Trip7

The discussion is about a simple brake fire.

AA383 was an uncontained engine failure in which the wing fuel tank was pierced spilling fuel engulfing the wing in fire. The smoke and fire were so significant the Flight Attendants initiated evacuation before direction from the Captain.

Nick Bradshaw

You're wrong because you're delegating your authority and responsibility as a captain to someone who may not even be on the scene. You've been doing this long enough to know that when the SHTF you wind your watch, evaluate the situation, then make a decision and execute it. You don't just panic and order an evacuation. Have you see these people lately? Picture older folks, handicapped, and obese people jumping down slides and getting seriously injured just to see ARFF had put the brake fire out before the FAs even got the doors open. You're going to have some explaining to do, Captain.

Also when the hotel fire alarm goes off at 3am, I don't run out of my room screaming and panicking and stand in the parking lot in my underwear. I crack the door open, look for signs of smoke or fire, and wait a few minutes to see if the alarm goes off. But that's just me.

Trip7

Excellent post. This part gave me a good chuckle

CBreezy

Interesting fact: if you pull a fire alarm in ATL airport, the alarm will go off but tell you to standby and not evacuate until the fire department evaluates the situation

notEnuf

The internet voyeur in me enjoys the hyperbole and visual description however, the alternative is the correct choice. Gramps broke hip is recoverable. Dead is usually fatal. Try winding your watch for 3 minutes next time you are in the sim and have a fire indication captain. Your evaluation and thought process needs to be done before the situation arises in order to act deliberately, efficiently and with alacrity to save lives. Panic is never good but immediate action is the only right answer with the information given. Someone intimately familiar with the industry and trained for safety has told you your aircraft is on fire.

Trip7

Do you have any example of where an airliner was engulfed in flames within 3 minutes of a brake fire? Any fatalies from not evacuating? Heck in many cases where an evacuation was commanded ARFF had the fire out before the slide was even popped.

Iceberg

Fantastic job evaluating all possible scenarios prior to them ever happening. Those of us less skilled in the art of telling the future will probably have to continue evaluating things as they happen.

Iceberg

That was you?

FangsF15

How do you know it’s “just a brake fire”?? Yes, brake fires are supposed to be contained by design. I believe there is a regulatory number of minutes. But how do you know?

I will never, ever second guess a Captain’s decision to command an egress. Nor should anyone else. Ever.

CBreezy

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I think it's a constructive conversation to have. No one here, at least those of us commenting on it, have any inside baseball. It's always good to get different perspectives because there is a lot of experience. What I disagree with are people who hear the word fire and then plug their ears and say there is only one correct action, to evacuate.