Passengers Were Grabbing Carry-On Luggage During American Airlines Evacuation In Chicago In 2016

When an American Airlines Boeing 767 suffered an uncontained engine failure and subsequent fire on takeoff in Chicago in 2016, all of the passengers and crew were evacuated safely, with about 20 suffering minor injuries, and one 77-year-old man breaking several bones during the evacuation.

But that evacuation was far from orderly, according to the crew of the airliner. The Chicago Tribune reports that multiple passengers failed to follow crew instructions, with several trying to retrieve their stowed carry-on baggage from the airplane.

At a meeting held Tuesday on the incident, NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt said that although everyone was successfully evacuated, "the investigation revealed ways that the evacuation could have been improved."

The Board has made a series of recommendations for the FAA to revise its airline evacuation procedure. They include revising checklists for engine shutdowns, and additional training for flight attendants in similar situations. One recommendation would direct the FAA to "conduct research to (1) measure and evaluate the effects of carry-on baggage on passenger deplaning times and safety during an emergency evacuation and (2) identify effective countermeasures to reduce any determined risks, and implement the countermeasures."

Sumwalt did have a message to the flying public in his opening statement at the meeting. "Follow your crew's instructions. Things can be replaced. People can't."

The NTSB's probable cause report cited a failure on the part of the crew to follow proper procedures during the engine shutdown and subsequent evacuation. "Contributing to the serious passenger injury was (1) the delay in shutting down the left engine and (2) a flight attendant’s deviation from company procedures, which resulted in passengers evacuating from the left overwing exit while the left engine was still operating.

"Contributing to the delay in shutting down the left engine was (1) the lack of a separate checklist procedure for Boeing 767 airplanes that specifically addressed engine fires on the ground and (2) the lack of communication between the flight and cabin crews after the airplane came to a stop," the report states.

However, American released a statement praising the actions of its flight crew. "American is proud of the way its pilots and flight attendants handled this event," the airline said in a statement Tuesday. "The flight attendants performed a successful evacuation of all passengers and crew, despite concerns for their own personal safety. The cabin crew's judgment, skill, and self-discipline likely prevented significant injuries."

(Image from NTSB report)

FMI: Original report, Probable Cause report with recommendations