Quote:
I may be missing something but I didn't notice any escape slides from the forward and aft doors.
I think the slides need to drop a certain distance before they will inflate,
If you look very closely to the footage, You will see that L1 is still intact and faired with fuselage. On the other hand the cabin crew did not attempt to open the door due to the area being completely inaccessible.
On another note; The worse thing anybody can do is to speculate without the facts and I will most certainly not take the words of a pax who's just been involved in one of the most horrific experiences, not to mention the shock they were under during the ordeal as a basis, to identify the cause of a crash. Do yourself a favour and wait for the findings and facts.
As for the slide on the B737, when you close the door you have to physically lift the bar and place it on the floor to arm the slide, then the Red Ribbon is placed across the door pane to indicate it is armed for the people outside. It is not like the Wide-body set up whether it is 747 or A330/A340 or even 320 for that matter which is automatically engaged.
please see below.
A
737-300/400/500
MAINTENANCE MANUAL
E_S_C_A_P_E_ _S_L_I_D_E_ _A_S_S_E_M_B_L_Y_ _(_D_O_O_R_-_M_O_U_N_T_E_D_)_ _-_ _D_E_S_C_R_I_P_T_I_O_N_ _A_N_D_ _O_P_E_R_A_T_I_O_N_
1 . G_e_n_e_r_a_l_
A. Each escape slide assembly has these components:
(1) an escape slide pack
(2) an escape slide compartment
(3) two floor brackets.
B. The escape slide assemblies are installed on the lower inboard face of
each entry and galley service door.
C. Two floor brackets are attached to the floor inboard of the doorway.
D. The escape slide pack has these components:
(1) an escape slide
(2) a detachable girt
(3) a girt bar
(4) an air bottle
E. The air bottle holds high-pressure gas to inflate the slide.
F. The compartment holds the slide pack in the folded position and opens
when the slide is used.
2 . O_p_e_r_a_t_i_o_n_ (Fig. 1)
A. Prepare and inflate the escape slide.
(1) Install the slide assembly with the door closed.
(2) To arm the slide, remove the girt bar from the stowage hooks on the
door and install it in the floor brackets.
(3) Open the door as usual but do not hesitate until it is fully open.
(4) The girt will extend while you open the door.
(5) As you open the door, the conection between the girt and the latch
will pull tight, and unlatch the compartment.
(6) When the door is almost fully open, the slide pack will pull down
and out of the compartment.
(7) The slide will fully inflate in approximately six seconds.
(8) If the slide does not inflate automatically, pull the inflation
handle sharply to inflate the slide manually.
(9) To remove the slide from the airplane, lift the flap and pull the
ditching handle.
From the picture, it does not look like the slide was armed!!!