Qantas passengers flee in panic as pilot screams ‘evacuate, evacuate, evacuate’ after cabin fills with smoke
A QANTAS pilot “screamed” at passengers to “evacuate, evacuate, evacuate” after pungent smoke filled the cabin in Australia.
Several people were injured in the rush to flee flight 575, while others suffered itchy eyes or "scratchy throats" after breathing in hydraulic fluid fumes.
Aswin De Silva said: "I landed on my elbow and I saw blood gushing out."
Two other passengers were treated for wounds sustained from using the slides, while others reported itchy throats and sore eyes.
Dramatic videos show the panicking passengers throwing themselves down three slides after smoke filled the cabin.
HYDRAULIC FLUID LEAK
Qantas said that engineers are "working to determine the cause of a hydraulic fluid leak on board one of its Airbus A330s.
"AF575 departed Sydney for Perth at 8.45am this morning.
"Approximately 20 minutes into the flight, the captain received a cockpit alert for one of three hydraulic systems on the aircraft."
The airline said that once the aircraft was back on the gate there were reports of a thick haze in the cabin, likely caused by hydraulic fluid entering the air conditioning unit.
"While customers may have thought it was smoke, there was no fire.
"Two passengers were treated for injuries sustained from using the slides and another passenger was taken to hospital as a precaution.
"Some customers reported sore eyes and itchy throats."
Qantas Fleet Safety Captain Debbie Slade added: “We’ll investigate exactly what happened, including liaising with Airbus, before this aircraft is returned to service."