Originally Posted by SEA_Tigger
And catastrophic incidents that do compromise the airframe are so rare (last one I can remember was that British 732 that burst into flame during an aborted take-off like a decade ago) that the benefits of testing are far outweighed by the negatives involved.
Don't know what wold have helped in that incident. Due to use of reverse thrusters during the abort, burning fuel was sprayed all over the fueselage. Pax using the emergency exits would have had to go through that to get out.