An emergency slide on an Emirates Airbus A380 superjumbo was accidentally deployed shortly after it arrived at Manchester Airport on Monday morning.
The slide appears to have damaged a jetbridge that was being set up at the door where the slide was deployed. The slide is officially known as a “slide raft” since it can be disconnected from the aircraft and utilized as a sea raft in the case of ditching.
Thankfully, it appears that no one was hurt in the incident; nevertheless, Manchester Airport has failed to comment on it. Airport ground staff are at a greater risk of injury from unintentional slide deployments.
Images posted by Dave Branson on Twitter showed the massive 15-meter-long slide fully extended and surrounded by emergency workers.
Incident at Manchester airport. Emirates emergency slide. pic.twitter.com/THIjsYHRac
— Dave Branson (@DaveBranson7) December 19, 2022
Because it is the first door on the upper deck and is located on the left side of the aircraft, the slide that deployed is known as the U1 Left door. The emergency exits on the upper deck are more than 25 feet above the ground.
The A380’s emergency slides are built to inflate in under four seconds, whereas emergency slides must be able to deploy and inflate in just six seconds. Once the deployment has begun, it cannot be stopped.
Although the exact cause of Monday’s unintentional deployment in Manchester is unknown, the most frequent reason is that the cabin staff forgets to disarm the doors when they arrive.
Naturally, a cross-checking process exists to reduce this risk, but even this doesn’t capture every error. The A380 also includes a specific light and alarm that alert crew members when they attempt to open the door while it is still armed, however, once again, this feature isn’t completely reliable.
It is thought that the incident involved a six-year-old A380 with the registration A6-EUN. At 6:45 a.m., the aircraft, which was operating flight EK21, arrived in Manchester. It has been decided not to operate the return flight (EK22), and passengers are being rebooked.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Emirates said the flight has been “delayed due to a technical issue”.
“Affected passengers are being provided with assistance, and will be re-accommodated on a replacement aircraft due to depart from Manchester on 20th December at 6 am,” an emailed statement from the airline confirmed.
“Emirates apologizes for the inconvenience caused. The safety of our passengers and crew is of the utmost importance”.
Photo cover via Twitter:@DaveBranson7
