18 Injured During Evacuation After Fire Alert On Ryanair Flight To Manchester
A false fire alert onboard a Ryanair flight preparing for takeoff led to multiple injuries after passengers made an emergency evacuation on the apron at Palma De Mallorca Airport. 18 passengers were treated for minor injuries, including broken bones and sprains, six of whom were transported to a local hospital.
While the aircraft's inflatable slides were deployed, some passengers reportedly escaped on foot via the overwing emergency exits before jumping off the wings to the ground below. The airline has since pointed to a "false fire warning light indication" as the reason for the evacuation.
Ryanair Emergency Evacuation Chaos In Mallorca
Photo: Rostislav Glinsky | Shutterstock
In the early hours of July 5th, Ryanair Flight RK3446 from Palma de Mallorca (PMI) to Manchester (MAN) was taxiing ahead of takeoff when a smoke detector was triggered. By this point, boarding had been completed, and emergency slides were armed. While the exact details of what happened onboard are unclear, at some point, the aircraft's emergency slides were deployed as passengers conducted an emergency evacuation.
However, not all passengers exited the Boeing 737-800 in a safe and orderly fashion, with a handful seen jumping down onto the apron from the wing, which did not have any overwing inflatable slides. These passengers were likely the ones who sustained the injuries, which reportedly included broken bones.
In a statement, Ryanair said,
"This flight from Palma to Manchester, on July 4, discontinued take-off due to a false fire warning light indication. Passengers were disembarked using the inflatable slides and returned to the terminal. While disembarking, a small number of passengers encountered very minor injuries (ankle sprains, etc.) and crew requested immediate medical assistance."
Panic And Confusion
Photo: Joan Llado | Shutterstock
Passengers have spoken of the chaos and panic onboard as screams spread through the cabin following the alarm. A flight attendant reportedly screamed for passengers to evacuate, while people were falling over each other scrambling to escape the aircraft.
One passenger - Savanah, 26, from Whitefield, Manchester - told Manchester Evening News that her 57-year-old mother broke her ankle and required surgery, while another friend suffered a fractured foot, elbow and wrist. Savanah said,
"All of a sudden I heard a bang. It didn't worry me too much. Then everyone was screaming and running. The air stewardess screamed, 'get off the plane', leave your belongings. It was utter chaos. We got off via the wing. There were no slides."
Emergency services said they were alerted to reports of a fire at 00:36 and responded with four ambulances, which met the plane on the apron, along with firefighters and Civil Guard. A spokesman for a regional government-run emergency response coordination center confirmed that 18 people were injured, with six being transported to local hospitals.
In the unlikely event of being caught up in an emergency evacuation, what can passengers do to ensure a smooth exit from the aircraft?
Affected Aircraft Remains Grounded
Photo: Yu Xichao | Shutterstock
Data from Flightradar24 shows the aircraft involved in this accident, a 15-year-old Ryanair UK Boeing 737-800 (registration: G-RUKN), remains on the ground in Mallorca 36 hours after the evacuation.
The plane had operated the inbound journey from Manchester earlier that evening, and the trip out of Mallorca would have been its eighth segment that day.
A replacement Boeing 737-800 was flown over from Naples and the flight was able to depart in the early morning, leaving Palma de Mallorca at 07:05 and arriving in Manchester at 08:32, at a delay of around eight hours. However, a handful of passengers were not allowed to get on that flight due to their injuries.
Ryanair
- Airline Type
- Low-Cost Carrier
- Year Founded
- 1985
- Airline Group
- Ryanair Group
- CEO
- Eddie Wilson
