A passenger aboard the American Airlines plane that had to be evacuated is facing flak for apparently prioritizing his luggage over his child.
The left main landing gear of an American Airlines flight caught fire at Denver International Airport, prompting an emergency evacuation.
Visuals showed passengers sliding down from the plane, and among them was a man who was seen coming down with his luggage in one hand, and he appeared to grab his child by the neck with the other. Once he comes down the slide, the man in a rush appears to fall on his child on the tarmac, as per the video.
What happened to the American Airlines plane?
Flight AA3023 was bound for Miami and was on the runway when the fire was spotted. Passengers and crew were safely evacuated via emergency slides as smoke billowed underneath the aircraft.
{{/usCountry}}Flight AA3023 was bound for Miami and was on the runway when the fire was spotted. Passengers and crew were safely evacuated via emergency slides as smoke billowed underneath the aircraft.
{{/usCountry}}Authorities reported there was one minor injury and all 173 passengers and six crew members were accounted for.
Also Read | Radar video shows moment Southwest flight avoided mid-air crash with Hawker Hunter- Watch
The airlines, while releasing a statement, said there was a maintenance issue with a tire on the landing gear before take off.
“All customers and crew deplaned safely, and the aircraft was taken out of service to be inspected by our maintenance team,” the statement added.
What are people saying about dad who saved luggage 'first'?
The man who appeared to give equal importance to his luggage as his kid, is receiving a fair amount of flak online.
“He is never going to win the father of the year award. He might even find himself divorced,” one user remarked.
“Landed right on that kids leg too,” another observed.
“Bro snapped the kids leg. More worried about material possessions than your own child's safety is nuts,” a person on X with similar views, said.
Another user held out hopes for lessons learnt, saying “That’s messed up. I hope he sees what he did wrong.”
Others were more understanding, with one commenting “Maybe that luggage has the kid's diabetes or asthma medications. We don't know the circumstances.”
Yet another advised that one can ‘toss the luggage first’ and then ‘follow’ with their child, before noting that they were merely commenting from behind a screen, and weren't actually in a situation where they had to evacuate from a plane that'd caught fire.