Tammy Duckworth Troubled by Numerous Recent Runway Fires and Emergency Evacs

US Senator Tammy Duckworth is looking to the FAA for answers to more detailed questions regarding multiple recent emergency evacuations of commercial planes. She claims that analyzing the incidents would show the agency just how unrealistic its evacuation standards are in real-world situations.

“While FAA has yet to disclose how long any of the referenced passenger evacuations took, these incidents once again raise serious questions about FAA’s 90 second evacuation standard as well as FAA’s assumptions about how evacuations occur in real world conditions (such as the assumption every passenger will comply with instructions to deplane without carry-on bags),” Duckworth’s letter read.

Duckworth, who authored a provision in the FAA Reauthorization Act requiring the agency to update its evacuation standards, is following up on what was supposed to be a finished study by May 16. She’s now pressing for details on more recent incidents, where passengers reportedly took 10 to 15 minutes to exit the aircraft… and often came out with their luggage in hand. This, clearly, far exceeds the FAA’s current 90-second evacuation cap.

In her letter to the FAA, Duckworth requests the exact duration of evacuations for three recent emergencies. This includes the July 26 fire aboard an American 737 MAX 8 in Denver, an April Delta evacuation in Orlando, and a dramatic March incident (also in Denver) where passengers stood on a smoke-covered wing. She’s also asking for passenger data: how many were children, seniors, or individuals with disabilities, and how many exited with bags in tow.

The FAA’s current evacuation guidelines assume a full aircraft can be emptied in 90 seconds, regardless of passenger mix or behavior. But countless reports, passenger videos, and past studies suggest this is nothing more than wishful thinking. A 2020 Inspector General report noted that the FAA hadn’t meaningfully updated evacuation procedures in decades and had barely studied modern behaviors, such as evacuating with bags or accommodating disabled travelers. A later simulation even limited its participant pool to able-bodied adults under 60.

Duckworth’s EVAC Act aims to fix that, mandating the FAA to consider more realistic factors and consult experts from communities that are often overlooked in such testing.

FMI: www.duckworth.senate.gov