BA288 Emergency at Phoenix
 

news from another site that BA288 has deployed its slides after a possible fire on board....

anyone know more?

My wife on board - just had a call. Yes, slides deployed (that's how she exited).

Now in terminal and told to "rebook", whatever that means....

No other news on any injuries or reasons, but she is certainly a bit shaken up.

Local TV Station
 

Smoke in cabin forces evacuation of flight leaving Phoenix - Phoenix Arizona news, breaking news, local news, weather radar, traffic from ABC15 News | ABC15.com

Other Local TV Stations:

12 News - arizona daily news - arizona headline news - phoenix news - local news

AZTV7/Cable 13, Phoenix, Prescott, AZ, News, Weather, Gas Prices - AZTV7/CABLE 13 HOMEPAGE

Edited to add: positionand hold, glad your wife is OK.

According to BBC
BBC NEWS | Americas | BA evacuates fume-filled US jet
and Sky TV earlier plane hadn't taken off so no emergency landing,still unpleasant for those pax concerned I imagine.

Just for a little accuracy (for the benefit of Sky News/AP), the flight was about to depart Phoenix NOT land. "Hundreds" would have been the 300 or so pax on board, I guess....

It had left the gate but had not reached the holding point (and it's a very short taxi). Very acrid smoke was coming from the rear of the passenger cabin (galley, maybe??) and some young children were carried forward because of this smoke. I understand the smoke had something of a peroxide-type smell.

It seemed a little while before the decision was taken to deploy the slides (though perhaps it was not) and some main deck passengers were directed to the upper deck slides because it was taking a while to clear the main deck forward door areas (the Y class cabin at least appeared completely full or almost so).

The latest local news says no actual fire was detected by fire crews. Usual grazes etc, from the slides, but nothing serious as far as I know.

Yes, 300 or so, passengers.
It would appear that an air conditioning pack overheated and/or an APU problem, sent rather dense smoke throughout the cabin...the outside temperature was 110F, at the time.
'Tis rather warm at this time of year in PHX.:}
The airplane will be there for awhile...all the door slides were deployed, it appeared.

Doesn't look like the plane had moved more than a few feet if at all from the loading tunnel.
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/image...a_plane226.jpg

Wow they deployed the upper deck chute. That's got to be scary for a passenger to look down. I wonder if they actually used them.

I'm not sure if I'm really scared of heights but I don't like loosing my natural horizon. So being on top of a 747 fuselage using the crew escape ropes (sic) would not be my cup of tea either.

i understand that a fire on a fully fueled aircraft is a very scary thing but was it really necessary given the jetbridge was still in place?

is there an SOP in such circumstances?

The airbridge was not in place.

bigjames - I assume you mean was the 'evacuation' really necessary? Ask yourself what is the quickest way to get 300 odd people off a (possibly) burning aircraft? Single airbridge door or multiple slides? That is assuming the airbridge is still connected rather than just 'in place' as you put it.

This is what was going through the captain's mind (see the bit 52 seconds in):

Fire service took their time there!! (CAL120)

That pic in post #7 was from BBC, This one from sky news, the same other than dusk/dark:

http://news.sky.com/sky-news/content...2/15335769.jpg

From the bbc website looks like some passenger panic,- calling for the doors to be opened, Kudos to the cabin crew in keeping them under control. Have seen a similar scenario whereby a tail pipe fire,which was fairly dramatic but essentially quite a harmless momentary event, caused someone in the cabin to shout "Fire" and then mass panic broke out, some pax actually opened the doors and deployed the slides while the aircraft was still pushing back- not good!

Ordered an evacuation last year on my 737 due to smoke everywhere in the aircraft during taxi in. I had the airbridge connected as it was so close. No one got injured, all 110 pa and crew got out in a mere 2 minutes. If I had to do it again, i'd use the slides!
Full mayday, fire department arrived within minutes, no evidence of fire was found after inspection. Later was revealed an electric failure had caused the air/gnd system to fail. No cooling of the airconditioningpacks on the ground. They heat up pretty quick apparently, burning old oil and dust. This burning oil gives an acrid smell, which sets you on the wrong track.
Curious what caused this.
I'm happy everyone got out!

Cheers, T.:ok:

Some Close-up Pictures
 

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b5...ying/baem3.jpg
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b5...ying/baem5.jpg
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b5...ying/baem6.jpg


Just out of curiosity, what does it take to get this plane airworthy again? Do the slides get replaced completely or somehow repacked?

As I said last night, my wife was on board, so I can correct some inaccuracies here. I had not previously realised just how easily some posters will jump to inaccurate conclusions until I was in this position to know exactly what actually happened!

The aircraft is G-CIVB and, as far as I can see, all of the pictures above are of the actual aircraft.

The initial smell was noticeable before push-back commenced

Push-back started, but after a few yards it stopped and the aircraft was moved forward again, almost to the jetway, but it was not immediately reconnected (as far as I know)

Worryingly, there was ZERO PA at any time (or it was so quiet as to be inaudible) - the pax were just talking to each other. I thought there were two or three different "Evac" recordings which the crew just press a button to select and for it to play automatically??

Some passengers took it upon themselves to walk forward with young children because of the smell and smoke (even thought the aircraft was moving and no crew told them to sit down)

My wife was in row 36 and there was most certainly NO panic anywhere around her

Pax simply sat and waited for instructions, whilst obviously becoming more and more aware and concerned about the acrid smell - this lasted about 10 minutes

If you know the config, you will know my wife was two rows in front of door 3R (I think door 3 anyway, but it may have been 2R).

The only reason she knew to evac, was because two crew were at this door, they held back the pax until the slides were fully deployed, then started the evac. It took three minutes to clear the aircraft (I don't know how the few WCHR pax were taken off).

There was still NO PA at all, though of course the crew were shouting a bit to keep the pax moving

A significant number of pax grabbed their wheelie bags, etc from the overhead bins and came down the slides with them....!!

The pax were assembled in the open on the ramp, though not a significant distance from the aircraft (about 25 - 30 yards back) and stayed there for about FIFTEEN TO TWENTY MINUTES - long enough for ground staff to locate, carry out and distribute bottles of water for everyone.....

They were standing on the ramp as the fire trucks began to arrive

Eventually, they were ushered back into the terminal (an endless walk), where the inevitable other side of these events began - the endless standing around waiting to hear about bags, carry-on bags, re-booking, avoiding TV cameras in your face, etc.

Very late last night (AZ time) the flight was shown as rescheduled to 16.00 today, but now it is shown as cancelled.

So now we're off to the airport to join a no doubt lengthy queue, locate the checked-in bags (or file a PIR...) and try to get her re-booked - it could be a long and frustrating day and she is not really looking forward to repeating the push-back experience anyway!!

I flew 747 with BA for 18 years. It evidently happened during start check on pushback. The pushback was halted, probably after a phone call from the cabin. Unfortunately, the flight deck is totally remote from what is going on in the cabin, so it would have taken time to assess exactly what was going on, call out assistance, stop the push and ask the ground staff what they can see outside, and arrange for a tow back to the gate if not immediately serious. The lack of immediate PA does not mean they were sitting doing nothing! Had it developed into a more serious situation, the cabin crew would have immediately stopped the push with a call to the flight deck, and they are authorised to commence an emergency evacuation independently in a catastrophicly serious situation only, such as cabin fire and flames.

The crew are loathe to commence an emergency evacuation without a serious requirement- they always cause injury to individuals and broken bones are frequent. From what I can assess from reports, it was carried out correctly to a 'T'. I think maybe the situation overtook a planned disembarkation at the jetty, which would have been slow, despite the developing emergency. It is vital in a non-catastrophic situation that the handling of the problem is controlled and the response is measured.

The slides all need replacing. It is likely 2 will be replaced (for the crew) and the aeroplane will not fly back to base with passengers.

Positionandhold - first and foremost - happy to hear that your wife is OK. I'm sure the rebook, recheck, restart is frustrating.

I have two questions for you from your "firsthand" knowledge:

1. What was the "smoke state" in the cabin?
- was visibility impaired: 5m / 1m?
- where did it get to in terms of breathe-ability: choking?

2. Do you ( &/ your wife) think the correct decision was taken this time?
- and was this done too late / too soon?

And a comment:

Lack of PA announcements seems to be a recurring theme at PPRUNE. I am not sure that there is much science on this and clearly it is not a good thing to issue "don't panic" noise. Surely something on lines of "The captain is aware of a potential problem and is currently investigating - please be prepared to follow instructions from cabin crew..." would be better. If only to avoid "news vacuum induced panic".

-r101

I understand there was no 'news-vacuum induced' panic or otherwise! I would guess the passengers could visibly see the crew were dealing with the situation and preparing for something. I don't think it correct to ask an opinion on the incident from someone who was not there!

I applaud anyone who went down the upper deck slide! Unless you have stood at the top of one and seen how high it is- it is seriously high and steep- you have no idea! I had a similar feeling standing at the top of the Stuka at Wet n' Wild in Florida (I chickened out!).

The pilots would not use escape ropes at all. But I would rather use one of those than the slide, but the standard exit is from the cabin.

How did the ground staff handle the accomadation problem? My experience of the BA ground staff at Phoenix is that they don't leave until the flight has really gone, and stay well over their alloted hours if there's a problem. Be interested to know what they amanged - BBC news said they were arranging hotels. That would be one hell of a job at thet time of night at a weekend.

I use that flight quite requently: fortunately, I have friends in Phoenix with whom I could stay in such an eventuality....

SOP followed, evac done correctly:ok: What's the problem, you want drama with all interrupted ops or what:ugh:

I've been down the U/D slide a few times (for fun). My previous outfit would "advertise" inhouse when they were to be changed out due timex-ed. All were invited for a ride (advertised in advance so we could wear jeans... nylon/polyester etc trousers will leave you showing the color of your underwear to all and sundry :} )

As Rainboe stated.. a Stuka dive. Lean forward and grab your knees/ankles otherwise you'll go a** over t*t backwards... :ouch:

Asking as SLF here -- I've read that broken/twisted ankles can happen easily when using emergency chutes. I recall that they used to ask pax who reached the ground early to help slow others to avoid further problems. Perhaps I'm too oblivious to the safety lecture these days, but I don't remember hearing that for a while.

Running in terror versus being a brave hero helping others is always a chance event, depending on the situation.

My husband is afraid of heights, and might be seized by fear when faced with sliding from the upper deck if given a chance to think about it. (No offense intended to him -- he's fine normally and has no fear of flying.)

What do you do if someone gets paralyzed with fear? Shove them? Rush them out so fast they have no chance to think? Say reassuring words and pretend it's a playground slide?

I recall from safety briefings that you're supposed to kick off your shoes first. Is this to keep them from catching and spinning you around, or, if wearing heels, to avoid gouging (and perhaps deflating) the slide?

If ever faced with sliding down an emergency exit, I hope I would treat it like a fun ride in an amusement park, and let fear kick in later.

Pax grabbed wheelie bags??
 

My concern would be the report that folks were taking their bags down the slides.
I was on a BA shorthaul last week and there was the usual seriously large/heavy “cabin bags”. (One bag required 2 people to lift it, and it filled the locker). Get one of those stuck in the exit row and you’ve trouble.

People are welcome to 'freeze' with terror- just remember there is a large group of people in rather a hurry right behind them! They will not 'freeze' for long! Shoes should be removed to prevent damage to the slide and unpredictable reaction to the slide surface. The cabin crew will be shouting at able bodied men to support others coming down after them, but there is a deceleration surface on the slide and speed is reduced just as you reach the bottom. The depressing thing is to see that people once again took handbaggage down with them despite the fact that it may cost others their lives in delaying evacuation for those following.

Years ago we had smoke pouring outside from an aircon pack on the gate. We immediately called for disembarkation by the jetty. The problem with blowing the slides on the jetty is all the equipment outside.

These procedures are very well trained in the simulator and analysed after for logic and common sense in decisions taken. The result is BA crews, as we all are, are very well versed in these procedures. It appears that this was all carried out rapidly, superbly and efficiently, and without panic. Are the Pprune 'experts' now going to come out with unfounded criticism? My own thoughts are 'bloody well done! Unexpected, at a bad time, and executed faultlessly.'

Rainboe -- Thank you for your reply.
Yes, well done by all.

It would be interesting to know whether the safety demo had been played already or it washalfway trough.

BA cabin crew SEP standards are very high and I am glad to see they did a good job:ok:

The BA staff were extremely polite and patient, in spite of some provocative comments - I hear a woman complaining nobody knew when the "replacement aircraft" would be arriving and this was one hour after the incident. People are clearly conditioned to complain and real quick!

Several BA staff stayed all night and I saw them still there at 11.30 local this morning (and they were still charming). My wife got re-booked via IAH without too much trouble then, at the CO gate for the PHX-IAH flight she was upgraded.....

I can't comment on the hotels, because we did not need one. My wife is on a flight now, so I do not know the exact visibility, but I had the impression the issue was much more of an extremely acrid smell and some loss of vis, rather than the need to grope your way to the nearest door.

G-CIVB is now parked way, way down at the extreme western end of PHX, with all doors closed and no slides visible (and not a lot appearing to be going on either).

I'm grateful none of those really experienced and mature FD crew came on to chew me off about SOPs, etc. Yes, it was a non-event if you were not there and was handled reasonably well (though I would stop short of awarding kudos to the cabin crew, based on my wife's experience in her area of the cabin). Not so funny at the time though, when you had little idea what was developing and at what point the crew were going to be seen to be doing something about it.

That last paragraph is a bit naughty. You were not there. You have no reason to criticise, not knowing what the crew were involved in doing at the time. Everybody seems to have gotten off sharpish and with incredibly few injuries considering this was a full emergency evacuation. All of them will be interrogated and exactly what and when happened. I cannot see that the result will be bad. The evidence of the training is there- we have also had the 777 sudden crash at LHR where once again a classic emergency evacuation was extremely competently handled. Don't defile what has probably once again been a competent evacuation with unfounded slurs or criticism.

Local airport staff always see the last departure away safely. They know if anything goes wrong, they stay to sort out the fallout, whatever the time. In the fog this spring, our traffic officer at Stansted stayed on duty, without sleep, for 26 hours sorting out a grounded aircraft and passengers, then sorted arrangements for the following day's flight before crashing out. They know it comes with the job. Getting hotels for 350 people is always a nightmare. They go through the list, suddenly rates become exorbitent, and then coach arrangements must be made.

I was not present at the scene but as a BA crewmember, we are trained to deploy slides ONLY if commanded by the Captain over the PA system OR, by activating the evacuation alarm signal located at each door in a CATASTROPHIC situation.

The photos and videos I have seen suggest the situation may not have been considered catastrophic; this might explain the apparent reluctance on the part of the crew to deploy slides without any signal from the Captain, or by the activation of the alarm by another crewmember at another door. If you are going to activate the evacuation alarm and open a door/deploy the slide, you better have a good reason for doing so.

Every incident/event is unique and brings up problems which even the most thorough emergency manuals cannot alone provide solutions for; it is thus up to the crew to collectively think and react quickly without jumping the gun and making the situation worse.

Probably just an over-heated re-circ fan .. I suspect it'll all come out in the wash ..:ok:

Stupid, heavy cabin bags again
 

Here are the stupid, heavy cabin bags again. := How many times must we remind the companies that they should NOT allow the pax to bring those stupid, heavy cabin bags onboard. The gate agents MUST stop them at the jet way, and NOT allow them onboard. Who would want to be mindlessly brained from behind by a heavy carry on dropped by an idiot? A child could be seriously injured by those stupid bags. Maybe the companies should just remove the big overhead compartments and forbid all the carry on bags. :cool:

Second full, successful evacuation of a BA aircraft (first, BA038 at LHR) without major incident in 18 months.

Well done to the crews involved. Think BA SEP dept can see the fruits of their labour and is testament to their training and BA's procedures.

:D

It isn't just heavy bags that passengers take with them. Several years ago, during an evacuation at Barbados, several passengers were injured by broken glass at the bottom of the slides. Many of the passengers had taken their duty free booze with them.

Dave

positionand hold
Just wondering if your wife is absolutely certain there was no PA?

How did she first become aware they were actually 'evacuating'???

And was there any kind of audible alarm?

It seems that the FAs did a great job in this evac. Not sure if I would like to evac down the upper deck slide. Well done :).

Oil or electrical smoke?
 

Is it known yet whether the cause was oil or electrical?

If oil - see Aerotoxic Assiociation - Support for sufferers of Aerotoxic Syndrome for the likely health effects.

Good luck to all involved.

DB:ok:

Hmmm, I see these folks beat their somewhat obtuse drum at every opportunity, whether it makes sense, considering the circumstances....or not.:rolleyes: