There have been some emergency landings where fire was involved where slides were used with mixed success. I can recall reading of a BOAC ailiner (I think a 707) that landed hard after dropping an engine off on take off, then burned on landing. Slides were used pretty effectivly until a puddle of buring fuel started blocking them. Final passengers and crew got out by climbing out the emergency ladder in the cockpit.

After seeing the practice run, I'd hate to see what would result in a real evacaution situation.

And is it just me, or is the sight of a bunch of shouting, uniformed Germans herding hordes of panicked people off the plane rife with situational irony?

In addition, the plane actually did ignite and was on fire for much of the evacuation (on one side), and the passengers evacuated on the other side. Of course, they had the advantage that the plane maintained structural integrity and so the fire was not able to enter the cabin.

Later,
Chrome...

slides wouldn't do shit for you then!

.....Me, I'd like to be OUT at that time.

Now be a good sheep and put your life in the hands of a slip and slide.

If jet fuel ignites, you'll be lucky to have five seconds to get off the plane before you get cooked.

False. The inside of a commercial jet can remain habitable for several minutes after the fuel has caught on fire, aside from smoke. Flames and temperature effects are minor concerns in comparison.

A couple of notes about the test:

1) The test is done with half the exit doors "blocked", to simulate an emergency where fire or other hazards might prevent the use of several doors. The participants, however, are not aware of which doors are blocked until during the test itself.

2) The upper deck slides were pre=deployed for safety reasons, given the extreme height, although the door was blocked for time that it would have taken for the slides to inflate to prevent an unfair advantage.

3) The test is done in a pitch-black hangar, with luggage, blankets, pillows and other debris strewn across the aisles.

4) Both EASA and FAA regulations require that 35% of the participants must be aged over 50, a minimum 40% must be female, and 15% female and over 50. Children were included, as well as three life-sized dolls representing infants under two.

There's also a slightly longer video showing some of the preparations and extended exterior views of the evacuation at http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2006/07/06/207656/vid... For the real airline nerds, pictures of the safety card can be seen at http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2006/05/10/206552/pic...

Oh, and the full story on what happened to participant #737: http://www.bizbuzzmedia.com/blogs/flight_international/arc...

Noooo! My tail bone!!!

haha

The staff know what they're doing and wont' panic.
None of the passengers will panic or fall over or stop dead in the one-person-at-a-time aisles.
They 'crash' completely level and are able to deploy all of their slides and they all lead to safe ground.
That the plane itself is not hazardous, eg: smoke, fire, shrapnel.
And, per above, that no one is injured, disabled, or elderly and needs assistance to exit.

Basically, this is a completely best case scenario test and will never be replicated in a real emergency. I suspect that this is just a formality, a certification run that confirms the plane CAN evacuate its full load in under 2 minutes or something like that.

Yeah, plus kids, who are unique, precious snowflakes and more important than you. And old people, who no one can admit should just get off last so normal people can live their entire lives since granny's dying in a year anyway.