A laptop sparked a small fire on an American Airlines flight last Friday before the plane departed from the gate in San Francisco. As the cabin filled with smoke, the crew attempted a calm evacuation of the Airbus A321, but chaos ensued as passengers pushed and shoved towards the exits. Amid the panic, one passenger threw the burning laptop onto the tarmac.
The fire started when a laptop inside a bag stowed beneath a seat unexpectedly caught fire. Oliver Jankai, the passenger in that seat, told WFOR that he noticed the smell just before the blaze erupted. The evacuation resembled a stampede, with passengers ignoring instructions not to take their belongings, adding to the disorder as they fought to exit the aircraft.
With smoke filling the back of the cabin, Jankai took matters into his own hands. Unable to find a fire extinguisher, his son Jan opened an emergency exit to let in fresh air. Jankai then grabbed the burning bag and hurled it out of the plane. He recounted to WFOR that although a flight crewmember advised against it, he decided to throw the laptop out of the aircraft.
All passengers on the flight to Miami were rescheduled to another flight the next day. Despite the chaotic evacuation, no injuries were reported. The incident highlights the importance of not obstructing aisles by retrieving belongings during an evacuation, ensuring a swift exit for everyone.
In contrast to this chaotic evacuation, Japan Airlines Flight 516 had a notably efficient evacuation. In January, the JAF Airbus A350 collided with a Japanese Coast Guard plane at Haneda Airport, but all 367 passengers and 12 crew members exited the aircraft within 18 minutes as the airliner was engulfed in flames.