International aviation rewrote the question yesterday when a flaming Emirates flight slammed down in Dubai: "If your laptop and son are in a plane that caught fire, whom would you take care of first and why?"
The events on the plane, a part of which blew up moments after the last passenger had safely slid down the evacuation chute, actually did not pan out in such a stark manner.
But snatches of a conversation between a man and a boy did suggest that the adult was paying close attention to a laptop amid the chaos. The repeated appeals of a crew-member to "leave the bag" also suggested that some passengers had tried to retrieve their hand baggage before sliding down - something that could have punctured the inflated chute and cost the evacuation precious time.
Footage purportedly shot minutes after the plane landed has caught the imagination of Malayalis - of whom there were many on the plane that took off from Kerala - who are having a field day on social media. Perhaps, the fact that none of the 300 people on board suffered grievous injury - a firefighter died - helped turn the amateur video clip into a source of comic relief.
At the start of the video, an announcement delivered in a calm voice - as it should be to avoid panic-triggered stampede - is audible amid noise: "Cabin crew, this is the captain...."
Then a woman is heard speaking in Malayalam: " Veliyil irangan nokku (try to get out)."
As chaos erupts, the voice of a teenaged girl rings out: " Onnumilla amma (it's nothing, mother)."
A baby begins to cry, which is when a man is heard asking: "Laptop edutho (did you take the laptop)?"
The same voice tries to calm others: " Pedikkenda, pedikkenda (no need to be scared, no need to be scared)."
A girl's voice: "Aunty, ellarum pedikkathirikkamo (Aunty, will everyone stop being scared)?"
The man again pipes up: "Excuse me, mone, aa laptop pidi (excuse me, son, hold that laptop)."
The boy asks: " Ethu laptop (which laptop)?"
"Laptop, laptop," replies the man, who is then heard telling a woman, " vaadi (come on)". (Some Malayali men use the term "vaadi" while speaking to their wives. By itself, it is an impolite form of address but some do consider it affectionate.)
A moment later, a member of the crew is heard shouting: "Leave the bag, leave the bag, jump and slide... bag later... leave bag... please jump and slide... this way, this way... leave bag...."
A female crewmember joins in: "Jump, jump, jump, leave your bags behind. Jump and slide, jump and slide."
The passengers then move to the inflated emergency slide and make their way out.
Some voices are heard praying, " karthave, stotram (praise be to the Lord) and "hallelujah".
"Go, go, go, quick, quick," " ellarum po (everyone go)" and "ayyo kochu (oh, kid)" are some of the other discernable notes amid the chaos.
There is nothing to suggest that the man who kept mentioning the laptop neglected the safety of the child. Besides, other than those seated near the window towards the front, most passengers might not have been aware that the plane was on fire. Since the plane had already landed, it is possible that the gravity of the situation had not dawned on the passengers.
As it turned out, the absence of a blind rush indeed helped the evacuation without a single casualty. Aviation experts had yesterday lauded the crew for their presence of mind and the manner in which they activated the evacuation drill.
But the raw video, if it is genuine, offers an unedited insight into how people react in the face of unfamiliar situations, especially when they have left home in search of livelihood in a foreign land.
On social media, some "commentators" were merciless.
"I can't believe the sheer stupidity of these passengers! First, some idiot is taking video. Second, a bunch of morons are opening the overhead bins to fetch their all-important carry-ons! YOU GET THE HELL OFF THE AIRPLANE, IDIOTS!! Forget your stupid bags!!?" posted a person who identified himself as JRW Kellen.
But some of the criticism appears valid. The action of the passengers taking bags with them while sliding down could have damaged the inflatable emergency slide and made it riskier for the others.
"Imagine the slide getting punctured by one of these bags and the rest of them (may have) had to break their legs to save their lives. What a bunch of morons, they were lucky to be alive!" posted MegaApophys.
Some cracked jokes, describing the move to retrieve bags as "a general Malayalee attitude of holding on to material assets even when their lives are in danger".
However, not everyone agreed with the criticism. "I had spoken to the passengers and none of them expected an emergency landing. Malayalis working in the Gulf see laptop bags as a convenient option to store their valuable documents. So, what was wrong in searching for the laptop bags?" asked the Gulf correspondent of a Malayalam news channel.
YouTube user Jay Nade said: "Some of them are coming to Dubai for the first time to work in order to make a decent living. I would definitely criticise their behaviour but we need to understand that these carry-ons probably contained documents which, if lost, could leave these people stranded in a foreign country known for draconian immigration laws with very little help.
"You have no idea what it's like to end up without documents or money in a foreign country for a citizen of a "third world" country. If you are from North America or Europe - no problem, just an inconvenience, to get new documents and access to cash. But if you are not from a "developed" part of the world - you are pretty much s******. I can totally see how a carry-on can be worth more than life in such a situation."
Sandeep RD had a word of advice: "Appreciate the courage and efficiency of the Emirates staff in getting all passengers disembarked in a few seconds before the fuel exploded. Then, this video shouldn't have been taken at that time, and people shouldn't have tried to fetch their belongings. Life should be the first priority. Let airline companies also add this instruction: 'Do not try to take your bags and belongings during an emergency' in their pre-flight passenger briefings.
"I assume passengers might have thought for a brief time that they were safe as the plane touched down and stopped rolling. Anyway, glad that all are safe, and let this video be a lesson for all air travellers. Please leave the filming activities to professionals...."