Delta Air lines flight's fiery scare raises safety concerns
Drama for Delta Air Lines passengers. Their plane caught fire just before takeoff at the Orlando airport. A huge tragedy was narrowly avoided. According to eyewitness accounts, there were problems with evacuating passengers.
The Delta Air Lines Airbus A330 was scheduled to fly from Orlando to Atlanta on Monday, April 21, at 8:00 a.m. ET. There were 282 passengers on board, in addition to ten crew members and two pilots.
At one point, the aircraft started to catch fire. The fire occurred just before takeoff, on the runway. Airport authorities activated the crisis response team. After the evacuation, it was found that three people were slightly injured. They were taken to the hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening.
Despite this, passengers reported that there were deficiencies during the evacuation from the burning plane. According to eyewitness accounts, only one of the emergency slides on board was functional.
All passengers were evacuated through a single entry door. Panic and jostling began. Channing Wells, who was traveling with her mother and son, told FOX 35 that it took them a long time to disembark from the plane. The woman emphasized that some passengers were afraid they were going to die. The crew also reportedly panicked.
The case is being investigated by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). According to experts who spoke with FOX 35, passengers can consider themselves very lucky. The tense situation could have ended tragically.
Experts emphasize that the number of inflatable slides should correspond to the number of passengers on board. What caused the fire? It is known that the engine of the plane was the source of the fire. It is not yet known how long passengers remained on board from the moment the problem was noticed.
