BA plane fire: Critics blast passengers who grabbed hand luggage
Passengers pictured fleeing the British Airways plane fire in Las Vegas clutching hand luggage have been accused of endangering lives.
The issue has sparked a debate about the reasoning behind the behaviour, with many passengers coming under fire on social media, and even from pilots.
The plane's left engine burst into flames upon take off on Tuesday, with all 172 people on board thankfully escaping mainly unharmed down the emergency chutes.
But many people say that passengers stopping to collect their things could have seen a different outcome. Many were seen clutching handbags, suitcases, flip flops and rucksacks.
And the opinions, branding the actions "disgraceful" and "selfish" flowed on Twitter:
Disgraceful amount of people with hand luggage who put people's lives at risk fleeing the BA Boing 777 @flightradar24pic.twitter.com/B7tqPMIhPP
— Stephen Sutton (@Stippidoo) September 9, 2015
Amazing work by @British_Airways crew evacuating the crew of #BA2276 on fire. Can't believe images of people getting off with luggage though
— Mike Jobson (@mikejobson) September 9, 2015
Question: Should these idiots who are bringing their hand luggage off ever be allowed on a flight again? pic.twitter.com/luFme20VCR
— Gareth Soye (@GarethSoye) September 9, 2015
According to the Evening Standard, BA confirmed its standard procedure to leave hand luggage when evacuating a plane in an emergency.
It added that the National Transportation Safety Board in the US would determine whether or not the instruction had been given, and whether passengers taking hand luggage had any impact on the evacuation.
Speaking to the BBC, Mark Weiss, a former American Airlines pilot of 23 years, said you should absolutely leave your luggage in such a situation, explaining: "Panic will always set in in situations like this, but if there's fire and smoke, that air is very toxic.
"If you're standing up to try and get something from an overhead bin or struggling to get it out from under a seat, you're expending a lot of energy and using oxygen."
There were some people that defended the passengers, saying that panic and confusion can do funny things to us, reports the Mirror.
Sports journalist at the Guardian, Jacob Steinberg, who was on the flight, said: "Don't criticise passengers for taking their bags! People go into panic mode in that situation."
Would you stop to grab your luggage if your plane was on fire? We're thinking no...
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