Airbus will conduct a trial emergency evacuation using the fourth A380 (MSN007) with 853 passengers to certificate the exit limit for the ultra-large aircraft.
The aircraft will be equipped with a special high-density interior during outfitting at its Hamburg Finkenwerder plant to simulate the maximum occupancy of the A380.
The A380 has 16 exit doors, including six on the upper deck that are 7.9m (26ft) above the ground when the aircraft is standing on its landing gear. The slides have been developed by Goodrich.
To comply with regulations, the aircraft has to be evacuated in 90s with half of the doors available. Airbus says it has received certain waivers from the authorities to improve safety for the volunteers, given the height of the upper deck and the number of passengers. These include being able to deploy the slides before the start of the evacuation trial, and not having to conduct the test in darkness.
Once the tests have been completed, the A380 will be reconfigured with a more representative, lower-density layout and used in the route-proving programme towards the end of this year.
MAX KINGSLEY-JONES / TOULOUSE
Source: Flight International
