The performance of a Ryanair crew involved in the evacuation of more than 100 passengers has been criticised by the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA), following the publication of an unfavourable report on the incident. Daniel McConnell reports.
The report on the evacuation, on February 27th, 2002, found several serious faults in procedures, including several breakdowns in communications and failures of staff to deal adequately with the situation as it developed.
The flight, between Dublin and Stansted and carrying 124 passengers and crew, was half-full when, on the approach to Stansted, witnesses saw flames emerging from the right-hand engine, the report told.
The document, published by the Air Accident Investigations branch of the UK's Department of Transport, said the pilot was told by air traffic control that the engine was smoking, when flames were emerging from it.
The report also told how the aircraft parked in a crosswind, which is described as highly dangerous in such situations. The flight's staff was criticised after it emerged that two cabin crew were unable to open aircraft doors and had to seek help from male colleagues.
They were further criticised for allowing up to 40 passengers evacuate the aircraft from the side where the fire was.
The crew was also criticised for allowing passengers to stand downwind, putting them in the line of smoke emerging from the engine. Up to four people suffered minor injuries during the evacuation, the report said.
An IAA spokeswoman last night told The Irish Times: "There may have been a breakdown in the performance of the crew on the day, and we also have taken on board the various recommendations made by the report. We are satisfied, however, with the standard of training given to the crews and are constantly ensuring that the training given to flight crews is of the highest international standard."
Last night a spokeswoman for Ryanair said: "The report stated that Ryanair's evacuation was timely and that the decision to shut down the engine and evacuate the aircraft was considered to be an appropriate initial response to the situation and that all concerned were erring on the side of safety."
Both the IAA and Ryanair stressed that the aircraft was evacuated within 90 seconds.