Many passenger blunders on Delta Flight 4819 last week were made evacuating from the plane after it crashed in Toronto. It could have cost them their lives.
Last Monday, February 17, Delta flight 4819 left Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport uneventfully. The Bombardier CRJ900, with 76 passengers and four crew members, was headed to Toronto Pearson International Airport in Canada. As it approached runway 23 in Toronto, snow was blowing across the runway from winds at 30mph, gusting to 40mph.
As the jet touched down, the starboard landing gear collapsed. The right wing scraped along the runway and then detached from the fuselage. A large fireball with thick black smoke was seen. As the jetliner barreled down the runway, the fuselage flipped over, and the jet stopped upside down.
It may be months before we learn why Delta 4819 crashed, but we already can learn from its passengers’ serious blunders, which could have cost many their lives.
It will likely be months before we learn why the crash occurred. However, there is already much that flyers can learn about survival from the crash. I wrote about this same subject recently after the fatal crash of American Airlines Flight 5342. Considering the serious blunders made by some Delta 4819 passengers, it’s clear that more discussion about crash survival is essential for air travel. Here’s what happened after Delta 4819 stopped on the runway. Let’s learn from it.
The airport’s fire department quickly arrived at the plane and extinguished it with foam, but considerable jet fuel remained under and around it. The passengers, hanging upside down with seatbelts attached, soon started to free themselves. Only the starboard exits, which the crew managed to open, could be used to evacuate.
While the flight attendants shouted life-saving instructions to passengers, many ignored them and endangered themselves and other passengers still stuck in the plane.
The two flight attendants shouted instructions to the passengers. You can hear one on the videos yelling, “Drop it! Drop everything! Come-on!” Unfortunately, many passengers didn’t listen. They evacuated carrying backpacks, loose clothing, neck pillows, etc. and I saw two pulling roller carry-on bags. That had to have slowed the evacuation.
It took 10 full minutes to evacuate just 80 people from the plane, partly because only two exits were available, but also because so many passengers took precious time to grab their belongings and carry them off the plane.
If the selfish actions of some Delta 4819 passengers had delayed the evacuation less than a minute longer, there likely would have been loss of life from the crash.
There were no fatalities, but that is despite the selfish actions of many passengers. In fact, if the evacuation took just a little longer, there likely would have been loss of life, as within moments of the last passenger getting out and away from the plane, the jet fuel under it reignited.
If you’ve followed my column over the years, you’re aware that I know what it’s like to be in an airplane accident. It wasn’t a crash, but a serious incident that required us to evacuate the plane via the emergency chutes.
Based on conversations with aviation experts, flight crew and my own experience, here are my main tips to survive a jetliner crash:
When flying, passengers need to wear the right clothing, fasten their seatbelt and keep them fastened, be particularly alert during take-off and landing and devise an evacuation plan before leaving the gate.
Wear the right clothing for your flight:
Wear a good pair of shoes or leather sneakers, never sandals or flip-flops. For women, wearing heels may make an airborne fashion statement, but you don’t want to be wearing them in case of an emergency exit from a plane. Sandals or high heels make it hard to move quickly within wreckage. Wear natural fibers in case of fire and no loose fitting clothing that can become snagged on debris in a crash.
Fasten your seatbelt and leave it fastened:
Once the “fasten your seatbelt’ sign goes on, every second that you’re in your seat, even if it’s a lie down seat while you’re sleeping, keep your seatbelt fastened snugly enough to hold you in place in case of turbulence or an accident. On landing, don’t cheat and release your seatbelt early to be able to rush off the plane at the gate. Keep your seatbelt snugly on until your plane is stopped at the gate. On Delta 4819, the seatbelts saved lives.
Be particularly alert at take-off and landing:
About 80 percent of accidents occur during the first 3 to 5 minutes of flight, and the last 10 minutes. Stay alert at those times. Keep your shoes on, don’t use earplugs, earbuds or headsets during those times of heightened danger.
Devise an evacuation plan:
Count the rows from your seat to the two closest exits, fore and aft, in case smoke fills the plane obscuring your sight, or fire blocks one of your exits. When in the back of the plane, be aware of the closest exit forward. The rear exits are often not opened after a water landing.
In winter, wear your coat or jacket at take-off and landing. After an accident or crash, while evacuating, don’t take anything with you as you leave the plane.
In winter, keep your coat or jacket on during take-off and landing:
Don’t stow your coat or jacket in the overhead bin before take-off or landing in winter. Keep it on during both. If it’s not on when you start evacuation, don’t grab it, as you need to evacuate as quickly as possible and you don’t want to slow other passengers from getting safely out of the plane.
Don’t take anything with you:
You need your hands free to keep your balance in the aisle to step over debris or luggage or if pushed by passengers, who might be panicking.
If you’re told you may crash:
If you’re alerted to prepare for a crash, stay calm. The odds are with you.
Always listen to the flight crew’s instructions after an accident or crash, but if they aren’t able to help, follow the instructions they gave during the safety briefing.
Listen to the crew’s instructions if given:
The crew is trained to help in emergencies. Listen to and follow their instructions without any deviation.
Don’t wait for flight attendant instructions:
They may be dazed or injured and can’t give directions. As soon as the plane comes to a stop, move quickly to the nearest exit.
Don’t push:
It won’t help you get through faster, and it might incite a hysterical passenger.
If you’re in an exit row tasked with opening the door after an accident or crash, look out the window to ensure it’s safe to open it.
At the exit door, check before opening it:
If the exit door’s not open, look out of its window to see if there’s fire. If there’s fire, go to the other side of the plane and check that door.
Follow the appropriate procedures if the plane is on land or on water after an accident or crash.
If you’re on land:
Once you’re out of the plane, get as far from the crash as possible in case a fire starts and especially if the fuel explodes. Passengers of Delta 4819 moved well away from the plane. That saved lives. If you spot a large object to shield you, get behind it as long as it’s not too close to the crash. When planes explode, thousands of fragments will go every which way and can be fatal.
If you’re on water:
Once you’re out of the plane, inflate your life vest. If you only have a seat cushion, put your arms through the loops. They really float. Don’t jump in the water unless you have no choice. Most water throughout the world is cold enough to cause hypothermia. Most commercial planes are equipped with rafts, often located in the cabin ceiling, and the emergency ramps can act as rafts as well.
If you’re caught in an emergency incident or crash, you can survive. Everyone on Delta 4819 is alive. Those injured are healing fast. They survived despite their mistakes. The evacuees were extremely lucky that they got out before the jetfuel reignited, but they’re okay. That said, if you’re in a crash or accident, don’t make the mistakes Delta 4819 passengers made. It could save your life.
(Image: Delta Airlines aircraft lined up at the gate. Copyright © 2023 NSL Photography. All Rights Reserved.)
READ ALSO:
Why travelers need to know the middle-name rule
Where you can buy things confiscated by TSA and lost by passengers
After many years working in corporate America as a chemical engineer, executive and eventually CFO of a multinational manufacturer, Ned founded a tech consulting company and later restarted NSL Photography, his photography business. Before entering the corporate world, Ned worked as a Public Health Engineer for the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. As a well known corporate, travel and wildlife photographer, Ned travels the world writing about travel and photography, as well as running photography workshops, seminars and photowalks. Visit Ned’s Photography Blog and Galleries.
