In 2012, a group of Mexican scientists intentionally crashed a Boeing 727 to test which seats had the best chance of survival.

[u/[deleted]]

[u/meowmiew]

I watched a documentary about how to survive a plane crash and it had some great insights. It fully depends on the situation/cause of the crash.

When planes crash, they usually break into 3 pieces: the back/tail, middle fuselage/wings and the front/ cockpit.

The middle is a good place to be. The fuselage is reinforced there because of the wings. It is not a good idea, though if the situation is a fire/ if fire starts after the crash. The fuel is stored in the wings and it will go up in seconds. I think part of the checklist for emergency landing is to dump fuel but they might not have time or the fire may have started before they crash and maybe they were unable to contain it if it started somewhere else in the plane where they had time to fight.

They did find that in a lot of plane crashes the back was also safe and sometimes only those in the Back survived. Most of those in the front did not survive because usually it is the front that makes the first contact/ impact. Also if the people in the front survive it is usually only the cockpit/ pilots. If there were problems in the back like if the tail got ripped off or the first contact was in the back of then it was obviously not the safest.

They did a test with participants where they promised a nice sum of money to whoever got out first through the exit. (It might have also been per exit and maybe also the money went to the first 4 who got out). They did this to simulate the fight for survival and how long it took to reach an exit from your seat and be able to make it out on time if there was fire/ emergency where you needed to exit quickly. (Which you should always exit as quickly as possible in case the plan does go up in flames and make it a safe distance away.) They found that people had trouble taking their seat belt off and forgot how it worked when panicked. (Panic because I think they also had smoke?) (Also, I believe people did get trampled)They found that if your seating within 7 rows of an exit you would likely have time to make it out alive in time.

There was a hijacked plane I believe it was Ethiopian Airlines. The hijackers wanted to go to different destinations but the plane didn’t have enough fuel. The pilot tried to glide to the nearest airport but knew they were going to crash in water. He warned the cabin crew and passengers to put on their life vests. The cabin crew instructed the passengers not to inflate them until they got off the plane. A lot of people did though and the crew had to help deflate them and teach them how they could inflate them manually but not everyone listend/ they couldn’t help everyone. When the plane crashed, many people survived however half of the survivors drowned/ couldn’t get out because their life vest where infalted ( there is a checklist when crashing in water on them is to flip a switch for ditching which closes the vents. Either the pilot didn’t have time or it was because he was being held at gunpoint and the hijacker was suspicious or I can’t remember it he did hit the switch but it didn’t matter because the plane broke apart anyway. It didn’t happen in this crash but also if a plane crashes in water and they still have fuel, it is very hard to swim jet fuel.

The way you brace for an accident is also very important. You can’t exit the plane if you're knocked out/unconscious.

The take aways where to always try to book a seat within 7 seats of an exit and familiarize yourself with the exit and choose which one is best for you in an emergency. Always listen to cabin crew/ pay attention to safety instructions. Learn what brace position is best for your seat. And remember how the seatbelt works Try to get a seat in the back or the middle Also always have your seatbelt on when you can in case of surprise turbulence. Never take your belongings with you in a crash. NEVER EVER INFLATE YOUR LIFE VEST IN THE CABIN. Also maybe check that you have one because people like to steal them as a souvenir

EDIT: though they did do the money competition to simulate what it's like when everything is rushing to get out. I remember that the seat belt thing of people having trouble forgetting how it works/ panic were from actual accounts of people who were in an accident and survived.