crash-landing of an Emirates flight

NEW DELHI: The probe by the UAE aviation authorities into theat Dubai last month has shown Indian flyers in poor light. Flight EK-521 was flying from Thiruvananthapurm in Kerala to Dubai on August 3 with 282 passengers -of which 226 or over 80% were Indians -when the aircraft burst into flames minutes after landing.The preliminary report by UAE General Civil Aviation Authority talks about "passenger behaviour and carry-on baggage" during the crucial seconds when everyone on board miraculously evacuated the Boeing 777 just in time before it started burning. Based on cabin crew inputs, the report says how flyers evacuated the plane with their hand bags despite being told by the crew not to do so. While the report does not name Indians, the reference is quite clear, with 80% of flyers on the plane from the country ."The cabin crew members stated that when the aircraft got impacted and slid along the runway, passengers started to unfasten their seatbelts and stand up. An announcement was made for the passengers to remain seated. When the aircraft came to rest, some passengers were screaming, grabbing their belongings, and asking the cabin crew members to open the doors," the report says."The cabin crew members followed the operator's safety instructions that prohibit passengers taking their carry-on baggage during an evacuation, and they instructed the passengers to leave their bags behind. However, several passengers evacuated the aircraft carrying their baggage. Footage of the evacuation showed a number of passengers outside the aircraft with their baggage," the report adds.While panic in such situations is normal human behaviour, several crew members and pilots of Indian carriers and even some crew of foreign airlines that fly abroad say Indians are by and large seen as flyers with "special behaviour" -a euphemism for displaying not-so-good behaviour in air. First timers are, however, not seen as the only `troublesome' desi flyer.“The behaviour of scores of frequent flyers is also not good. They hanker for free liquor so much that crew has to firmly deny them more drinks. Their behaviour with the crew is also not appropriate as they can be rude to airhostesses," said another pilot.