My suitcase opened on the baggage carousel and introduced everyone to my socks

I recognized my suitcase as it entered the baggage carousel because one sleeve was hanging out of it.

At first I thought the fabric was a baggage tag. Then the suitcase turned the corner and displayed three socks, a T-shirt and the corner of a packing cube through an open zipper.

The main compartment had unzipped halfway during the flight.

I moved toward the carousel, but another traveler was standing in front of me. By the time I reached the edge, the suitcase had passed. I followed it around the belt while my belongings appeared one section at a time like a slow presentation.

A sock fell out.

The woman nearest it picked it up by two fingers and looked around. I raised my hand.

“Mine,” I said.

This word referred to both the sock and the public event.

The suitcase approached again. I grabbed the side handle. The open flap caught the rubber carousel curtain and resisted. For one alarming second, I was holding luggage that still belonged to the transportation system.

An airport employee told me to let go and press the assistance button. I did. The belt stopped.

We freed the flap and lifted the suitcase onto the floor. Two travelers handed me additional socks they had collected farther down the carousel. Nobody made a joke. Their restraint was almost formal.

I zipped the bag closed and moved both zipper pulls to one side. One pull had a bent tab, and the teeth near the corner separated when the bag was squeezed. I wrapped a luggage strap around the case before the trip home and retired the suitcase afterward.

Nothing valuable was lost. The packing cube kept most items contained. The loose socks had simply been selected as ambassadors.

What is the safest move when an open suitcase is caught on a moving carousel? Let it make another circuit, alert staff or use the assistance control instead of pulling? And does a luggage strap genuinely prevent this kind of public unpacking, or merely keep the audience together?