Overwing exit

Overwing emergency exits are found on passenger aircraft to provide a means of evacuation onto the wing, where passengers continue off the trailing edge, either by sliding down the extended Flaps or by using an evacuation slide that deploys when the exit is opened.

The primary hazard involving the use of overwing exits is passengers not waiting to be given the command to evacuate, but rather initiating it themselves.

This occurred in the Ryanair engine fire in Stansted Airport in 2002, where passengers evacuated themselves onto a burning wing, despite airport fire services personnel shouting at them to return inside the aircraft and evacuate via a usable exit.

Additionally, during aircraft evacuations, it has been found that the majority of overwing window exit designs of Boeing 737 (NG) Next Generation Line along with the Airbus A320, hamper evacuation in comparison with traditional floor level exits due to the inherent "step up and through motion" required of passengers as they exit the aircraft, unlike the designs of older generation wide body aircraft such as the Boeing 747, Boeing 777, McDonnell Douglas DC-10 and Lockheed L1011 which are all floor level.

If the exit is opened the slide will automatically deploy and inflate to provide a means of evacuation from the wing to the ground.

Some aircraft do not permit the use of overwing exits in a ditching, and instead instruct passengers to evacuate via a door equipped with a life raft.