Airlines need to put the briefing before keeping passengers happy, by being able to circumnavigate it.

[MrMichael]

I don’t disagree Martyn, but also don’t see how. Enforcement either means somehow preventing it in the first place….arguments with pax on way out with baggage thus causing more delays, or action afterwards. Afterwards is difficult for the airline, to take action against a passenger they have just scared the wits out of. It needs regulatory action to ensure compliance, whereby anyone carrying luggage is prosecuted for that very specific offence.

[BigDog.]

I agree Martyn (10/09/2015 21:41 BST) but that is only the first step. It is clear from subsequent interviews with passengers on the aircraft that CC told them to leave luggage. Yet this instruction was totally ignored by some.

The passenger who took two wheelie bags should be prosecuted, whilst those with one should be named and shamed.

Apparently a blockage occurred at the foot of the slide as passengers were not clearing the area quickly – which is made far worse when luggage is involved! Some passengers then deciding to jump instead – one breaking an arm!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-34215283

On a different note –

…An initial report on a British Airways plane which caught fire at a Las Vegas airport suggests engine parts flew out and landed on the runway

The US’s National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said the casing around a key component of the engine had been found to have “multiple” breaches.

The casing should contain any damage but spool parts, about 7-8 inches in length, were found on the runway….

…As for the part that appears to have broken, the high-pressure compressor spool, Dr Colin Brown from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers told me that it’s “most likely” to be from a “fatigue crack”…

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-34213996

And on a further note, I hope rumours that BA Engineers having their jobs relocated to Spain unless they accept cuts are baseless.

[AMcWhirter]

Some passengers also took their luggage with them when they escaped from the crashed Korean Air B777 at SFO just over two years ago.

Here’s a piece from the Daily Mail.

If you refer to the third picture, you will see one of the passengers calmly walking away from the burning aircraft with his wheelie luggage.

He even appears to be checking his mobile phone at the same time.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2357662/Asiana-Airlines-crash-First-photographs-inside-wrecked-San-Francisco-plane.html

As for the BA aircraft, it’s been reported that this 16-year old B777 will be scrapped.

[LuganoPirate]

Perhaps I’m being cynical, but when all is said and done, and in both incidents I expect there was the same indifference to the safety demo’s as on any flight, everyone got off ok.

No excuse for taking bags though and the worry is as people see this it may encourage more people to try and take theirs. Perhaps pax should be told they will get their belongings back as soon as the plane is safe during the safety briefing and there will be penalties if they attempt to retrieve cases during the evacuation.

[openfly]

Electro locker locks, controlled by the cabin crew….sorted!

[EruditeSheep]

I wonder what has happened to the old adage of using the space under the seat in front of you. Certainly most travellers are reluctant these days to exploit that space even when there isn’t any room left in the overhead lockers. There could be an argument for using that under-seat space to accommodate valuables (e.g. passports, wallets, credit cards) in a small soft bag/handbag that could be safely put in a pocket (or somewhere similar about the person) in event of requiring to exit in an emergency.

On a separate point, it is interesting to contrast the typical aircraft safety briefing with the process that is compulsory before a cruise ship leaves harbour. Passengers that don’t register at those briefings will not be allowed to continue on the cruise. I wouldn’t for a moment advocate that the same process is followed for flights, but something perhaps could be done to penalise those that choose to ignore the briefing, especially the bit about leaving belongings in the overhead lockers. As a frequent flyer on different airlines I am also very much aware of the different fastenings for lifejackets (e.g. clasp vs double knot) and always want to check which variant is provided on my flight.

I agree that more could be done to make the briefing more watchable, without detracting from its purpose. BA’s current offering is very dated (as already pointed out) and really needs to be refreshed. In comparison, the Air New Zealand briefing is always very watchable, memorable (especially for those that normally couldn’t be bothered to watch) and refreshed on a frequent basis.

[SimonS1]

I don’t think electro locks mean it’s “sorted” at all. On 75% of flights my laptop bag is under the seat in front of me and plenty of passengers have wheeled bags under seats to rest feet on.

Compared to 20 years ago part of the challenge is the quantity of laptops, iPads etc on board and general concern about what will happen to these. In fact I saw on the local TV last night someone saying that 2 days later they had still not been reunited with their gear. Pretty poor effort on that front as the plane had been shifted and parked up.

[JohnHarper]

I feel for the crew who did such a good job with this evacuation, I’m sure there will have been arguments about taking bags off and the arrogance of people who disregarded crew instructions needs to be addressed. I hope they are prosecuted and jailed then banned from flying for five years at least.

For many years I have kept my passport, wallet and phone in my pockets during take off and landing with the belief that if evacuation was needed and I survived then I would be able to make out without difficulty if I had those things in the unthinkable situation that no other assistance was provided which of course it would be.

No laptop is worth a life and no one knew for absolute certainty that this aircraft was not going to explode as they gathered their belongings together.

[canucklad]

And the way technology is advancing, the only thing you might need to take with you is your smart phone….
½ my e-mails arrive from somebody’s phone !
My mate bored me with his debit card app….
Your boarding pass is already on it !

[Cheeryguy]

The only issue with auto locking overhead bins is if they fail. Imagine a fire breaking out in a device stowed overhead, the auto lock malfunctions and the crew cannot get access to fight the fire.
The whole bag issue is just indicative of today’s society…..in that people pick and chose which rules/laws they will obey.
Only this afternoon I was out running and some chap almost knocked me down whilst using a mobile at the wheel.
Sadly I really don’t see a definitive solution.

[AnthonyDunn]

@ JohnHarper – 11/09/2015 13:52 BST

+1 Absolutely right.

[LuganoPirate]

I think the problem with hand luggage will get worse as more and airlines introduce no hold baggage fares as legacy airlines “dumb down” to LCC levels.

[Author]

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