Triumph out of disaster

Airlines from the Gulf have carved themselves a  fearsome reputation for excellence, both in terms of their quality of service and safety.  Wednesday’s crash-landing at Dubai International Airport of an Emirates flight from Kerala in India is, therefore, a considerable shock. But although tragically one airport fire-fighter perished as he helped tackle the subsequent blaze which destroyed the Boeing 777 airliner, all 300 people aboard the aircraft were evacuated successfully with only minor injuries caused by leaving the aircraft on the emergency slides. This is a testimony to the discipline of the cabin crew, who after they had seen the passengers off safely, were themselves the last to leave the plane even as the fire took hold. However, there was one stain on this triumph over potential tragedy. Video footage taken inside the Boeing after it had slithered to a halt on its belly, show some passengers taking their hand luggage with them. This baggage doubtless contained valuables but in opening the lockers and seizing their belongings, these individuals ignored instructions from the cabin attendants and jeopardized their own safety and that of other passengers by delaying the swift evacuation of the aircraft.  A few years ago there were suggestions that overhead baggage compartments should be locked during a flight to prevent precisely such behavior. Individual compartments could be opened with the help of a flight attendant. But passengers would be made aware that in the event of an emergency there would be no point trying to get to their hand luggage. They should instead focus entirely on leaving the aircraft, swiftly and safely.  The idea was put on a back burner in part because of the cost implications, but also because in an event such as Wednesday’s crash-landing, desperate passengers might cause even greater obstructions as they tried to force open the lockers to retrieve their valuables. Such panicking actions could very well cost lives. Nevertheless, maybe the concept needs to be revisited.  It is too early to speculate about the cause of this crash. The reason that the landing gear on the Emirates Boeing either failed to come down or collapsed once it did will be closely investigated. All that is known at the moment is that the plane was making a normal, rather than an emergency approach and that at the last minute, the Air Traffic Controller told the pilot to abort the landing and go around.  It may be that the aircraft had insufficient speed to climb back into the sky.  Crash investigators are on the scene and experts from Boeing and other specialists are flying in. The formal report will not be published for months but it ought to be pretty clear fairly soon if this crash was caused by pilot error, the malfunction of onboard systems or the failure of the landing gear.  In the meantime, though everyone must mourn the loss of a brave airport fire-fighter, this is the moment to congratulate the airline and its cabin crew for  the exemplary way in which they handled a crisis which could all too easily have turned into a disaster with a grievous loss of life.  Indeed, it can well be argued that the airline and the airport have enhanced their reputation in the way that this potentially huge tragedy was handled.