Airbus Evacuates 873 People From A380 in 80 Seconds in Test

March 26 (Bloomberg) -- Airbus SAS, which is aiming to deliver its first double-decker A380 by yearend, performed a key certification test today, evacuating 873 people in 80 seconds -- 10 seconds faster than its goal. One person broke a leg.

The drill was done to ensure that passengers could be quickly removed from the plane in an emergency. It was carried out in darkness in a hangar at one of Airbus's factories in Hamburg, using volunteers selected from 11,000 applicants. Airbus said the full results won't be known till tomorrow night.

``We successfully evacuated 873 people in 80 seconds,'' Airbus Chief Executive Gustav Humbert told reporters at a briefing after the test, according to spokesman Tore Prang, who was present. The evacuation time was less than the 90 second goal required by air authorities. Only half of the 16 doors were in operation, as required by the test.

Showing that the A380, which will be the world's largest passenger jet, can be evacuated swiftly in emergency situations is one more critical step in ensuring the commercial success of the aircraft. The ability to evacuate planes quickly can hold in balance the lives of hundreds of passengers, as demonstrated in August 2005, when an Air France Airbus 340 overshot the runway at Toronto airport. The flight crew was able to get more than 300 people off the plane before it burst into flames.

The A380, once it enters service, will surpass Boeing Co.'s 747, which seats 420 in three classes and more than 550 in one- class or charter formats. The A380 is designed to carry a maximum of 853 passengers, plus 20 crew, although initial purchasers of the plane plan to carry no more than 650. A later version of the plane may carry as many as 1,000 passengers.

Infrared Cameras

Humbert said Airbus won't know the full results of the test until late tomorrow. The evacuation was recorded with infrared cameras from various angles and will now be analyzed by airworthiness authorities. Officials of both the European Aviation Safety Agency, based in Cologne, and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration were present at the evacuation today.

The aircraft included 853 passengers plus 18 cabin crew from Deutsche Lufthansa AG to manage the evacuation as they would in a real emergency situation. The doors and slides that were operative were not known before the trial.

Volunteers, who were paid 60 euros ($72) and given a free meal each, were chosen from among Airbus staff in Germany as well as recruiting done in sports clubs and dancing clubs in the Hamburg area, as Airbus wanted to get people in good physical shape. Airbus said that besides the broken leg, there were a few minor injuries.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Andrea Rothman in Toulouse, France at aerothman@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: March 26, 2006 12:05 EST