British Airtours flight 28M was one of the central and marking events in aviation for safety. The air accident investigation department makes immediate and crucial recommendations for the whole aviation industry. Firstly, the engines which were in service on a number of 737's must be inspected and corrected as it was determined there were deficiencies with the combustion cans. The fuel tanks must be strengthened and must be designed to higher standards for new aircraft and for older aircraft fuel tanks to be reinforced with kevlar to lessen the opportunity of punctures. An additional note in the report advised that actual hull of the plane it'self was also vulnerable to fire and urged that hulls are strengthened too. A suggestion for CCTV for pilots to observe the engines, wings and other crucial parts was incorporated in the report but has never been added to passenger jet of any size.
Air traffic controllers now oblige the pilots to stop on runways rather than directs pilots to move planes onto taxiways to save time when seconds mean the difference between life and death. The accessibility of emergency exits is improved by removing seats which hindered the passengers' ability to escape on the day of flight 28M. Floor lighting which escorts you to an emergency exit is now mandatory, alongside enhancements to interior fittings to make sure they don't fall down and strike passengers during an emergency, they are also made more fire repellent to lessen to the toxicity when they are hit by a flame, which claimed numerous lives on flight 28M. Public address systems are now more advanced improved to assist the calmer evacuation style seen today. Aerosol cans are now banned in hand luggage as this was proposed to be what caused the explosion which hindered the firefighters' entrance into the cabin. Firefighters are also better equipped and highly trained in handling these types of fires and fighting fires in enclosed spaces, for example, passenger cabins. Communication and management of firefighting at airports is now made more crucial to airport licensing requirements. This was made a recommendation after learning of issues of with water values and hydrants at the airport leading to crucial minutes lost fighting the fire
In 1986, a year after the incident at Manchester, regulators start to enforce guidance which governs the importance of what type of passenger can sit in seats which requires swift exits, including disabled, children and elderly. From July 1986, it is also required that crew to discreetly brief passengers in these types of seats to guide them to look at safety cards to be able to open emergency exits properly and safely. A suggestion in the final report was to distribute experienced cabin crew across the cabin to help speed evacuation in an emergency from both sides of the passenger cabin. Cabin crew training is now more focused on how to evacuate passengers safely and within 90 seconds as a golden rule, in addition, to being able to use firefighting equipment e.g. fire extinguishers and utilise personal protective equipment including, smoke hoods. The final report also goes onto suggest that passengers could apply smoke hoods themselves as standard equipment and examine the possible effectiveness of onboard sprinkler systems, however, these proposals have never been implemented, however, regulations regarding PPE and firefighting equipment has been tightened, alongside, smoke detectors being installed in a number of spaces including lavatories and cargo compartments, nevertheless, this would not become compulsory until 2001, after another incident in the United States, Valujet flight 592.
All these recommendations are now commonplace onboard every aeroplane that operates today across the world. Many passengers take this safety guidance for granted when they board aeroplanes, not reading safety cards and not paying attention to safety announcements but as have seen on British Airtours Flight 28M, awareness can save your life.
YOU ARE READING
The day Manchester will never forget: The Story of British Airtours Flight 28M
Não FicçãoIt was meant to be a regular flight for British tourists to enjoy a flight in Greece, however, on takeoff, a dream of a holiday turns into a fight for survival for everyone onboard British Airtours flight 28M.
