Zeenews Bureau
Mumbai: The preliminary report of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) into Friday’s emergency evacuation of a Jet Airways flight has said that there was no fire on the flight as suspected.
According to the report, some passengers probably noticed the reflection of an anti-collision system’s light and pushed the fire alarm button on the aircraft.
Further, the report has blamed the cabin crew and pilots of the Mumbai-Chennai flight 9W 2302 for failing to control and calm down the passengers, after the false fire alarm went off.
The DGCA said the crew had employed wrong measures in the situation, which led to chaos and injuries to 30 passengers.
Meanwhile, the airline has derostered the cabin crew as well as the pilots of the flight pending a final report into the incident.
Panic had gripped the Chennai-bound Jet Airways flight carrying 153 passengers after a fire alarm in the cockpit went off when the plane was on the taxiway for takeoff last night. The 30 passengers were injured during evacuation by emergency chutes.
As there was a sudden surge of passengers when they were being evacuated using chutes, 30 of them received injuries and bruises with three of them suffering fractures. There were some reports that a few passengers jumped from the aircraft and sustained injuries while there was a chaos when passengers rushed to slide down the chutes.
Fifteen persons were taken to Nanavati hospital in ambulances for further treatment after receiving first aid at the airport. Some of them were reported to have suffered multiple fractures.
An airline official said that nine passengers had been admitted in the city`s Nanavati hospital.
A full emergency was declared at the Mumbai airport and fire tenders were rushed immediately to the spot.
"The commander onboard Jet Airways flight 9W 2302 Mumbai-Chennai was informed of an indication of an LH engine fire. Although there was no visible trace of a fire, the commander proceeded to declare a precautionary emergency," a Jet statement said.
