I just cannot understand the stupidity of people posting on here who somehow feel that carrying bags off in a situation like this is in any way condonable.
Trossie (and others), you aren't going to solve the problem until you understand it. I don't understand it either - but I strongly suspect it's a lot more complex than people thinking that their tag-along is more important than getting the hell out of the airplane quickly. That does not mean it's condonable - and I don't think I or anyone else here has said that it is. Just that it's more complicated than you'd like to think.
All this talk of fines and prosecutions and failure to obey crew commands is utter nonsense if you don't understand why and how people behave the way they do in a full-on emergency. This industry needs some research into why people do this.
And see my
comment re Asiana - where it's been suggested that PAX were
instructed to take bags with them because they were obstructing the aisle.