An American Airlines jet had a pretty dramatic evacuation yesterday, after a passenger’s laptop reportedly caught fire. We always hear about the risk of lithium ion batteries, so here’s a case where it actually caused an issue. Fortunately it was caught on the ground…
In this post:
American jet evacuated as cabin fills with smoke
This incident happened yesterday (Friday, July 12, 2024), and involves American Airlines flight AA2045, scheduled to fly from San Francisco (SFO) to Miami (MIA) at 12:17PM. The flight was operated by a nine-year-old Airbus A321 with the registration code N917UY.
Just as boarding finished up, a bag in the back of the aircraft with a laptop reportedly caught fire, causing smoke to fill the back of the cabin. The crew immediately called for an evacuation. So not only did passengers evacuate through the jet bridge (which was still connected), but multiple emergency slides were also deployed. The bag with the laptop was also removed from the aircraft, though perhaps not in the way it should have been (more on that below).
Everyone evacuated safely, though there were a few minor injuries from use of the slides.
Below you can see the VASAviation recreation of what happened, including air traffic control audio.
Here’s a statement that an American spokesperson provided:
During boarding of American Airlines flight 2045 with service from San Francisco (SFO) to Miami (MIA), smoke was reported from inside a customer’s bag. The bag was quickly removed by our crew members and all customers exited the aircraft. We thank our crew members for their professionalism and apologize to our customers for the inconvenience.
As you’d expect, the aircraft was taken out of service. American managed to find a replacement plane, but only just under 12 hours later. So rather than arriving at 8:58PM on Friday, passengers will instead be arriving at 8:41AM on Saturday. Ouch.
If you check a bag on a plane, you’re usually asked to confirm that there are no lithium ion batteries in it. That’s for exactly this reason, as there’s a risk of them catching fire. That’s easier to control inside the aircraft cabin, rather than in the cargo hold. In this case it was also a good thing that this happened while the aircraft was still on the ground.
Family proudly defies crew member instructions
Below is some video footage from inside the cabin during the evacuation (note that there’s some bad language used). As you can see, the crew pretty assertively orders passengers to keep moving forward and leave their carry-on items behind, though it seems like passengers maybe aren’t doing a great job following their instructions? Unfortunately that’s nothing new…
Separately, you have this guy from Austria explaining his version of events in an interview, which I just find kind of puzzling. This guy proudly talks about how he and his father both weren’t following crew member instructions.
He talks about how he wanted to open the door in the back left of the plane (presumably he was near the last emergency exit row on the A321, by the back of the cabin), how he wasn’t allowed to, but how he did it anyway.
He then explains how his father took the backpack with the smoking laptop, wanted to throw it out the exit, was told not to by crew members, and did it anyway.
When asked about why he decided to open the door despite flight attendant instructions to the contrary, he explained:
“I wasn’t supposed to. She told me not to, but when I boarded the plane, I had this strange feeling, and I already looked at the doors on the wings, and they said ‘armed.’ So my first initial thought when I got up off the seat, I was like the doors have to be armed, so the slides have to be armed, and then I could jump out. I was actually a bit outside the plane and I tried to jump, but the slides wasn’t released, so I did get back into the plane. Yeah, that’s basically the first thought.”
So to recap, this guy (kid?) is bragging about how he and his father were defying crew member instructions and following their own gut in deciding how to handle this situation?
Yeah, let’s not listen to the crew members who are trained in emergency evacuations, but let’s instead listen to the guy who already had a “strange feeling” when he boarded the aircraft. Cool.
Bottom line
An American Airlines Airbus A321 was evacuated at SFO yesterday, after a laptop caught fire, and caused the cabin to fill with smoke. There’s always a risk with lithium ion batteries, and in this case the issue was at least caught on the ground.
Given that the plane was still at the gate, this was a fairly dramatic evacuation. For that matter, it’s rather unusual to see someone bragging about how they defied crew member instructions, and instead followed their gut.
What do you make of this American jet’s evacuation?
I was under the impression that in an emergency, planes should be evacuated within 90 seconds. That video goes on for 2:34 minutes and there are still people on that plane. It looks to me AA crew did a very bad job to get this plane evacuated quickly. Of course stubborn passengers were part of the problem but then it should be the crew‘s job to deal with them.
As far as opening an...
I was under the impression that in an emergency, planes should be evacuated within 90 seconds. That video goes on for 2:34 minutes and there are still people on that plane. It looks to me AA crew did a very bad job to get this plane evacuated quickly. Of course stubborn passengers were part of the problem but then it should be the crew‘s job to deal with them.
As far as opening an emergency exit without being instructed to do so, or even despite being told NOT to do so, should lead to criminal prosecution and a place on the no fly list, if supported by the corresponding investigation.
Kick those useless foreigners out of our country! If they can’t understand simple English and follow US laws then kick em out of our country. Thats the problem with foreigners coming to our country, they’re stupid, dirty, can’t understand nor care to follow our laws, regulations or policies. Go home and stay home! That father is a great example of stupidity…
Had this been in the EU, the punishment would have been enforced compared to the jole that is the FAA or AA.
Reviewing what actually happened here, Ben has the wrong take.
From helicopter air shots, it's clear that the passenger succeeded in throwing the smoldering/burning laptop out of the rear left exit.
I'm not saying the crew member was wrong to issue the instructions that she did, but overall, getting the burning object out of the aircraft ASAP was the correct call. In hindsight, the crew member instructions were detrimental to safety (not saying that she...
Reviewing what actually happened here, Ben has the wrong take.
From helicopter air shots, it's clear that the passenger succeeded in throwing the smoldering/burning laptop out of the rear left exit.
I'm not saying the crew member was wrong to issue the instructions that she did, but overall, getting the burning object out of the aircraft ASAP was the correct call. In hindsight, the crew member instructions were detrimental to safety (not saying that she shouldn't be welcome on future flights, these are confusing situations where she may not have recognized that someone was trying to throw out the burning laptop rather than evacuate with luggage).
The passenger video we're watching appears to reflect passengers that saw all of this transpire including successfully throwing the laptop from the aircraft. Yes, they should have evacuated without luggage, but I'll simply say that I'm sympathetic to a person of reasonable judgement that's just now seen the fire risk successfully mitigated choosing to quickly grab a bag and get another route home knowing this airplane will be stuck for hours or days.
From the passenger video, it looks more like the holdup was a number of passengers arguing with the flight attendants and trying to take their own bags or grab the smoldering bag to throw off. You can see the line in front of them disappear, but they're still standing there arguing. Here's the thing. There's a lot of flammable stuff inside a plane. Just because you don't see flames when you're trying to grab the...
From the passenger video, it looks more like the holdup was a number of passengers arguing with the flight attendants and trying to take their own bags or grab the smoldering bag to throw off. You can see the line in front of them disappear, but they're still standing there arguing. Here's the thing. There's a lot of flammable stuff inside a plane. Just because you don't see flames when you're trying to grab the bag doesn't mean it can't or won't flare back up and ignite your clothes, seats, etc. FA and captain says to GTFO the plane, you GTFO. Possibly saving the aircraft by carrying an unknown fire hazard isn't worth your life and the lives of a dozen other people when you could just GTFO.
I do not envy the job of FA's in these types of situations. It does lead me to ponder if these Caucasian men had a hard time following the "commands" of an ethnic minority Flight Attendant. The plane isnt going anywhere, leave your stuff and quickly remove yourself from the plane, END ALL. Not only should they be banned from AA, USCIS and the State Department ought deem them a security risk to the general...
I do not envy the job of FA's in these types of situations. It does lead me to ponder if these Caucasian men had a hard time following the "commands" of an ethnic minority Flight Attendant. The plane isnt going anywhere, leave your stuff and quickly remove yourself from the plane, END ALL. Not only should they be banned from AA, USCIS and the State Department ought deem them a security risk to the general (American) public, and deport them and at least have a 10 year travel ban. Disgusting behavior.
Racist much?
So has there been an explanation as to how and why the battery caught fire?
Austrian citizen here:
These idiots aren't the norm, most of us are more intelligent
I would like to apologize to the Americans on behalf of all Austrians. Not all of us are that dumb. Normally, we strictly adhere to rules and regulations.
@Ben, while the family was certainly being d-bags, you don't cover the (always typical) panic and hysteria from flight attendants. They should be calm and authoritative, not screeching and screaming.
(Don't forget the Miracle on the Hudson. The rear FA partially opened the door... in a panic. AFA union fought hard to keep that fact out of most official reports, despite multiple passengers and another FA giving statements.)
Bottom line, everyone should get...
@Ben, while the family was certainly being d-bags, you don't cover the (always typical) panic and hysteria from flight attendants. They should be calm and authoritative, not screeching and screaming.
(Don't forget the Miracle on the Hudson. The rear FA partially opened the door... in a panic. AFA union fought hard to keep that fact out of most official reports, despite multiple passengers and another FA giving statements.)
Bottom line, everyone should get off the plane ASAP. In the case of a real emergency, in the interest of safety, toss out the FA's first!
Sounds like the slide wasn't armed at the rear door. The kid actually thought about jumping? Oh to be young again (and not too bright).
So let’s make an emergency now unavailable by ignoring crew members instructions and open it in the incorrect mode. Now if the emergency is upgraded you’ve lost an exit.
And then let’s throw the danger out to where the fuel is.
Absolutely disgusting putting everyone’s lives in danger
No fly list for the Austrians.
Fines for pax with carry on bags.
Overhead bin locks are impractical: its just another thing to break and possibly delay/ground an a/c since it would probably be clsssified as a "no go" system.
Now putting a fine of 10K PER PERSONAL ITEM removed from the aircraft in an evac might wake people up.
A fine? Few months in prison sound more appropriate for endangering and possibly killing other people. People are imprisoned for far less serious crimes.
Just another reason to drive the Tesla...........It's pretty easy to exit that mode of transportation.......
Those people from Vienna should be placed on a no-fly list forever
Sorry, but with AA flight attendants one cannot be sure if they are serious ore just sassy. I would not trust a word out of their mouth as well.
What a fool
He should be put through a simulation of a fire which spreads faster due to a door being inappropriately opened, and the same without the door being opened.
is there a protocol in the airlines if a lithium battery gets on fire on a flight? a special bag to throw it in or a special fire extinguisher?.
Chuck it into the coffee pot, that’ll put any chemical fire out.
Yes, Battery Fire Containment Bags exist, although they are a relatively new thing and (as far as I'm aware) there's currently no requirement for airlines to carry them.
The AA flight attendants are working without a new contract.
Doesn't that mean passengers don't have to listen to their instructions?
This site is getting too many stupid commentators...
What’s VERY disturbing in the Video is ….. maybe a BAD thing for the so professional trained Crew on annually drills ….. the EVACUATE EVACUATE PA announcement was given!
A321 … in this case has 8 doors!
ONLY 1L open on the boarding Jetbridge, 2R + 3R Slide deployed, … while it looks like NO other door was even opened?! :-o
WOW . . . that’s definitely NOT good!
Thinking of...
What’s VERY disturbing in the Video is ….. maybe a BAD thing for the so professional trained Crew on annually drills ….. the EVACUATE EVACUATE PA announcement was given!
A321 … in this case has 8 doors!
ONLY 1L open on the boarding Jetbridge, 2R + 3R Slide deployed, … while it looks like NO other door was even opened?! :-o
WOW . . . that’s definitely NOT good!
Thinking of that Vienna Guy from the Video, … it looks like that Video is COMPLETELY out of context!
If he saw “ARMED” on any door on this A321, it was maybe a sign only, but the door and therefore the Slide, was 100% NOT armen as the boarding door was still open, the slide would have been pulled out of the door frame or aircraft frame and he could have NOT closed the door that fast after a slide was deployed!
So SOMETHING is NOT correct here!
100% this Vienna Guy did NOT see any armed door! What he saw, was the sign on the door, that shows the ARMED position that the lever of course has to be put into FIRST, before any slide is armed!
Anyway, he did risk other peoples life by opening the door BUT not arming the door first, …. i’d say, this sounds lije a ban for life for that Guy on AA.
1. NOT following Crew instructions
2. doing the wrong thing and not listening to any instructions before opening the door.
3. he was lucky, that the slide was NOT armed, as that would have burned it down probably if he threw out the laptop bag as soon as he opened the door, an inflating slide might have caught fire then … making this slide then totally useless!
…. THIS will N O T have a good outcome for that Guy!
Trouble is, he had already uploaded his dumb video too! :-o
ALL that could backfire?!
Pretty sure I heard one of the Austrian ladies towards the end of the video say (in German) that she thought it was a joke.
Not sure how you can think it's a joke when everyone is telling you to move and evacuate.
I'm also surprised nobody physically assaulted them when they were blocking the aisle.
I hope there is not some German-Austrian dynamics in recounting this event but if it is as stated, the Austrians should be deported and banned from the US.
It isn't that Americans aren't capable of being this stupid but when you blatantly defy crew orders and threaten the lives of others, we don't need you in this country.
And if you are a legal resident, then you belong in prison.
Good for the...
I hope there is not some German-Austrian dynamics in recounting this event but if it is as stated, the Austrians should be deported and banned from the US.
It isn't that Americans aren't capable of being this stupid but when you blatantly defy crew orders and threaten the lives of others, we don't need you in this country.
And if you are a legal resident, then you belong in prison.
Good for the AA crew trying to deal w/ idiots like this - and a stark contrast to the JAL A350 disaster at Haneda. The difference between eastern and western cultures is breathtaking.
Calm down Tim.
You want some cookie dough? ;)
Let's make cookie dough batter a thing. It will forever be iconic.
this from someone that is fixated on "e" and "a" because the discussion goes way over their head.
difference between Eastern & Western Culture …..?
Always depends on what Map you’re looking at, Asian maps have Asia in the center, so the American continent is “East” ;-)
Timm Dunn, . . . seems like to me, YOU are the best example on who has cultural problems? :-o
East Asia was always called "east" from a European perspective.
None of which changes that the Japanese passengers on JAL followed FA directions to the letter and everyone got out safe from a much worse situation and yet in the west we have a European that argues with and does his thing contrary to FA directions - and we have people here defending his decisions.
The cultural difference is not just for me to see.
...East Asia was always called "east" from a European perspective.
None of which changes that the Japanese passengers on JAL followed FA directions to the letter and everyone got out safe from a much worse situation and yet in the west we have a European that argues with and does his thing contrary to FA directions - and we have people here defending his decisions.
The cultural difference is not just for me to see.
The Japanese can evacuate a densely configured A350 that is on fire but several dozen westerners cannot even follow crew directions on a plane that is still hooked up to the jetway
Tim Dunn isn't entirely wrong this time though, yet the OMAAT audience just deny it because it's said by Tim Dunn.
It was one family that made an egregious and potentially harmful decision. It doesn't call for such talk of "eastern" versus "western" culture. It's just plain immature to take it to that level.
Let's call Schwarzenegger to terminate his compatriots.
Deported, banned and sent to Guantanamo!
We found Josh Cahill's cousin.
Hahahahaha
Incidents like this demonstrate the need for overhead bins to be locked as soon as the doors close.
Genius.
Doesn't prevent anything in this incident since boarding isn't complete.
Would likely make it harder to control the fire in the air if the bins are locked.
Did it disappoint you this happened on an Airbus not Boeing?
Splitting hairs!
Hardly the post to develop an actual policy on when the bins should be locked.
No… did it disappoint you?
So ppl have to stand there and try to break them open before getting the bag? Cos thats what would happen.
At some point there will be a botched evacuation with fatalities caused by either carry on bags or fake service animals.
Current evacuation tests and timings were not designed with either of these modern realities in mind.
There already has been. Pax took bags on the Aeroflot Superjet and the crewmember at the aft died alomg with I think several passengers as he couldn't exit in time. And that accident was years ago. Things still do not change.
These passengers should get a lifetime ban and jail time for that guy, who cares if they're citizens or not.
There need to be 2 things:
1. Lifetime ban for any passenger who retrieves bags during evacuation. Forever. No exceptions. The safety video should mention this too. "In the unlikely event of an evacuation, you must leave your bags behind. Failure to comply with this instruction puts the lives of you and other customers at risk, and will result in permanent denial of travel on American as well as closure of your AAdvantage account...
There need to be 2 things:
1. Lifetime ban for any passenger who retrieves bags during evacuation. Forever. No exceptions. The safety video should mention this too. "In the unlikely event of an evacuation, you must leave your bags behind. Failure to comply with this instruction puts the lives of you and other customers at risk, and will result in permanent denial of travel on American as well as closure of your AAdvantage account and forfeiture of your miles."
The Conditions of Carriage could also be updated to include liquidated damages for something like this. (in other words, AA would be able to sue the violator for a specified amount of money - preferably something really high like $50,000.)
2. Laws to explicitly criminalize retrieving bags during evacuation. It should be a FELONY - go to prison, lose your right to own a gun, the whole she-bang. (The prospect of losing the right to own a gun should be a strong deterrent to some selfish Americans.)
Even if Congress won't do it, the states can and should.
Here's some language for how it could be done in California:
“Any passenger of an aircraft who, upon receiving notice of an emergency evacuation, retrieves or attempts to retrieve any article of carry-on baggage, is guilty of a felony and upon conviction is punishable by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 or by a fine of not less than five hundred dollars ($500) nor more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment.” (The fines are stated both in words and numbers because that's how California laws tend to be written.)
The default Section 1170(h) sentence would mean 16 months, or 2 or 3 years - determined at sentencing. (In this case an additional clause for stricter penalties if the violation resulted in any injury to another person would likely be a good idea too. And the violator should be strictly liable for the victim's medical bills.)
For anyone who doesn't know, Section 1170(h) is part of California's nonviolent felony sentencing law which, among other things...
> provides that many sentences for nonviolent felonies are served in jail instead of state prison.
> sets forth the default terms of imprisonment for such a felony.
I always have valuables in my pockets. Passport,wallet, keys and phone The bag isn’t worth risking lives and items can be replaced. They are insured.
Some smart ass shouldn’t proudly go on camera to announce how he defied the crew.
He will probably write a complaint to them not realising posting videos is evidence to dig himself into a hole.
This was difficult to watch. If this was a more serious smoke or fire event everyone would be dead from smoke inhalation. I’ve seen full flights deplane faster than this cluster#%^*. Wow. Disturbing.
Yeah I was very uncomfortable watching this as well. The way passengers were just ignoring the flight attendants who were trying to give out instructions was a disturbing to say the least.
Too bad this guy was not on the scene to douse the incident.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/airline-news/2024/07/05/man-pees-on-plane-american-airlines/74307203007/#
An Austrian being American - that’s new…
The defiant Austrians should be on the no fly list from now on for AA. Ridiculous! And it’s usually SELFISH IDIOTIC AMERICANS taking their stupid bags that can and will cause fatalities in evacuations. Sigh. People are idiots…
Most Americans did migrate from somewhere.
You omegas don’t get it. He refuses to be part of the matrix. Following instructions is only for the woke sheeple!
Ok what other buzzwords have I missed?
@ Ray — I feel like DEI and globalist (not the World of Hyatt variety) could also get a mention somehow?
So many idiots in this flight
Just outrageous that this was done - I wonder whet the consequences are for failing to follow instructions and defying the crew