Where is the safest place to sit on a plane? Experts respond

This is the secular question of passengers – where is the safest place that can be sits on an airplane? While people often give priority to the legs room or to the proximity of the toilets with regard to plane trips, others may think a little more deeply with regard to their selection of seat.

This sounds particularly true if we consider how a man – Viswashkumar Ramesh – was the only survivor of an India air flight accident which resulted in the death of the other 241 people on board.

Ramesh, who was traveling with his brother, was seated in 11A during Ahmedabad’s trip to London.

His survival has rekindled conversations on plane trips and selections of seats.

The general consensus is traditionally that sitting in the middle or back of an aircraft is statistically safer. A national study of transport security of 2017 which has investigated 20 airplane accidents since 1971 revealed that people sitting in the back of the plane were more likely to stay alive than those at the front. In addition, those placed near the wing also had a better chances of survival.

Meanwhile, a study carried out by time in 2015 revealed that the intermediate seats at the rear of the plane were those with the lowest death rates, the highest seats were in the alley in the middle of the third of the cabin.

Learn more:: That knowing about the Air India accident and the “miracle” of its only survivor

But how does that explain Ramesh seated near the front of the plane and being the only survivor?

Here is what expects to say in the safest place to sit on an airplane

Steve Wright, former engineer of systems and software in the commercial aerospace industry and former associate professor of plane and plane systems in Uwe Bristol, has often thought about the question of the “safest seat”.

For Wright, the history of Air India survival was unique for several reasons. He says that although sitting towards the front of an aircraft can generally be “doubtful” in terms of chances of survival, the accident in India was “atypical”.

“When a plane goes [down]It is generally the nose first, which explains why the seat 11a would be [among] The first to [feel the impact]Said Wright. But the India air flight “sank” in the ground with “the nose up”. Wright attributes the survival of Ramesh to be “ironically because He was at the front.

While in traditional cases where an airplane first plunges the nose, the front of the plane is known to act “like a shock absorber”, according to John Hansman, professor of aeronautics and astronautics at MIT.

Wright generally says that the safest place inside the plane is near the wings of the plane, where there is more “structural support” to protect a passenger in an emergency.

Jim Braucle, an aviation lawyer at the law firm Motley Rice, says that diagrams he saw, the Ramesh seat was right next to an emergency exit and in front of the plane wing. This seat, next to a window, was just behind the business class section on the Boeing 787.

“Structurally on the plane, the strongest part is obviously the place where the wings enter,” explains Braucle. “And he was close to an outing – I know that he did not go out because he was behind rubble, but these areas are reinforced so that, in the case of an accident, the door does not deform, so that people can escape.”

In an outing line, said Braucle, the additional space provided could also save lives. “While things are starting to collapse and people catch up in their seats … I know it’s not much, but I think these thumbs count,” he notes.

In accordance, Wright underlines that being near an emergency exit is relevant, given most of the emergencies he knows is not linked to accidents, but rather to the result of Tarmac incidents.

“The most likely danger you are going [face] On a plane, it’s on the tarmac when something has been wrong, potentially a fire, “said Wright.” No matter the exit, in this sense, but essentially, you want to get off this plane as quickly as possible. “”

Learn more:: Dreamliner 787 from Boeing has a long history of safety problems

Otherwise, how can you try to have a safe flight?

Wright also maintains that although the lifespan vests are mandated on planes, smoke caps must also be included, to protect passengers in an emergency.

Mary Schiavo, aviation lawyer and former Inspector General of the Ministry of Transport, says that after years of work with people who have survived plane accidents – and after writing a book on how to fly safely – she is now trying to get a seat in the outing line.

She also makes an effort to have a hood of smoke as part of her hand luggage and tries to wear long sleeves and pants.

“The people I worked with who had to fight outside the plane accidents said they wanted to have more protection,” she explains.

Schiavo always ensures that she knows how to open the plane emergency door, taking into account that different planes can have variable emergency exit mechanisms. If she cannot get a seat in an exit line, she tries to obtain a seat in the immediate lines behind, because her studies have shown that in the event of an emergency, the passengers will push Before towards an outing.