Spain (BN24) – Multiple British passengers have been left with broken bones after a terrifying evacuation from a Ryanair flight sparked by a false fire alert at Palma Airport.
Chaos erupted just after midnight Saturday when an alarm sounded moments before takeoff to Manchester, prompting passengers to scramble over seats and climb out onto the plane’s wing rather than wait for emergency slides.
Authorities said 18 people were injured, with six hospitalized. Two British travelers reportedly suffered broken bones despite Ryanair initially claiming only “very minor injuries.”
Footage shared on social media shows passengers leaping from the wing onto the tarmac in a panic as firefighters and police rushed to the scene.
Savanah, 26, from Whitefield, Manchester, was onboard with her friend and their mothers when the ordeal began.
“We were all just sitting on the plane,” she told the Manchester Evening News. “They made an announcement that we were going in five minutes. All of a sudden there was a bang, and everyone started screaming and running.”
She described “utter chaos” as the crew shouted at everyone to leave their belongings and evacuate immediately.
Savanah said there were no slides deployed on her side of the plane. She and others climbed onto the wing to escape.
“I’ve hurt my shoulder, my friend hurt her knee. Her mum fractured her elbow, wrist, and foot. My mum broke her ankle. She’s in a cast and about to have surgery—it’s broken in three places,” she said.
Neither woman could walk afterward, and when Savanah tried to retrieve her mother’s lost phone, she was told it was too dangerous because “the plane could set on fire.”
Elsewhere on the aircraft, some passengers used the emergency slide as intended, but others were seen jumping from the wing as alarms blared.
A mother of another passenger said her daughter called her in tears from the plane:
“She said, ‘Mum, I’m trying to get down the slide, I might not survive this and I love you.’ It was horrible. I didn’t sleep all night, even after I knew she was safe.”
A Majorca emergency services spokesman confirmed four ambulances and airport firefighters responded to the call at 12:36 a.m.
“Eighteen people were injured and received medical assistance. Six were transferred to hospital, all with minor injuries,” the spokesman said.
Ryanair maintained that passengers disembarked using inflatable slides and described the injuries as mostly ankle sprains.
A spokesperson for the airline said:
“This flight from Palma to Manchester discontinued takeoff due to a false fire warning light indication. Passengers were disembarked using the inflatable slides and returned to the terminal. A small number of passengers encountered very minor injuries, and crew requested immediate medical assistance.
“To minimize disruption, we quickly arranged a replacement aircraft to operate this flight, which departed Palma at 07:05 this morning. We sincerely apologize to affected passengers for any inconvenience caused.”
Local officials confirmed the aircraft was not authorized to depart while the alarm remained active.
Meanwhile, doctors advised some of the injured they will not be fit to fly home to Manchester until at least Monday.
