Emergency Slide Deploys In Flight on Jet Blue Aircraft

Passengers on board a Jet Blue flight from Fort Myers, Florida, to Boston’s Logan airport on Wednesday heard a loud bang while in flight. What caused the frightening noise? Much to everyone’s surprise, it was the in-flight deployment of one of the plane’s emergency slides in the cabin. Yes, that’s right. The emergency evacuation slide inflated DURING flight, INSIDE the cabin.

There were approximately 75 passengers and crew on board at the time. No passengers were injured. But, according to news reports, the deployed slide pinned one flight attendant to the cockpit and took up the entire front area where the flight attendants sit forward of the first row of seats. A passenger apparently punctured the slide, freeing the trapped flight attendant.

As is evident on entering most any commercial aircraft, these slides are built into the plane’s doors. The affected door did not open in this instance, but the pilots declared an emergency, and the plane was diverted and landed without incident in Orlando, Florida. Luckily, the slide was not needed to exit the plane, and passengers were directed through the back of the plane. The flight attendant who was pinned was treated at a local hospital and released, and the plane is out of service for inspection. The cause is unknown at this point.