I've been lucky with front flats. I picked up one going down a moderately sloped hill and I'm pretty sure that if I hadn't taken off speed quickly with back pressure I've have picked up a nice faceful of pavement.

On thin rims with narrow tires a front flat can be bad news. This can be made worse if you are at high speed, heading down hill, on dirt or sand, drunk, et al. The tubes are so small that you go from happy as to riding on the rim in a pretty small window.

By the way...Contestants: how many times did the Batmobile pick up a flat?