Ryanair passengers have told of their "pure hell and chaos" after being injured when they were forced to evacuate following rumours of an onboard fire.
The delayed service from Palma de Mallorca Airport to Manchester Airport was due to take off on July 4 before passengers heard a "bang".
But protocol allegedly went out the window before takeoff when a steward ran down the aisle screaming "evacuate, evacuate".
Footage of the UK-bound plane shows panicked passengers on the wing of the Boeing 737, with some plunging several meters to the tarmac.
Emergency services in the Spanish island reported that 18 people had been injured in the fiasco.
Francine Elkinson, 57, broke her right foot and had to undergo a three-hour operation to have pins and plates inserted.
Ryanair 737-800 evacuated at Palma de Mallorca Airport after a fire indication developed on board during taxi.
— Breaking Aviation News & Videos (@aviationbrk) July 5, 2025
The SAMU061 coordination center received a call at a.m, reporting a fire on flight RK3446 to Manchester.
A total of 18 people were injured during the evacuation, six… pic.twitter.com/XpCCejGq2t
Speaking from her hospital bed, Ms Elkinson told The Sun: "I was watching a film when suddenly they shouted for everyone to evacuate.
"There was an open door and I just went through it. I was so terrified and in a daze that I didn't know what was going on, and I jumped.
"If there had been someone over the tannoy telling me where to go I would have been able to make it to a slide, and I wouldn't be in this state."
Others onboard the 180-seat jet have blamed the Ryanair staff for the "totally chaotic" evacuation.
Richard and Jo Barton, from Saddleworth in Greater Manchester, slammed the airline team's behaviour as "appalling", insisting: "They completely failed."
Jo, who is in her 60s, added: “In reality, it was pure hell and chaos. I could see men even pushing women and children out of the way to get out for safety.
“People were scrambling to get off the plane through the exit doors leading to the wings, with people leaping 15 feet from the wings to the ground.
“Those people broke their arms, legs and shoulders and they were screaming and crying in agony."
It was pure hell and chaos
The couple claims that wounded people were forced to wait up to 30 minutes for medical assistance.
A spokesman for Ryanair said: “This flight from Palma to Manchester (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.
"To minimise disruption to passengers, we quickly arranged a replacement aircraft to operate this flight, which departed Palma at 07:05 this morning.
"We sincerely apologise to affected passengers for any inconvenience caused.”
The incident came the day after Ryanair was forced to cancel 170 flights due to a French air traffic control strike, affecting the holiday plans of more than 30,000 passengers for destinations across Europe.
