Gregory Robinson
Making small mistakes on your first day at a new job isn’t unusual, however one British Airways steward made a very expensive blunder on his first day when he accidentally activated a plane’s emergency slide.
The error reportedly cost his employers £50,000.
The unnamed new employee was working their first flight on a Boeing 777 from Heathrow on Friday last week.
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He inadvertently triggered the plane’s evacuation procedure by opening an escape door, reports The Sun.
When the escape door was opened, an inflatable evacuation slide deployed which meant the mandatory safety item couldn’t be used anymore and a replacement aircraft for passengers had to be used.
The slide’s impromptu debut was no laughing matter as the passengers on board the BA75 flight to Lagos, Nigeria were told that the slide faux pas would lead to their journey being delayed for four hours.
The plane which was moments before take-off after leaving the stand at Heathrow.
After the slide was activated, emergency services rushed to the scene to life the rubber slide from the tarmac.
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A BA spokesperson clarified what actually happened and said that it is ‘normal procedure for emergency services to attend’.
A substitute aircraft completed the journey to Lagos with the same crew, except the rookie, who was replaced.
BA says it is still looking into the cause of the slide deployment.
In a statement shared with LADbible a spokesperson shared: “The aircraft returned to stand and customers disembarked normally.
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"We've apologised to customers for the inconvenience caused, have provided them with refreshment vouchers and have arranged a replacement aircraft so that they can continue their journey as planned.”
Boeing 777-200 aircrafts are fitted with eight slides. When the cabin crew activates one of the slides, the door will be opened in the ‘automatic’ position, which automatically makes the inflatable safety feature deploy.
The slides are massive, measuring up to 14 metres (46ft) in length. Despite their huge size, the slides only take six seconds to roll out and inflate, allowing the people on board to safely exit the plane.
The slides get checked on an almost daily basis according to Peter Dyer, a licensed aircraft engineer who was interviewed for a BA YouTube video about how the safety slides deploy.
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Aircrafts are now safer than ever before and it is rare for passengers to have to use an evacuation slide.