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Squawks & HeadlinesEvacuation slide deploys midair on United flight

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Evacuation slide deploys midair on United flight

A United Airlines flight was forced to land in Wichita, Kansas, after the evacuation slide accidentally deployed midair Sunday, the airline said. (www.cnn.com) More...

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Peter Stuart 13
I wonder if anyone got on the PA and Asked " does anyone have a knife?"
David Johnson 1
Hah! That was the very first thing that popped into my mind.
Bryce Johnson 6
20,000 feet in 10 minutes...Ha! 2000 feet per minute. That's a standard 3 degree descent. We often use 2,500-3,000 fpm to stay higher longer. Fuel is expensive
Ric Wernicke 6
Pilot reported a door light problem and advised he was going to land.

Probably a bad or damaged door switch triggered the slide.

Crew did the right thing. Cost United more than a little money. Perhaps the accountants that are always screaming they are spending too much on maintenance will be sent to the woodshed and management will get some aware mechanics in the shop to make sure all repairs and adjustments are made properly.
Tim Duggan 5
Now, THAT is excellent info! Thanks, "Ric Wernicke". A "Door Light" alert might have happened AFTER the slide deployed.

WHY the girt bar moved, or otherwise caused the slide deployment will be up to the investigation.

"Girt Bar" is the metal bar that is locked into attachment points on the cabin floor, at the door threshold. On the Boeing 737 this is done manually by the Flight Attendants. This Girt Bar easily snaps in and out...it is manually "Dis-Armed" also by the F/As on the ground, at gate arrival....snapped into a set of holding clips on the slide-pack that is attached to the door.


ANY people in this thread who are crewmembers with experience on the B-737 will know this.
Tim Swift 2
Thanks Tim !
Scott Campbell 2
One way to get a direct flight from Wichita to orange county :) !
Yet another reason to not fly KSNA, have to spend the night everywhere if you can't make the curfew.
sst116 1
Maybe united should rethink farming out its maintenance.
dondtus 1
How often does this happen? (The CNN article mentions the following 2 times. Anyone know of any others?)

In November, a JetBlue plane on its way to Boston was diverted to Orlando after an evacuation slide opened in flight. http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/20/us/plane-diverted-slide/

And in 2008, an evacuation chute opened aboard a campaign plane carrying then-presidential candidate Barack Obama. The chute deployed because it wasn't properly fastened to the floor and it shifted when the plane made a steeper-than-normal takeoff, the National Transportation Safety Board said. http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/09/21/ntsb-concludes-investigation-into-2008-obama-plane-mishap/
Chris Bryant 1
Interesting that this happened not long after the NTSB report on the Asiana crash at KSFO was released. The report mentioned an issue with the slides and load factors. Hmmm...
Jeff Lawson 1
acmi 1
really, really glad that I was not in the aft head when this happened.
OMG, thank goodness the copilot was able to land the plane safely!!!
mthompson218 1
That Daily Mail article. Horror! Terror! They were Petrified! Geez.
nicholas weber 1
Yes, Well! It's "The Daily Mail" Not shall we say the most honest of newspapers. Good for wrapping your fish and chips up in though!
Jhon Lewis 0
How do people believe that this is scary, that just seems goofy I mean there's really no harm(except on that jetblue flight). Maybe there is more to this, but It didn't open the door it just opened up in the cabin, I would be laughing if that happened to me, I have no idea why anyone would be scared except for the nervous flyers...
Tim Swift -1
20,000 in 10 minutes. Wonder how those ears were feeling after landing.
Tim Duggan 3
That is a typical descent profile....the Auto pressurization will allow for it.