Is Evacuating With Your Carry-On Worth a Fine?

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has some recommendations for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) when it comes to improving passenger safety.

The NTSB recently encouraged the FAA to "conduct research to measure and evaluate the effects of carry-on baggage on passenger deplaning times and safety during an emergency evacuation and identify effective countermeasures to reduce any determined risks, and implement the countermeasures."

The advice comes on the heels of an investigation into an October 28, 2016, incident involving a Miami-bound American Airlines flight that caught fire after an engine failure at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. The report found that multiple passengers ignored flight attendants' instructions to leave their carry-on luggage behind during the evacuation. At least one person was seriously injured while 20 others sustained minor injuries in the incident, which was one of several recent aviation emergencies in the U.S. in which evacuation efforts have been impeded by passengers reaching for their carry-on bags.

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While the FAA will likely have the final call, NTSB chairman Robert Sumwalt appears open to the idea of imposing fines for passengers who hamper evacuation efforts.

"I have thought about that," he told the Chicago Sun-Times. "People might be less inclined to worry about all their Gucci luggage."

A spokesman for the FAA said the agency would "review and consider the NTSB’s recommendations and findings."

Meanwhile, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA—which represents as many as 50,000 flight attendants across more than a dozen airlines—is pointing to existing laws that grant the FAA power to seek criminal charges and fines up to $250,000 for passengers who interfere with crew members' ability to perform their duties.

"Apparently the threat of death by incineration fueled by thousands of gallons of jet fuel isn’t enough of a deterrent to stop passengers from taking time to grab carry-on bags during an emergency evacuation," said the union's president, Sara Nelson, via the Sun-Times. "The FAA should use existing laws to crack down on passengers endangering themselves and countless others as they put computers, cosmetics, and clothing ahead of human life."

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The FAA has pursued civil penalties against more than 150 passengers over the past five years for interfering with flight crew, according to one official. However, it's not known if any of those cases involved passengers grabbing carry-on luggage during emergency evacuations.

"Our union is calling for enforcement of this law as it relates to passengers grabbing carry-on bags during an emergency evacuation," Nelson added. "It’s just that serious. And something has got to make these people listen to crew instructions."