Burning Laptop Stokes Chaotic Evacuation On American Airlines Flight

Photo: Jan Jankai / Facebook

A laptop sparked a small fire on an American Airlines flight last Friday before the plane even rolled back from the gate in San Francisco. The crew attempted to evacuate the Airbus A321 calmly as the cabin filled with smoke, but it devolved into chaos as passengers pushed and shoved their way to the exits. One passenger took matters into his own hands and threw the burning computer onto the tarmac.

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The fire began when a laptop inside a bag stowed beneath a seat suddenly caught fire. Oliver Jankai, the passenger sitting in that seat, told WFOR that he could smell the burning just before the blaze began. The subsequent evacuation was described as a stampede. Despite being told specifically not to, passengers were taking their belongings with them as they tried to exit the aircraft. Panic set in and others try to barge their way through the crowd.

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The back of the cabin was filling with smoke, so Jankai decided to take action. He searched for a fire extinguisher, but couldn’t find one. His son Jan opened an emergency exit to get fresh air in. Jankai then grabbed the burning bag and hurled it out of the Airbus. He told WFOR:

“It was still a little bit on fire, so we tried to step it out. [I] tried to throw it out, [a flight crewmember] said ‘No, don’t throw it out.’ My son dropped it because he took it before and then I said ‘No, okay.’ And then, I shoot it out the plane.”

Everyone on the American Airlines flight to Miami was rescheduled to another flight the following day. Thankfully, no one was injured despite the chaotic evacuation. If you stop in the aisle to grab something out of the overhead bin, you’re blocking everyone behind you from moving towards the exit.

When it comes to a perfectly executed evacuation, Japan Airlines Flight 516 immediately comes to mind. In January, the JAF Airbus A350 collided with a Japanese Coast Guard plane while landing at Haneda Airport. All 367 passengers and 12 crew members exited the plane in 18 minutes as the blaze consumed the airliner.