chornedsnorkack
15th Aug 2005, 11:20
The A380 has 16 emergency door exits, six on the upper deck and 10 on the main.
Which half of the exits is supposed to be used to get everyone out in 90 seconds?
Airbus publicises the Airbus 380 layout with 555 seats - 356 lower deck, 199 upper deck.
But they also publicise the numbers - and that includes 840.
Yes, seating layout is at the option of the airline, to a degree. But isn't Airbus supposed to come up with and actually install a default 840 seat interior, out of which 840 walking passengers, plus appropriate number of baby and toddler dolls plus appropriate number of cabin crew plus appropriate number of flight crews plus appropriate number of jumpseat non-revenue passengers have to get out through half the exits in 90 seconds?
What is the default 840 seat interior like? Is it 3-4-3 lower deck, 2-4-2 upper deck like the default 555 seat one? Or something with more columns, like 3-5-3 lower deck, 3-3-3 (or even 3-4-3) upper? What is the seat pitch like?
What are the default seat and aisle widths in Airbus 380 840 seat layout? Slightly narrower seats and wider aisles might have a big impact on the comfort of spending 16 hours in no-frills seating. But it would also have an impact when trying to evacuate 11 abreast through two aisles to the half available exits.
And to which half of exits?
It could mean all exits of one board useless, like because the plane is tilted over to one side and upper side slides are inoperable. It could also mean all exits forward useless, or all exits aft useless. On AF flight 358, there was the textbook case of 4 aft exits out of 8 total closed, partly because of fire outside and partly because the plane tilted over to a ravine so the tail rose up and the exits were too high or something. What if it had been a Boeing 747 and not tilted over - so all forward exits suspended over the ravine and useless.
Including both the upper-deck exits. Is a Boeing 747 supposed to evacuate 569 walking passengers (+ the rest as above) including the 69 upper deck ones through 5 aft lower deck exits?
Also, can an Airbus 380-800 with 840 walking passengers be evacuated in 90 seconds through 8 exits all on the lower deck? There are doubts about the operability of upper-deck slides in bad conditions like wind...
Also, while there were no fatalities on AF 358, there was a fair number of injuries, some needing hospitalization. Were they all due to crash or fire, or did any get hurt in evacuation? People might tread on each other in aisles, or land the wrong way after exiting... And experience of building evacuation shows that both are potentially lethal conditions.
Any evacuation must include a proper number of baby and toddler dolls. But also an appropriate number of genuine 5-10 year old children. How many? I have heard things like 5-10 %, which means 42 to 84 in Airbus 380. It it further specified in terms of the more specific age and gender distribution of the children?
Have any people been killed in test evacuations? And do those killed in test evacuation include any children?
And the actual interior of the Airbus 380 is at the option of the airline. Does every airline wanting a custom interior have to accept the casualties of proving that their layout can be evacuated?
Which half of the exits is supposed to be used to get everyone out in 90 seconds?
Airbus publicises the Airbus 380 layout with 555 seats - 356 lower deck, 199 upper deck.
But they also publicise the numbers - and that includes 840.
Yes, seating layout is at the option of the airline, to a degree. But isn't Airbus supposed to come up with and actually install a default 840 seat interior, out of which 840 walking passengers, plus appropriate number of baby and toddler dolls plus appropriate number of cabin crew plus appropriate number of flight crews plus appropriate number of jumpseat non-revenue passengers have to get out through half the exits in 90 seconds?
What is the default 840 seat interior like? Is it 3-4-3 lower deck, 2-4-2 upper deck like the default 555 seat one? Or something with more columns, like 3-5-3 lower deck, 3-3-3 (or even 3-4-3) upper? What is the seat pitch like?
What are the default seat and aisle widths in Airbus 380 840 seat layout? Slightly narrower seats and wider aisles might have a big impact on the comfort of spending 16 hours in no-frills seating. But it would also have an impact when trying to evacuate 11 abreast through two aisles to the half available exits.
And to which half of exits?
It could mean all exits of one board useless, like because the plane is tilted over to one side and upper side slides are inoperable. It could also mean all exits forward useless, or all exits aft useless. On AF flight 358, there was the textbook case of 4 aft exits out of 8 total closed, partly because of fire outside and partly because the plane tilted over to a ravine so the tail rose up and the exits were too high or something. What if it had been a Boeing 747 and not tilted over - so all forward exits suspended over the ravine and useless.
Including both the upper-deck exits. Is a Boeing 747 supposed to evacuate 569 walking passengers (+ the rest as above) including the 69 upper deck ones through 5 aft lower deck exits?
Also, can an Airbus 380-800 with 840 walking passengers be evacuated in 90 seconds through 8 exits all on the lower deck? There are doubts about the operability of upper-deck slides in bad conditions like wind...
Also, while there were no fatalities on AF 358, there was a fair number of injuries, some needing hospitalization. Were they all due to crash or fire, or did any get hurt in evacuation? People might tread on each other in aisles, or land the wrong way after exiting... And experience of building evacuation shows that both are potentially lethal conditions.
Any evacuation must include a proper number of baby and toddler dolls. But also an appropriate number of genuine 5-10 year old children. How many? I have heard things like 5-10 %, which means 42 to 84 in Airbus 380. It it further specified in terms of the more specific age and gender distribution of the children?
Have any people been killed in test evacuations? And do those killed in test evacuation include any children?
And the actual interior of the Airbus 380 is at the option of the airline. Does every airline wanting a custom interior have to accept the casualties of proving that their layout can be evacuated?