Men Who Killed Qantas - Matthew Benns [5]
‘Nobody was moving or saying anything. I thought the plane was going to catch fire.’ A steward came through the cabin ‘sniffing around’ and asking: ‘Can anyone smell fuel?’, she said. ‘Nobody gave us any information, no reassurance of crash evacuation procedure. They didn’t open any doors or anything. We thought we were entombed.’8
The subsequent ATSB report into the accident observed that, although the crew acted with the passengers’ safety as their ‘primary consideration’, an immediate evacuation would have been the ‘most appropriate option’. It said the crew had gaps in their knowledge about hazards outside the aircraft, particularly underneath, because they had not been able to receive information from anyone outside. Their information was based on what they could tell from inside the cabin. ‘However, any aircraft which overruns a stopway at over 80 knots is likely to sustain substantial damage. Although the crew had information that no signs of fire had been detected within the cabin, they had no clear understanding of the potential for a fire outside the cabin, particularly during the period before the emergency services arrived,’ said the report.9
The crew were, of course, hampered by the lack of a PA system to communicate with passengers. An immediate evacuation would have overcome this problem by the crew initiating evacuation procedures at their individual doors or issuing the general evacuation alarm. It also pointed out that the crew had not considered the battery life of the emergency lighting – normally 20 minutes. According to the ATSB report, ‘Had this power source failed it could have led to difficulties with passenger control and the disembarkation.’10 As Mr Gosper noted, it was at least 20 minutes before the emergency doors were opened and the evacuation begun.
Final criticism was reserved for Qantas, which had not provided adequate guidance in its company procedures or crew training for making the right decision when the appropriate choice in an emergency response situation is not clear. ‘Many airlines do not include the “precautionary disembarkation” in their procedures, having the “emergency evacuation” as the only option available for crews. However, if an airline chooses to include the precautionary disembarkation in its procedures, then it should ensure that its crews are appropriately prepared for deciding when a precautionary disembarkation is appropriate,’ said the report.11
On this occasion there were no hazards outside the plane that would endanger the lives of the passengers. The ATSB report was simply hammering home the point that the crew could not be sure of that. The report added: ‘By initiating a precautionary disembarkation when they did, the crew was able to ensure an orderly process. The absence of any serious injuries during the disembarkation indicated that the result was consistent with the intention.’12 Not all the passengers agreed.
It had seemed like an eternity sitting in silence in the dim emergency light. Finally, at seven minutes past 11 pm – 20 minutes after the plane came to a standstill near the golf course – the crew began the evacuation procedure. Captain Fried had been told by the Qantas representative that buses were on their way to the plane. He instructed the cabin services manager to use inflatable slides on the right front and middle, R2 and R4, doors for the ‘precautionary disembarkation’ of the passengers. He opted against using slides on the left side of the plane because it was higher, there were trees in the way and no lights to guide the passengers. The crew began to brief the passengers on the exit procedures. An Italian tour group leader translated the instructions. But, as the individual crew members relayed directions, some of the anxious passengers were on the move, well before the briefings were complete.
The crew told passengers to remove high-heeled shoes and leave their cabin baggage behind. Many of the passengers chose to ignore this. When the crew again told them to leave their bags behind, arguments started. Some crew allowed passengers