British Airways plane catches fire at Las Vegas airport; 14 injured

[TexasTowelie]

Source: CNN

CNN)A fire broke out Tuesday on an outbound British Airways flight at the Las Vegas airport, leading 14 people to be transported for medical care for what a fire official called "minor injuries."

A majority of the injuries came as passengers slid down the inflatable chutes to evacuate the Boeing 777, Clark County Fire Department Deputy Chief Jon Klassen said.

The incident occurred shortly after 4 p.m. (7 p.m. ET) and involved British Airways Flight 2276, which was bound for London's Gatwick Airport, according to the McCarran International Airport's Twitter feed.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the aircraft's left engine caught fire, prompting the crew to abort the takeoff.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/08/us/las-vegas-british-airways-fire/

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[davidn3600]

1. Well at least it decided to catch fire on the ground instead of the air

[Plucketeer]

2. If it was going to happen

how lucky that it happened on the ground???

[Divernan]

3. BA flight attendants neglected to enforce 2 safety precautions.

First of all, and I quote the article:

The plane was getting ready to take off, he said, when he heard a big thud. He lifted the window shade and saw the trouble. "Just saw flames on the engine," he said.

It has always been the policy of every airline I've ever flown on that shades must be lifted/up during takeoffs and landings. Why? So flight attendants can see any problems which develop outside the aircraft. That was exactly the case here - an engine on one side of the plane was in flames.

Secondly, passengers were allowed to take the time to retrieve their carry-ons from overhead bins or under seats, blocking exits from individual rows and the main aisle,which slowed down the evacuation for all passengers. Equally risky, and the cause of injuries to those using the slides, was allowing passengers to take their carry-on luggage with them when exiting.

A majority of the injuries came as passengers slid down the inflatable chutes to evacuate the Boeing 777, Clark County Fire Department Deputy Chief Jon Klassen said.

One of the passengers evacuating was Jacob Steinberg, a sports writer with the Guardian newspaper in the United Kingdom. He tweeted that a few people had cuts or bruises from the emergency slide. He also said people shouldn't criticize passengers who took their carry-on luggage with them during the evacuation. . . .
Abend said crews practice evacuating their airplanes frequently with the goal of having everyone out in 90 seconds.

[Gumboot]

4. That was an amazingly lucky escape.

Think about how much fuel that plane was carrying... for a non-stop, overnight flight to London.




Thankfully the wing tanks were well protected, although you can see the extensive damage from this photo.

Tipping my hat to the the flight crew for a great evacuation job, and also the fire crews who quickly prevented a major disaster.