Back in 2019, an Air Canada Jazz Dash 8 at Toronto’s Pearson International was hit by a fuel truck while taxiing. A recently released investigation shows that many passengers lost their mind following the collision, refused to listen to flight attendant instructions, and took it upon themselves to grab their belongings and bail out. Passengers even verbally threatened the flight attendant to get her to open the cabin door.
Many passengers ignored instructions to “remain seated and calm” while some tried to grab their overhead luggage during the evacuation and others were yelling that they needed to get out of the plane, fuelling panic, the agency report, which was released this week, says.
. . . .
In the moments after the collision, the flight attendant asked passengers to remain seated but “despite this command, some passengers unfastened their seat belts and stood up”.
One passenger climbed over the back of their seat, opened a rear emergency window exit and jumped, followed by one more passenger.
. . . .
Fifteen people received minor injuries, including one infant who was badly bruised after being thrown from her parent’s arms, hitting the seatback and falling to into the aisle when the fuel tanker collided with the aeroplane.
The article isn’t clear, but it sounds like the plane may have stopped and passengers thought they were at the gate. Or else they unbuckled and got up while the plane was still taxiing. What a cluster.