How passengers, some with their carry-on luggage in hand, evacuated an American Airlines plane that caught fire at Denver International will be part of the federal investigation into the incident, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
Photos showed passengers scrambling out on a wing above the smoke as ground crew members tried to get the bridge to DIA in place and positioned slides and ladders.
“Evacuation procedures will be part of the investigation,” an NTSB email said. The role of the bridge, in particular, “is something the investigators are looking into.”
An NTSB-led team has been investigating at DIA since the incident on March 13, when American Airlines Flight 1006 took off from Colorado Springs at 4:52 p.m., bound for Dallas-Fort Worth. It diverted at 5:14 p.m. to DIA after crew members reported engine vibrations. The aircraft landed safely and taxied to gate C38, where the fire broke out.
DIA ground crews went to the gate and doused the flames as 172 passengers escaped. A dozen passengers were taken to the University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora for treatment of smoke inhalation and minor injuries.
An NTSB study done 25 years ago of 46 evacuations over a two-year period found engine fires are the most common cause and that, even when flight attendants commanded passengers to “leave everything,” passengers often took their belongings. Nearly 50% of passengers interviewed for the study reported trying to remove a bag during the evacuation.
The FAA sets standards for airlines to follow in emergencies.
“Airlines determine how to do that, and flight attendants typically instruct passengers to leave all carry-on luggage in the cabin if they evacuate,” FAA spokeswoman Cassandra Nolan said. “FAA regulations require passengers to obey crewmembers’ safety instructions,” Nolan said.
American Airlines officials did not respond to requests to discuss what happened.
Airline crews undergo training to prioritize passenger safety and quick movement of people off the plane.
At Metropolitan State University of Denver, Aviation and Aerospace Science professor and FAA chief instructor Chad Kendall, a former commercial airline pilot for American Eagle and other airlines, saw the incident as a case study in the complexities of evacuating aircraft.
Beyond the question of which exits were used and crew members’ actions, “a crucial and unpredictable element is human behavior,” Kendall said. “Passengers often react instinctively under stress, which can either aid or hinder the process, he said.
“Even if the jet bridge was in use for passengers deplaning through the forward exits, the urgency and panic inside the cabin may have led passengers to independently initiate an evacuation through the over-wing exits,” he said. “Instinct takes over, and their primary focus becomes finding the nearest available exit to ensure their safety.”
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