About 370 airline passengers have been injured when using evacuation slides (see below) deployed in emergencies over the last 30 years, according to the Japan Transport Safety Board (JTSB). Injuries occurred in 11 of the 12 incidents in which slides were deployed, with 31 people suffering serious harm.
The JTSB and airline companies want people to evacuate properly to prevent injuries.
Slides have been used to evacuate passengers due to engine fires and other emergencies 12 times since 1988.
A China Airlines flight that caught fire after landing at Naha Airport in August 2007 was the only incident with no injuries.
This is the first time the board has released injury statistics for evacuation slides.
When white smoke filled the fuselage of an All Nippon Airways flight after landing at Haneda Airport in May 1993, 121 of the 490 passengers were injured. There were nine serious injuries, including a woman in her 60s who broke her right hand and a thoracic vertebra when she hit the ground after appearing to bounce out of the slide.
After a Qantas Airways flight made an emergency landing at Kansai Airport in August 2005, nine of the 194 passengers were injured. One of the passengers, who was being held by a guardian while going down the slide, became separated from the guardian, fell and suffered a serious pelvic injury.
The board said the injuries were caused by factors such as improper posture during evacuation, evacuating while holding carry-on luggage and not having people on the ground to offer assistance.
In all the incidents that involved serious injuries, the slide was deployed on a runway or other hard surface, which led to greater damage when passengers hit the ground.
Before takeoff, airlines play videos describing how to use evacuation slides. Pointers include sitting upright with both arms extended forward, not taking any carry-on luggage and having people who already evacuated help others stand up when they reach the ground.
In the only injury-free incident -- the 2007 China Airlines flight -- having staff on the ground to assist passengers as they descended likely helped prevent injuries.
"We have been aware of the importance of helpers in subsequent accidents. There are some things cabin crews can't deal with on their own. We ask for our passengers' cooperation," a Japan Airlines spokesperson said.
A former ANA pilot said that as airplanes get larger, passengers must slide from higher up and at steeper angles.
"Passengers should have an accurate understanding of the risks, and cooperate by not taking carry-on luggage with them and by helping other passengers," he said.
-- Evacuation slide
Cloth slides connected to the emergency exits of airplanes that are used for evacuating in an emergency. They expand via nitrogen tanks when an emergency exit is opened. The slide angle is about 30 degrees. Slides can be disconnected from the plane to serve as life rafts when evacuating on water.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
