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Aviation vocabulary · Emergencies & Abnormal Situations

Evacuation slide

Meaning in aviation, with examples

nounCommon term

In aviation, evacuation slide means: An 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.

In Turkish: tahliye kaydırağı, kaydırak

How it is used

Doors are armed before departure and disarmed on arrival, so the slide does not deploy by accident. Some slides can also be used as rafts on water (slide rafts). Crew say 'the slide deployed' or 'the slide failed to inflate'.

Example sentences

  1. A door was opened in armed mode on stand, and the evacuation slide inflated.

  2. In training we jumped onto the evacuation slide from the door of a cabin mock-up.

Common collocations

  • slide deployment
  • arm the slide
  • slide raft
  • inflated evacuation slide
  • evacuateTo get everyone off an aircraft or out of a building quickly because staying is dangerous, for example because of fire or smoke.
  • cross-checkTo check something a second time, usually by another person, so that mistakes are caught. For doors, each crew member checks the opposite door after arming.
  • 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.
  • cabin crewThe team of trained staff who look after the safety and comfort of passengers in the cabin during a flight.

More terms: Emergencies & Abnormal Situations

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