DO NOT CARRY BAGS Emergency Evacuations-PRESS needs to put message in Passengers’ FORETHOUGHT

JDA Aviation Technology Solutions

Once again, an airplane required an emergency evacuation and ONCE AGAIN, in spite of the seat back passenger warning[1] and the Flight Attendants’ “FRUITLESSLY YELLING ‘LEAVE ALL BAGS BEHIND!’ …the jaded passengers walk past, clutching their luggage.” [quote and below images of the passengers from Daily Mail]. Apologies to anyone who remembers past blog posts on the same subject [link to two of them], but the repeated events that should have made the average passenger that it is MANDATORY for the safety of ALL PASSENGERS to not impede or harm the egress in such difficult situations.Top of Form

Rather than repeat the same request of the aviation safety professionals, among others, who read these admonitions, this message attempts to empower y’all to take constructive action, as discussed below. The human beings on board seem to ignore the clear safety instructions delivered to them on the safety card and by the airlines’ safety responders, the flight attendants.

One reason for this inappropriate response is THE ACUTE STRESS AND EVACUATION‑PHASE ANXIETY can meaningfully impair the cognitive processes passengers need to follow the “leave bags behind” instruction. Research expands on this phenomenon—

• High‑stress situations trigger a “tunnel” effect: people focus on the most immediate, personally salient cues and lose the ability to process broader situational demands.

• Under acute stress, working memory and executive control degrade, making it harder to recall or apply instructions learned minutes earlier in the safety briefing.
• This can cause passengers to default to habitual behaviors — such as retrieving valuables — instead of following emergency‑specific rules.

• Retrieving a bag is a well‑practiced, automatic behavior.

• In evacuations, many passengers act on automatic scripts rather than deliberate reasoning.
• Human‑factors research shows that when cognitive load spikes, people fall back on familiar actions even when they contradict safety instructions.

• Nearly 50% of passengers in a U.S. Transportation Safety Board study attempted to take bags during evacuations.
• Around 35% said they would take luggage even if explicitly warned not to.
• A British report found 77% expect to try to take belongings.

To reach the recesses of the public memory, MORE COVERAGE of the events in which individuals ignore this CRITICAL WARNING. The news media (paper, TV, radio and social media) typically are quick to publicize any aviation event.

Curiously, the United B-787 evacuation was only highlighted (among major news sources) by

• Daily Mail (U.S. Edition) — Published a detailed report highlighting passengers taking luggage down the slides during the evacuation. Daily Mail
• Good Morning America / ABC News — Covered the broader evacuation event, including passenger behavior during the emergency. Good Morning America
• Associated Press (AP) — Referenced in multiple reports as providing information on the FAA ground stop and investigation. AeroTime

 

In the past it has been suggested that readers bring to the attention of their press contacts the risks shown when individual bags are more important than the lives of others. PUBLIC SERVICE REQUEST to all who earn their livelihood to flight, PLEASE use this list of Major Newspapers which has shown an editorial history about aviation:

• Seattle Times special.seattletimes.com

• • Dominic Gates and colleagues have produced some of the most influential reporting on Boeing, the 737 MAX, FAA oversight, and systemic safety issues.
• Los Angeles Times https://www.latimes.com/business https://www.latimes.com/california

• Chicago Tribune https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/transportation/
• Atlanta Journal‑Constitution https://www.ajc.com/business/airlines/
• The New York Time https://www.nytimes.com/section/business https://www.nytimes.com/section/us

• The Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/
• The Wall Street Journal https://www.wsj.com/news/business/aerospace-defense

and the network specialists on aviation

• ABC News —
  • Gio Benitez
    • Bio: https://abcnews.go.com/abcnewsnow/gio-benitez
  • Sam Sweeney
    • Bio: https://abcnews.go.com/author/sam_sweeney
  • Kris Van Cleave —
    • Bio: https://www.cbsnews.com/team/kris-van-cleave/
• NBC News
  • • Tom Costello —
      • Bio: https://www.nbcnews.com/author/tom-costello-ncpn8171 (nbcnews.com in Bing)
• FOX News — Aviation / Transportation
  • • • Claudia Cowan
        • Bio: https://www.foxnews.com/person/c/claudia-cowan
      • Jeff Paul
        • Bio: https://www.foxnews.com/person/p/jeff-paul
      • Matt Finn
        • Bio: https://www.foxnews.com/person/f/matt-finn

 

Perhaps the most effective bridge to the media are your connections to the reporters who cover aviation. Taking the time to share with these “contacts” may help for these Emergency Evacuation instances, but may result in their contacting you on other aviation news.

 

 

 

AFA-CWA is the lone industry organization voice issuing Press Releases on this subject– A4A and ALPA have not addressed the need to evacuate YOU and nothing else. FlyersRights, Travelers United, and other consumer‑focused organizations consistently argue for stricter enforcement to prevent passengers from taking bags during evacuations.

Passengers seen carrying LUGGAGE during emergency evacuation of United Boeing 787 that deployed slides after engine fire landing at LAX

By ELIOT FORCE, US NEWS REPORTER

Stubborn passengers evacuating a smoking plane insisted on carrying their luggage off a plane DESPITE FLIGHT ATTENDANTS REPEATEDLY INSTRUCTING PEOPLE TO LEAVE THEIR BELONGINGS BEHIND.

The travelers were fleeing United Airlines flight UA 2127 after it was forced to make an emergency landing at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) due to a reported engine failure.

The New Jersey-bound Boeing 787 had to turn back during its journey to Newark Liberty International Airport after smoke started filling the aircraft on Monday.

The plane deployed emergency evacuation slides on the runway so passengers could quickly flee the plane.

But video showed travelers frantically trying to gather their baggage before bouncing down the plane’s emergency slides.

One passenger can be seen wearing a large backpack and pulling a large carry-on bag with wheels alongside him.

As the travelers slowly make their way to the exit, multiple flight attendants can be heard shouting ‘Come this way!’ and ‘Get away from the engine!’

One of the flight attendants can be heard FRUITLESSLY YELLING ‘LEAVE ALL BAGS BEHIND!’ as the jaded passengers walk past, clutching their luggage.Top of Form

The plane deployed emergency slides to quickly evacuate the aircraft, which is meant to be completed within 90 seconds

The United Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing after smoke began filling the cabin. A firefighter is pictured on the tarmac as passengers evacuate the plane

Boeing 787s are required to be able to conduct a full evacuation of the aircraft within 90 seconds, according to the European Union Aviation Safety Agency.

The agency states that ‘In a real-life emergency, THE EVACUATION IS LIKELY TO TAKE LONGER as some passengers are likely to be children, or elderly or be in shock due to the situation.’

But it did not account for passengers disregarding instructions to leave their cumbersome baggage behind, dragging out the evacuation far beyond the 90-second guideline.

According to tracking information from FlightAware, the plane took off from LAX’s Terminal 7 around 10.15am.

The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) then got a report of an engine problem onboard the aircraft around 11.05am, prompting the plane to circle back to LAX around 11.20am.

A video taken by a different passenger showed travelers sliding out of the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner before running across the runway as smoke spewed out of the aircraft.

Fire trucks were also seen surrounding the aircraft to assist staff and passengers and control the smoke.

Only one passenger suffered a minor cut to their finger, the California Post reported. There were 268 people, including 12 crew members onboard.

[1] CONTINUOUS AVIATION SAFETY IMPROVEMENT must look at the details-even the color of the Passenger emergency cards text