A couple of days back a British Airway’s plane engine caught fire during take off at McCarran Airport in Las Vegas.

Luckily everyone made it out alive with just 13 people (possible more) being sent “to local hospitals for treatment” according to CNN. The plane was evacuated within five minutes with passengers and crew using the emergency evacuation slides.

Some passengers were called out for bringing their luggage off of the plane during the emergency. Check out this article from the Daily Mail.

The reason we are told to leave the plane without our belongings is to keep the slide from getting damaged and possibly not being of use to other passengers. Luggage being tossed down the slide could also hurt someone else on the slide or already on the ground…

But what would you do in this situation?

Your valuable belongings are in the overhead bin. Maybe your laptop, camera, other items of importance. Do you follow instructions and head for the exit or do you stop for a moment and grab your things, jeopardizing the lives of others onboard?

I think it’s hard to say what we might do in a scary, life-threatening situation such as a plane evacuation. I could totally understand why some of the passengers would’ve went for their belongings. Maybe it was instinct to grab their things before exiting? Maybe they didn’t want to lose important items like the ones stated above. Maybe they just weren’t being rational in this scary situation.

I’d like to think that I’d make the right decision, following the flight attendant’s instructions, quickly exiting the plane.

Hopefully none of us ever have to find out by dealing with a plane emergency evacuation.

Safe travels to all.