However it still leaves the fact that fit 50+ year olds are not representative of an overall full plane as to passenger make up. Anyone know the percentage of flights that have at least one wheelchair or disabled passenger on board? Quite high I would have thought.
And your point is what? That we should artificially skew the test so that it includes at least one immobile person who can't get out of their seat and thereby perishes? That we should put somebody in the way to block everybody elses egress by their slower pace? What would such an exercise prove? That the wheelchair passengers are more likely to die in a crash?
An unplanned test for certification would be an interesting concept.
It certainly would
[/quote] Try bringing along your whole test hundreds of people. Get them in their seats on a "this is a trial on our safety demo pre talk flight and oxygen mask falling scenario - Advise they read the safety cards after the safety brief"[/quote]
What, you mean exactly like what happens now?
Once they have listened to the talk then get them to expect something else to happen, not the evacuation.
Like what exactly? How do you realistically simulate an event in a cabin designed for X hundred people?
Then go for the evacuation.
That is more realistic and would be an "unplanned" evacuation.
No it's not. It certainly isn't unplanned as all the volunteers know what is going to happen. I would question whether it was even realistic. How many evacuations have taken place recently which were accompanied by anything other than a catastropic break up of the aircraft or a raging inferno in the cabin, neither or which can be adequately represented by simulation?
And before people say "oh yeah but you would be prepared on the plane prior to landing to evacuate"
I don't think anybody who has the first idea about commercial aviation would say that!