British Airways flight delayed after emergency slide deploys

A British Airways flight from Montreal to London Heathrow was delayed by three and a half hours on Friday night after an emergency evacuation slide was accidentally deployed. The incident, known as an Inadvertent Slide Deployment (ISD), occurred as flight BA94 was preparing for departure with a ground service truck positioned beside the open cabin door.

Video of the incident shows the slide deployed directly on top of the catering truck. The slide thankfully did not cause the truck to topple over or strike any ground workers. An ISD can cause serious injury when ground equipment is beside the aircraft.

Cause of the Deployment

When an aircraft door is opened from the outside by ground personnel, the slide is designed to automatically disarm. This suggests the door on flight BA94 was opened from the inside while it was still in the armed position. Aircraft manufacturer Airbus states these events are a daily occurrence worldwide.

They are commonly caused by crew fatigue, unfamiliarity with a specific aircraft door mechanism, or new crew members confusing the door operation. After a series of ISDs, British Airways introduced new procedures based on the Japanese ‘point and call’ method. Cabin crew must point at the door multiple times while calling out their actions to ensure focus on arming or disarming it.

Flight Operations After the Incident

British Airways would not have had the resources to replace the slide in Montreal, but the flight was not cancelled. Engineers removed the slide and placed placards at the affected door, indicating it could not be used in an emergency. Passengers were still allowed to travel on the aircraft.

Depending on passenger load, some travelers may have been offloaded to comply with safety rules dictating the required number of usable exits per passenger. A spokesperson for British Airways stated, “We have apologised to customers for the delay to their journey. Our teams worked hard to get them on their way as quickly as possible.”

The airline is familiar with such incidents, having implemented specific training to prevent them. The flight eventually continued to London after the lengthy delay caused by the slide deployment and subsequent safety checks.