Hi Coppetta,
Again welcome to pprune. I'm sorry if this doesn't help with your concerns but I want to keep it factual, but my hope is presenting the facts will help
Looking at the numbers the chances of dying on an aeroplane seems to be somewhere between 1 in 5million to 11million, in a car is 1 in 4000 to 8000. So really it has to be pointed out flying is one of the safest modes of transport. The chances of an evacuation are very very tiny. Of course it is a terrifying experience and therefore the newspapers and media grab hold of an evacuation and play on peoples fear. Unfortunately we do not hear about the 1000s of safe landings that happen everyday.
In my eyes and quite a lot of my colleagues eyes an evacuation is one of the most risky things that you could do in an aeroplane. You will almost inevitably end up with at least a few been injured and of course as the Capt that is the last thing you want. With this in mind the evacuation decision is not taken lightly (although must be done rapidly).
There are not many things more dangerous on an aeroplane than evacuation however this is one biggy...and that is fire.
Once again the chances of this happening are VERY VERY small. A fire can spread through an aircraft rapidly. There is a video of a few years back of a 737 on stand in China which had a flashover in 2 minutes. Luckily all were able to evacuate before the flashover. If you actually go to avherald, a fantastic aviation safety website, and type in evactuation you will see the main reason for evacuation....
- Fire
- Smoke/Fumes (where there is smoke there is...)
- Runway excursion
None of which I would consider minor faults. So I would say no it is not the intention of any pilot to evacuate an aircraft for a minor fault. It is usually a case of the lessor of two evils.... death or a evacuation that would lead to injuries (sorry to be blunt).
In terms of exit design they do vary. On a 737 you will have slides on both the front and back doors (bigger doors). On the wings, on the ground, through the overwing exits you would be expected to head out onto the wing, and then slide down the flaps which should be set to full. This leaves an approximate 7ft drop. Bigger aircraft do have slides on the overwing exits so it really depends on design.
In terms of bargaining power I would say it really depends on the situation with the evacuation. In terms of the condition you have described my first concern would maybe be getting to the door itself. 50 odd people rushing to the same door in a panic will inevitably cause pushing and shoving.
All been said though there are evacuations which happen fast (mainly fire and smoke conditions) as the passengers have a little more incentive, where as a excursion would be lot more slower.
In fact for an excursion, an evacuation is likely to be done in my opinion and from what I have seen, using the normal stairs brought to the aircraft (if possible) but usually slides due to terrain and/or unusual aircraft attitude rather than the fact that there is a rush. In that situation with no threat to life you would be able to at least ask the crew if you can hang on. Depending on situation the crew may even stay on the aircraft after all the passengers are off.
Hopefully that has helped, I'm sure others may have a different view point