Last week an engine of a British Airways Boeing 777 destined for London failed upon take-off at Las Vegas McCarran airport. The pilot managed to abort take-off and passengers evacuated the aircraft via the inflatable chutes. The human damage was limited to 14 people being hospitalised for injuries sustained during that chute evacuation.
However the tale of saving an aircraft full of passengers has been tainted by publication of news and photos showing passengers stopping to take their hand luggage out of overhead bins before evacuating. This slowed down the process of getting people off an aircraft filling with smoke and therefore jeopardised their safety.
On the one hand, it's a tabloid news story about inconsiderate, thoughtless and, frankly, foolhardy modern behaviour. It's also a living example of how complex and unpredictable business corporate travel risk management can be.
Most risk management advice and guidelines are about dealing with the dangers we know — malaria pills for travel to India or Indonesia, political awareness if travelling to Nigeria or Saudi Arabia. But the reality is that risk management is about having to contend with the unexpected.
We know about malaria prevention — we didn't know how to cope with ebola other than to ban travel to affected areas.
By the same token the baggage incident highlights how risk — and danger — can come from completely unexpected sources.
Airline crew are well-trained in safety measures. The safety videos explain procedures in the event of unscheduled problems. But having crew knowledgeable in how to react and doing their jobs does not automatically extend to all passengers also doing so.
To stop to collect baggage from bins — and thus delay the evacuation of others on the aircraft — is foolish. Message board excuses ran from 'my passport was in my hand baggage' to 'my business depended on what was in my laptop'. The reality is that nothing is worth endangering other passengers' lives — the aircraft was filling with smoke at the time — but lives were endangered.
And what does this mean in terms of corporate responsibility? If passenger actions had caused serious injury or a fatality to someone travelling on company business, would the airline or employer been liable?
It's not clear, but it is clear that danger does not always come from political insurrection, natural disasters or health threats. The biggest source is probably a deficiency of common sense.
And what can you do to maximise that within your travellers' psyche?
Business Travel iQ is holding its second annual Responsible Travel Management conference in London on 22 October.