Report released on Flybe flight incident
11.06.10
Flight crew were unable to communicate properly after smoke and fumes filled a Flybe plane flying from Manchester to Belfast almost two years ago, a report released yesterday reveals. The plane, with 90 passengers and 5 crew on board, made an emergency landing on the Isle of Man where a number of passengers were injured using the emergency slides and an emergency exit door jammed.
The smoke and fumes were released into the plane - an Embraer ERJ 190-200 - when an air cycle machine failed in August 2008. Another air conditioning unit had failed a few days prior to the flight and had not been repaired. The fumes were described as being like the smell of a lit match, but intensified during the flight and smoke became visible in the cabin. The investigationalso found that the there were technical problems with oxygen masks that the pilots put on, and ommunications between the pilots became so bad that they had to shout at each other.
When the decision was made to evacuate the plane at the Isle of Man's Ronaldsway Airport, the right over wing exit door could not be opened because part of the door became jammed under the ceiling. In addition, passengers who left the plane through one of the over wing emergency exits - including a mother and her baby - did not know how to get from the wing to the ground.
Passengers told investigators that they found exit slides very steep and were surprised by the speed at which they slid down them. The slides also ended without any round-out at the bottom, causing the passengers to slide straight onto the ground at speed. This, and attempts by passengers to slow themselves on the slides, were the principal reasons for injuries.
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