an ABC Action News report 6/23/03 - updated 5:16 p.m.
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TAMPA - Passengers aboard a Delta jet bound for Atlanta were sitting through the pre-flight emergency briefing Monday morning when a real-life emergency broke out. Flames began shooting from an engine, which sparked a mad dash for the exits.
The right-side engine of the Boeing 757 spat flames for "about 45 seconds to a minute," recalled passenger Jason Park. "That's a long time when you're in a plane and people are panicking."
The chaos and confusion sent passengers scrambling for the doors before the captain ever gave the order to evacuate. They opened some themselves; crewmembers opened the others.
"The stewardess was screaming 'Get the doors open, let's go!' So we watched her open the one across the aisle from us and then we opened this one up and off we went," Sean Gillespie said.
"There was one gentleman that came barreling through the middle of the plane down the aisle. You could just see it in his eyes; he had to get out of there," Mike Giggy added.
During that evacuation scramble down the slides, eight people were injured severely enough to require hospitalization. Most suffered only bumps and bruises; one man complained of chest pains afterwards. The most seriously hurt was a 16-year-old boy, who broke his wrist.
All but one of the injured were taken to St. Joe's Hospital, where they were visited by a Delta agent late in the morning.
Though most passengers were not hurt, many were still shaken up by the morning's events.
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| The plane's deflated emergency chute is visible below the open doors on the wing. |
"I've been flying 30 years; first time I've ever had that experience," J.D. Hasselbach told Action News. "It's not a fun experience. You just don't know because of the unknowns, you just don't know what's going to happen."
"Today, I'm going to go home, hug my daughter, kiss my wife, and probably be on a plane tomorrow, back to my destination," Dean Mahan added.
Technicians who inspected the engine after the fire did not find any sign of damage. A Delta spokesperson downplayed the danger in the incident, blaming a 'hot start,' much like a car's backfire, for the scare.
The plane involved in the incident has been in service for Delta since 1987. It has made two emergency stops since then; one in 1994 when the engine generator cut out, and a second time in 1996 when the fuel pump and filter blew off during flight.
Related link: Boeing 757 information
from this link
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The aircraft [F-GRJS], Flt 5672 on a scheduled passenger flight from Nantes, crashed about 800m short of runway 26L Brest while attempting to land. The aircraft impacted power lines, a roadway, and immediately caught fire. The Captain sustained fatal injuries; three others aboard were seriously injured. Weather at the time of the accident was poor, with a reported ceiling of 200 feet, and surface visibility measured at 800 meters.
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| Cessna Citation560 overrun
Runway 14 end at Leeds Bradford Airport UK |
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| China Southern overrun at Dalian, China
June 24, 2003 - Passenger Plane Skids Off Runway |
17jun03
A TURKISH-owned passenger jetliner sped
beyond the runway and stopped on grass in an aborted takeoff at a
northern Dutch airport today, authorities said. Three people were
injured.
The Onur Air McDonnell Douglas MD-88 plane was scheduled to fly
from Eelde, about 160km northeast of Amsterdam, to the southern
city of Maastricht, but never became airborne.
Instead, it got stuck about 50 metres past the runway, an airport statement said.
The plane's crew of six and 142 passengers, including one baby, left the plane via the emergency exits.
Two of the passengers were taken to local hospitals, one with a broken shin and one who suffered from a heart condition, a spokesman for Groningen's emergency services department said. One crew member was also in hospital with unspecified injuries.
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