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Aviation vocabulary · Emergencies & Abnormal Situations

Evacuate

Meaning in aviation, with examples

/ɪˈvækjueɪt/verbCore term

In aviation, evacuate means: To get everyone off an aircraft or out of a building quickly because staying is dangerous, for example because of fire or smoke.

In Turkish: tahliye etmek, boşaltmak

How it is used

The captain orders an evacuation, often with the command 'Evacuate, evacuate'. Cabin crew open the exits, check conditions outside and shout commands to passengers. Aircraft types are certified to be evacuated within 90 seconds using half of the exits.

Example sentences

  1. The captain decided to evacuate the aircraft after smoke appeared in the cabin.

  2. All 180 passengers were evacuated safely using the slides.

Common collocations

  • evacuate the aircraft
  • order an evacuation
  • emergency evacuation
  • evacuation command
  • evacuate passengers
  • evacuation slideAn inflatable slide fitted to an aircraft door that lets people slide quickly to the ground in an evacuation. It inflates automatically when an armed door is opened.
  • emergency exitA door or window exit that passengers and crew use to leave the aircraft quickly in an emergency. Some are normal doors; others are smaller exits over the wings.
  • brace positionThe protective body position that passengers and crew take just before an expected impact or crash landing, to reduce injuries.
  • fire extinguisherA portable container of a substance such as halon or water that the crew use to put out small fires on board.

More terms: Emergencies & Abnormal Situations

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