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Passengers grabbed bags from the overhead lockers and ignored crewmembers’ instructions to remain seated after a bird strike during takeoff caused an engine fire on a Spirit Airlines flight departing from Atlantic City Saturday night.
Spirit Airlines flight NK3044 was scheduled to leave Atlantic City for what should have been a routine flight to Fort Lauderdale when a bird was sucked into the right engine at around 5:45 p.m.
The ingested bird caused the engine to fire, but the pilots managed to stop the aircraft on the runway.
The passengers were initially ordered to remain seated while the pilots assessed the situation. Although there was no immediate danger to any of the passengers, many ignored crewmembers’ instructions and began to grab large roller bags from the overhead lockers.
“Stay seated, stay seated, stay seated,” shouted a flight attendant but to no avail. A cellphone video recorded by a passenger on the plane showed flames and smoke coming out of the right engine.
“We have to get out of here,” one passenger yelled as a second tried to keep the others calm in the fray.
As the smoke clears and the atmosphere in the cabin begins to calm, the evacuation alarm is triggered and the captain announces: “Evacuate, evacuate, evacuate”.
Almost immediately, a passenger asked, “Shall we take our bags?” While others grabbed their carry-on baggage. The flight attendants yelled at the passengers to leave all their belongings behind.
Modern jets are designed to be evacuated in 90 seconds or less, but video from a cellphone showed passengers being evacuated via emergency slides at least two and a half minutes after the alarm went off for the first time. evacuation.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy tweeted on Saturday night. “All passengers and crew were successfully evacuated from the aircraft and no serious injuries were reported. The airport has reopened.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Spirit said, “The captain safely braked and brought the aircraft to a stop, received an indication of engine damage and ordered an evacuation in accordance with our standard procedures.”
“We congratulate our crew for handling the situation quickly and safely. “
It was not immediately clear how many passengers and crew were on the plane.
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