Nearly Three Dozen Injured Airbus Drill

March 26, 2006
Despite the injuries, Airbus said the plane passed its test, with everybody out of the super-jumbo in about 80 seconds.

Thirty-three people were injured Sunday as they participated in a simulated emergency on Airbus' new A380 jetliner.

The company said one man broke his leg and 32 other people suffered minor injuries during the exercise in which 853 passengers and 20 crew exited the plane on slides in a darkened hangar.

Some of the injured suffered friction burns from sliding down the escape ramps, Airbus spokesman Tore Prang said.

Despite the injuries, Airbus said the plane passed its test, with everybody out of the super-jumbo in about 80 seconds.

The company had said that bringing 650 people out of the plane within 90 seconds would have been enough to meet safety requirements.

"That was a very great success," Airbus manager Gustav Humbert said after the test at its factory in the north German city of Hamburg.

Construction problems have delayed the introduction of the double-deck A380, the largest passenger plane in the world. So far, 16 customers have ordered 159 of the planes and the first examples were to go to Singapore Airlines at the end of the year.

Of the plane's 16 exits, just eight were used in the drill, which was mandatory for the A380 to receive its safety certification, Prang said.

Though the simulation was conducted inside a hangar, he said Airbus sought to make it as realistic as possible, strewing debris in the aisles. Air safety officials were on hand to observe the simulation.

Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

News stories provided by third parties are not edited by "Aircraft Maintenance Technology" staff. For suggestions and comments, please click the Contact link at the bottom of this page.