DENVER — After a landing gear malfunction triggered smoke and fire aboard American Airlines Flight 3023 in Denver, all 173 passengers evacuated safely, but not without controversy.
An American Airlines safety video online clearly instructs passengers to leave their carry-on bags behind during an evacuation. Still, that message was apparently lost on some travelers aboard the Miami-bound flight Saturday afternoon.
Takeoff was aborted after the crew reported a possible incident with the landing gear, which led to a fire and smoke filling the cabin.
Video shot by passengers during the evacuation showed several passengers sliding down the emergency inflatable slides with their bags in hand. One person fell while carrying luggage in one hand and a child in the other.
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Chad Kendall, an aviation professor at Metropolitan State University of Denver, said the incident illustrated the importance of following the safety instructions flight attendants give at the beginning of each flight.
“The thing that is keeping passengers safe is properly going down the slides without carrying anything that could cause them to tumble, and we actually saw in the video someone holding a bag and then tumbling," Kendall said.
Kendall said the slides themselves are durable and unlikely to be deflated by a bag, but that carrying them can lead to injuries from tripping over the bags. He added that the crew seemed to have done everything correctly during the evacuation, and he commended the pilot for making the quick decision to abort takeoff.
All 173 passengers were able to evacuate safely, although one person was transported to the hospital for evaluation of a minor injury.
Social media reactions to the incident have been critical of those who prioritized their belongings over safety. The U.S. Department of Transportation emphasizes that airlines are responsible for repairing or reimbursing passengers for damaged luggage and contents when the bag is under the airline’s control.
Denver7's Jaclyn Allen contributed to this report
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