Video: British Airways Explains How an Evacuation Slide Works
Whether you are a seasoned traveller like me or someone who is new to flying, the chances are you have often wondered how the huge inflatable slides fitted to commercial aircraft work. Recently British Airways released a behind-the-scenes video which provides access to routine tests on some of the evacuation slides found on board its aircraft.
Safety is always the #1 priority
As with any airline, safety is the highest priority at British Airways. The video below features licensed aircraft engineer Peter Dyer whom explains just how long it takes for a slide to fully deploy and what the aviation term “cross check” means.
Some key things learned from the video:
- The inflatable slides can be up to 46ft in length
- A BA Boeing 777-200 at Gatwick features 8 evacuation slides
- The evacuation slides are checked on an almost-daily basis
- Engineers are regularly required to “blow” the slides to ensure they work properly
- It can take just six seconds for an evacuation slide to deploy fully
I found this behind-the-scenes video really interesting. It is impressive to think just how quickly one of the evacuation slides can be deployed. Will we see more videos like this from BA and other carriers in the future? I certainly hope so!
