Colombia plane crash: how can people survive deadly air disasters?
This was the case when there were only four survivors of a 1985 accident involving a JAL Boeing 747, which killed 520 other people when the plane hit a mountainside following the separation of the aircraft’s tail.
The European Transport Safety Council estimates that 90 percent of aircraft accidents are survivable – something that does not necessarily match public expectation. Such a high rate of survival is due to improvements in crashworthiness (the science of making structures better able to cope with impact), the cabin environment, and crew training.
The materials we use now are less flammable. The seats better able to withstand impact forces. The exit routes are more clearly marked. The fire suppression systems are more effective and the space around exits is better designed to allow the fast flow of evacuating passengers. Each of these developments has been based on the investigation of previous accidents and the actions of safety regulators and manufacturers to improve standards.
Seatbelts, brace, exits
Yet the factors that affect survivability are many and varied. In accidents where a problem has been identified beforehand, the use of seatbelts, fastened tight and low, along with adopting a suitable brace position, is known to have a tangible effect on whether you survive. Those who listen to the safety announcement and who take notice of their nearest exit – for example, by counting the rows of seats in front or behind them – are more likely to get off an aircraft that is on fire or filled with smoke.
Their chances are also increased by clear, assertive instructions by the cabin crew – safety is the main reason they are there after all. Sitting close to an exit also helps, although those who do sit here need to be ready to act swiftly to avoid being crushed by fellow passengers trying to reach the exit.
External factors help, too. There are strict planning rules around airports to remove obstacles and to ensure that the airport fire service can reach any part of an aerodrome within three minutes of an accident. This has helped to greatly increase the number of survivors who may once have survived the impact but not a subsequent fire because they could not evacuate from the aircraft.
Above all, passengers should remain vigilant. According to Boeing, between 2006 and 2015, 66 ercn of fatal aircraft accidents occurred as the aircraft was on the ground – during take-off or during final approach and landing. It is worth keeping your shoes on and wearing suitable clothing. Use the time to listen to the cabin crew’s briefing. The most likely result is that they will reward you with more attentive service, but if something does go wrong, it may well make all the difference – and even save your life.
Graham Braithwaite is Director of Transport Systems, Professor of Safety & Accident Investigation, Cranfield University. This article is published courtesy of The Conversation (under Creative Commons-Attribution / No derivative).
