Cranfield University in the UK is running a series of passenger evacuation trials of a large blended wing body aircraft next February and is recruiting volunteers to participate.
The trials, which are being run with the University of Greenwich, will examine the decisions made by passengers when they are evacuating a blended wing body (BWB) aircraft cabin mock-up and the role different aspects of the cabin environment play in those choices.
In BWB aircraft there is no clear divide between the wings and the main body of the plane, so passenger seating will be arranged differently from current established airliner designs.
Although the BWB concept was first devised 100 years ago, no aircraft using the design has ever reached market. Longer evacuations of passengers because of the long row of seats has been identified as a key disadvantage of BWB designs, as has being seated further away from windows and passenger comfort.
The Cranfield study will help to improve aircraft evacuations and provide information about how people behave when exiting.
Volunteers should be between 18-65 years old to be passengers in the trials which happen over several days in February at Cranfield University and will be paid a £10 Amazon voucher for participating.
Participants will take their seats, receive a pre-flight safety briefing from cabin crew and will then be instructed to evacuate due to an unspecified emergency. The cabin mock-up will be stationary with audio used to simulate engines starting, taxiing and take-off.
Participants will take part in three evacuations each day and complete a questionnaire. Register here.
