The FAA says passengers are making a dangerous mistake during aircraft evacuations

• An FAA video says passengers taking bags during an aircraft evacuation slows down the escape.
• Analysts said the time spent retrieving carry-ons has contributed to accident-related deaths.
• A study found passenger misunderstandings about aircraft evacuation procedures and timing.

Aviation regulators say some passengers are making a dangerous mistake during aircraft evacuations: Trying to leave with their bags.

In an X post on Monday, the Federal Aviation Administration shared a video showing viral clips of people running off planes or jumping down emergency slides with their carry-ons in tow. The warning comes after repeated incidents in which passengers tried to grab their overhead or underseat luggage during an emergency.

"In the event of an emergency aircraft evacuation, the safety of you and your fellow passengers is top priority," the post said. "Every second counts."

On the FAA's passenger evacuations website, it says that flyers stopping to retrieve their bags can slow escapes, block aisles, and damage the inflatable emergency slides.

It adds that since January 1, 2023, more than 40 people have been injured during emergency evacuations.

The website also reminds passengers not to use their phones during evacuations, as taking photos or videos can slow the process, and to remove high heels to avoid puncturing the emergency slide.

The FAA's warning is part of the aviation industry's latest safety initiative, "Save a Life, Not a Bag," launched by the International Air Transport Association, or IATA, in June amid growing concerns about passengers evacuating with their belongings.

In May, passengers had to evacuate a Frontier Airlines flight after the plane fatally hit a person during takeoff. Flight attendants can be heard in a video of the event pleading with passengers to "Please leave all belongings" and adding, "Your lives are more important."

In August 2025, the landing gear on an American Airlines plane caught fire before takeoff, forcing the evacuation of 173 passengers and crew, and a video showed people exiting with their rollerboards as smoke bellowed from the jet. One person was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

Industry analysts have said ignoring crewmember instructions has contributed to fatalities in aviation accidents.

After a Russian Aeroflot plane caught fire following an emergency landing in Moscow in 2019, killing 41 of the 78 people on board, experts criticized passengers seen fleeing the aircraft with carry-on bags.

Those incidents reflect a broader problem, according to IATA. The trade group commissioned a study that found many passengers misunderstand evacuation procedures.

While 80% said they know what to do in an emergency, only 61% correctly said they should leave all belongings behind. One in 10 said they might still take a bag or follow others who do, and only 18% knew aircraft evacuations are designed to be completed within 90 seconds, suggesting many passengers overestimate the time available to escape.

A delay trying to remove a bag from an overhead bin, for example, could cost the seconds that the passenger and those behind them need to get safely out of the plane.

"We are seeing an increasing number of passengers not following flight crew instructions during emergencies," FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said in the IATA press release.

Still, the successful evacuation of a Japan Airlines plane carrying 379 people in 2024 showed the importance of following evacuation procedures.

The aircraft caught fire after colliding with a Japan Coast Guard plane during landing, but all passengers and crew escaped safely — an outcome experts credited in part to passengers leaving their belongings behind.

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