Originally Posted by
bluepilot
Having ordered and seen the consequence of an evacuation many years ago I think this crew made a sound decision not to put their passengers at additional risk. In the case I was involved with there was smoke and fumes and so we had to assume a fire, therefore the choice was easy. However the aftermath was a real eye opener! Thankfully there were no major injuries (very lucky), but there were grown men crying people in shock etc and scattered everywhere, do not underestimate the risks of a full evacuation.
As to the reason for the incident in the first place let the authorities carry out their investigation. I am sure this crew are under enough stress at the moment re living the incident and questioning themselves (If only I had...etc). Judgements from armchair critics who do not know the full facts will not help further the interests of flight safety.
Although speaking from a railway perspective I agree totally.
You would NOT believe how many people there are out there walking around with latent health issues that they are either ignoring or are receiving treatment for. Inevitably there will be a number of these people involved and from many train evacuation scenarios I can assure you that you will almost always end up with a requirement fro emergency ambulances being called to remove people to hospital. and remember that can be from something as simple as walking passengers through the train, out through the driving cab and down onto the emergency walkway into the nearest station.
Evacuating an a/c has a multitude or far greater risks than the evacuations I have carried out and as a frequent flyer myself, I believe that the crew did the correct thing.
The sad thing I see as I get older is that as safety becomes "more professional" (so to speak !) it becomes more of a tick in the box procedural exercise with flow chart actions which by virtue cannot recognise the individual factors applicable to each situation. Safety should allow for professionals to exercise final judgement, and not be simplified for the purpose of making someone else's life easier or for administrative ease.
Knee-jerk "must evacuate immediately" procedures (and comments) should have no place in safe a/c operation. Each scenario is different and procedures should allow for judgement and discretion to be exercised by those who are properly trained and versed in all the issues and the risks.