Emergency slide deployed in ‘error’ during Jetstar flight, crew stood down
A “big bang” startled passengers onboard a Jetstar flight from Hobart to Melbourne Wednesday morning after landing.
The aircraft’s emergency slide accidentally deployed after the Airbus A321 taxied into the gate at Tullamarine airport about 9.30am.
Rovsen Giffard, from Hobart, shared photographs on Twitter capturing the moment airline officials inspected the inflated slide, captioned: “Arrived #Melbourne from #Hobart #Tasmania very safely (!) thanks to #Jetstar”.
The crew responsible for flight JQ700 have been stood down while Jetstar investigated the incident, the Herald Sun reported.
Jetstar spokesperson Michael Scott said the slide was deployed as the cabin crew performed the usual checks.
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“The aircraft was slowly taxiing into the bay when the slide was deployed about 10 metres from its final stop,’’ he said.
“At this stage it looks like an error by a cabin crew member. We’ve stood down the crew from further duties as we look into what occurred.’’
He said safety mechanisms prevented the slide from being deployed during flight, and it could only inflate when the plane was on the ground.
Michael, from Hobart, told the newspaper there was a “big bang” as the slide deployed.
``It was obviously a bit of a surprise. It was quite loud as the engines were still running at the time,” he said.
“The two guys who were sitting in the row where the door was open were remarkably calm.
“Not sure if it was a technical issue or human error, but it was well handled in the end.”
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