An American Airlines flight made headlines last week after a fire around the landing gear prompted an evacuation. However, footage of the procedure concerned many social media users, including an Illinois Senator.
The evacuation of flight 3023 occurred on July 13 at around 2:45 PM, and a passenger revealed an extended video of the procedure on Instagram. Ultimately, only one person was hurt, but critics pointed out how sloppy it was, especially with flames enveloping the landing gear.
The damning footage shows passengers using the emergency slide at a leisurely pace. Most have their bags with them, slowing down other passengers trying to leave the American Airlines flight. Multiple comments point out the poor practice. One user joked, “My hero is the guy that fell on his kid while carry his precious luggage from a burning plane.”
Per CBS News, Senator Tammy Duckworth was less than impressed with the footage. She has written to the FAA with questions about evacuation safety. Duckworth told the outlet in a statement, “The FAA needs an evacuation standard that reflects the reality of flying today.”
The Senator Addressed The American Airlines Evacuation Footage Directly
Duckworth addressed footage and eyewitness accounts of the evacuation in her letter to the FAA. “Video showed passengers exiting with carry-on bags and, according to at least one passenger, the process took 10 to 15 minutes — the latter estimate exceeding FAA’s 90-second evacuation standard by 10 times,” she reportedly wrote.
CBS reports that the senator wants the FAA to disclose how long the American Airlines evacuation took. She also wants to know how many passengers left with their bags and how many young, senior, and disabled passengers were on board. Duckworth’s request also extends to other evacuation incidents this year.
The outlet also reports that FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford addressed the most recent incident on Tuesday. “We were all disappointed that many of the passengers on board did not respond to the flight attendant’s request to evacuate timely. Grabbing bags, that’s just wrong,” he reportedly said during a conference. He also explained, “We will be doing some education” to make passengers aware that they must obey flight attendants.