[SimonS1]

Staggering. Embarrassing for any semi-professional airport.

4 users thanked author for this post.

DerekVH, esselle, AndrewinHK, Henryp1

[AndrewinHK]

You can of course blame the airport here, the response from them seems wholly inadequate, but I do wonder did the BA pilots communicate with BA operations and why evacuation was not done via slides if the airport were clearly not able to provide assistance in a timely manner. I am unsure the procedures during a bomb threat, but waiting for steps to be provided especially waiting the amount of time they did seems very odd, even more so then requesting a high lift to assist a wheelchair passenger, I would have thought a bomb threat would be treated as an emergency evacuation.

2 users thanked author for this post.

ASK1945, esselle

[esselle]

Extraordinary.

Does anybody know the outcome?

[FDOS]

Flight cancelled and rescheduled for the next day.

Before we pile on to the airport too much, I perceive conflicting rules/policies with the responders, e.g. stairs can’t come until aircraft declared safe.

However, do agree that the passengers were on there for a long time. There are risks involved in evacuating via slides and risks in not doing.

Given that most bomb threats are hoaxes, a bit of a difficult situation for all to handle.

6 users thanked author for this post.

BA789, DerekVH, SimonS1, esselle, AndrewinHK, ASK1945

[SimonS1]

So the authorities were sufficiently concerned to stop the aircraft after takeoff clearance was given, but then took nearly an hour to get things under control with passengers evacuated as an emergency?

I’m surprised the Captain was so patient.

Sympathies for the controller but the airport authorities sound totally clueless. I don’t know if they ever have rehearsals for such situations? If no, then they probably should. If yes, whoever is in charge should be concerned for their future employment.

Had this been a real situation the outcome could have been catastrophic.

[FDOS]

@SimonS1

“I’m surprised the Captain was so patient”.

The costs and risks of using the slides are not trivial – apart from the direct costs of replacing the slides, there would be an aircraft out of service for at least a few days and the knock on costs for that are substantial.

The captain would be talking to colleagues in London and receiving advice.

I don’t know much about bombs, but wonder if one that will punch a hole in the fuselage and cause the aircraft to break up in flight, would actually seriously injure anyone on the ground?

Also, the airport was evacuating under a bomb threat, which likely added to the delays, per the controller’s comments.

[SimonS1]

All I can say from a passenger perspective is I wouldn’t want to be sitting around for an hour in an aluminium tube that has suffered a bomb threat while the emergency services fanny around.

2 users thanked author for this post.

FDOS, esselle

[FDOS]

“ll I can say from a passenger perspective is I wouldn’t want to be sitting around for an hour in an aluminium tube that has suffered a bomb threat while the emergency services fanny around.”

Me neither, just another example of your safey is most important, until it isn’t.

2 users thanked author for this post.

DerekVH, SimonS1

[cwoodward]

Originally the call was a simple a threat – not altogether uncommon and one whose content should have been immediately been analysed by a person trained to do so and a determination made within minutes. Any competent airport authority has processes in place to take immediate action. Seemingly nothing was in place at Bermuda which is frankly a disgrace.

Had even common sense been immediately applied the aircraft would immediately been cleared to exit the runway, stairs supplied and the passengers evacuated from the aircraft. Reasoning being that any bomb would have been set to activate while the aircraft was in the air thus immediate evacuation was needed time being of the essence.

The crucial component of bomb threat management is the ability to assess the risk level of the threat. Because most threats prove to be false, a Decision Maker must be able to immediately determine how serious a threat should be taken. Seemingly there was no plan in place or the needed (required) decision maker or action plan available or in-place.
The incompetence displayed was beyond belief.

Back in the 90’s I was aboard a Cathay 747 flight out if LHR when an hour into the flight a bomb threat was found scrawled in lipstick on a lavatory mirror in economy.
The flight immediately returned to LHR to a remote stand, 2 sets of stairs immediately brought, police boarded and the aircraft evacuated in under ten minutes. All passengers held and individually interviewed. After a couple hours business class passengers were released.
The culprit was eventually found and prosecuted. Passengers were sent to hotels and the flight departed the following morning.

In my book undoubtedly the Bermuda authorities displayed total incompetence.

1 user thanked author for this post.

ASK1945

[Author]

Posts