Originally Posted by
B757200ER
STL-ORD. Nicely done, but I wonder---will NTSB and FAA inquire as to why the crew didn't evacuate? Usually, when landing with a confirmed fire, that's pretty standard. I wasn't there, but I would ask the question.
B757,
From what I've heard the fire was extinguished pretty quickly after rolling to a stop. During these scenarios the crew maintains communication with the tower/ARFF to assess the situation. In many cases, if the threat is no longer there, it makes sense NOT to evacuate because there is always the possibility of injury during an evacuation. We must balance the importance of slight injury during evacuation vs. the risk of greater injury or death by NOT evacuating. (That's why we get paid the big bucks!)
In this case, I think it was the right call. Now, if the ARFF/tower would have told them they were still on fire, I think an evacuation would have been warranted.
A few years ago we had a Fokker100 in DFW land and collapse a main gear. The aircraft slid to a stop on the runway with no fire and no injury to anyone. After evaluating with the tower, the captain decided not to evacuate. It was also the right call, since based on the conditions outside, there was no real threat that warranted an evacuation.
Decisions, decisions...
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