If you look at some of the biggest aircrashes in history where there were survivors, the majority got spilled out onto the grass. Very few survivors make it off the plane when there is fire and the fuselage remained intact
well I would assume that all
survivors got off, else they must still be in their seats.
Actually there have been more than a few folks deplane safely from a burning aircraft.
Valujet engine failure in Atlanta comes to mind for an example.
I can't say what mode for deplaning I would choose before each flight. As a
survivor I am quite happy to use either one.
Regarding the planned test of the A380 as discussed here. I would believe that taking the same 850 passengers and sending them down escalators in a fire drill would result in some injuries and of course some risk of death if the folks who reach the bottom wait for family members to arrive before leaving the area.
I wouldn\'t take issue with what 747Focal has predicted since there is a real risk in conducting such a test.
I wonder how many pilots would consider doing an inflight reverse deployment to prove out the aircrafts capability.