Southwest Airlines Plane on Fire at Landing

[Ned]

A Southwest Airlines plane at Houston's Hobby Airport today caught on fire after landing, forcing passengers to evacuate. It looks as though the brakes locked and a wheel on the right landing gear caught on fire from the skid.

Take a look at the video. You'll see one jacka$$ threw his brief case down the ramp before he went down and it opened up. Then he started to run after some of the papers.

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/...lane.fire.ktrk

[wrp96]

Ned, I noticed numerous people went down with their carryons in their hands. But that idiot was especially noteworthy.


It surprised me how long it took before they began evacuating that plane. I counted at least 2 full minutes after the plane came to a complete stop. I wonder how long it took to realize the plane was on fire.


Also, it occurred to me that the flight attendant wearing shorts was probably highly regretting her decision to opt for shorts instead of pants for that flight.

[bodega]

Did you see that the man who threw his briefcase down first, then slid down, also sat at the end of the slide while he collected his stuff. Idiot!

[pezmanffx]

Ok, I think is should be a felony to bring a carry-on during an evacuation and should be announced as such during the safety briefing. This is just plain reckless endangerment.

[Ned]

P-man, they do announce that you should leave everything in the plane, except your coat or jacket if it's cold outside, if you have to evacuate. Some people don't understand how important it is.

Personally, I think they should briefly, no make that "very briefly," explain why you should do that, when they make that announcement. They don't, and I think if people understood why, it would make a difference.

I can tell you that my camera will be around my neck if I ever have to evacuate again. There is no way I'm going to miss the opportunity to get photos of the accident and evacuation if I can do it. Hell, I could get a Pulitzer Prize, well maybe at least a big pat on the back anyway, but I can dream, can't I?

During cold weather, I always keep my coat or jacket in my lap during takeoff and landing, as a precaution. If the plane does go down, I don't want to survive a crash, only to die of exposure, or hypothermia. I also keep my camera in the seat pocket in front of me, so that once we're down I can grab that Pulitzer.

Seriously, I could get some amazing shots that way.

Originally Posted by pezmanffx

Ok, I think is should be a felony to bring a carry-on during an evacuation and should be announced as such during the safety briefing. This is just plain reckless endangerment.

[jfrenaye]

Originally Posted by Ned

I can tell you that my camera will be around my neck if I ever have to evacuate again. There is no way I'm going to miss the opportunity to get photos of the accident and evacuation if I can do it. Hell, I could get a Pulitzer Prize, well maybe at least a big pat on the back anyway, but I can dream, can't I?

Or a payoff to either release the photos to a tabloid or not to release them!

[IslandGirl]

We had a fire in our old house it was struck by lightening. I grabbed the kids, dogs and was dialing 911 as I was calmly exiting. The last thing on my mind was possessions. Our lives came first. They tell you in the event of an emergency to leave your belongings. I can't believe these people.

As to the flight attendant wearing shorts remember the United crash in Iowa? One of the flight attendant's hose was melted into her legs. Polyester pants would do the same thing.

[Ned]

You are exactly right about clothing.

In my Tripso column last week, What are the odds of my plane crashing? I discussed what clothing to wear when flying.

Wear the right clothing to fly. Wear a good pair of shoes or leather sneakers, never sandals or flip-flops. For women, wearing high heels may make an airborne fashion statement, but you don’t want to be wearing them in case of an emergency exit from a plane. Sandals or “heels” make it hard to move quickly within wreckage.

I wear long pants and long sleeved shirts, made with natural fibers (synthetics or high synthetic content blends can melt on your skin in a fire, causing serious and even fatal wounds) to protect my skin from the possibility of intense heat and fire, but more importantly, to be honest, to help me slide down the wing of an aircraft or emergency slide. Experience has taught me going down that slide can hurt.

My column this week, Air crash survival secrets your airline may not tell you follows up last weeks article and completes the 2 part series about what passengers can do in the unlikely case of being involved in an airplane accident.

Originally Posted by IslandGirl

We had a fire in our old house it was struck by lightening. I grabbed the kids, dogs and was dialing 911 as I was calmly exiting. The last thing on my mind was possessions. Our lives came first. They tell you in the event of an emergency to leave your belongings. I can't believe these people.

As to the flight attendant wearing shorts remember the United crash in Iowa? The one flight attendant's hose were melted into her legs? Polyester pants would do the same thing.

[katroa]

Not only did he throw his briefcase down first, he sat on the end of the slide while he gathered the papers together. I was waiting for another person to come down and kick him out of the way.

[pezmanffx]

Ned I know they announce it but I think it should be a criminal offense with jail time.