In the case of an aviation accident, is there any more safer? And what is the seat that gives us more likely to survive? All of them and none of them, but it depends, explains Wired magazine.
A 38-year-old Briton is the only survivor of the Air India accident that on Thursday, causing death to more than 290 people. Was sitting in Place 11a, next to the emergency departure.
The miracle that allowed the passenger to survive, almost without injuryto an accident that victimized all the remaining occupants of the aircraft raised the question again: To travel by plane? And there will be any?
In recent years, air trips have occupied a prominent place in public awareness, especially due to a series of in which aircraft Boeing 737 Max They burned down, they lost a wheel during the takeoff or mid -flight.
These accidents of great visibility gave bad fame to aviation And they made numerous passengers reflect on which are the safest and most dangerous places of an airplane.
Despite all the recent dismay, it is important to remember that travel by plane is extremelystresses the magazine. This is, by the way, the first idea that aviation experts are concerned with passing when they ask them “what is the safest place to travel by plane”…
Boarding a complete commercial flight may not always be the most comfortable or relaxing experience, but compared to virtually everyone else, it is one of the less deadly means of transportation ever created.
Accidents are so rare that What is the safest place to travel it will probably cause you more mental anguish than worthwhile.
At least, that’s the official version.
FAA, a federal US aviation administration, is careful to point out that there is no No section of an airplane that is more or less safe than another.
In an email sent to Wired, Rick Breitenfeldtspecialist in public affairs at FAA explains that “the most important thing that passengers can do for their safety on any flight is Follow all crew instructions“.
Although no part of the plane may be, generally, considered the safest, there is probably a better place to be sitting when they occur Specific incidents. Of course this will always depend on variables that we cannot control.
Each emergency occurs differentlyaffecting in each case different places. What may be the best place in the case of an engine malfunction may not be the best place to be when a door is torn into the middle of the flight.
Party in the back
There is the old idea that the back of the plane is the safest place to sit down. Reports from and analyzed 35 years of accident data by 2015 and concluded that, statistically, fewer people died who were sitting on the back in plane accidents.
The problem is that these conclusions come from Something Incomplete Data. The positions of the victims’ seats are not always included in the reports of accidents, so the data do not allow a complete image of the safer zones.
Second Daniel Kwasi Adjumaviation security investigator at the University of Dakota do Norte, These conclusions are validbased on the fundamental physics to which the planes obey.
A part of the front of the planeoften the most appealing place to sit down if you have a premium place or if you are just looking forward to leaving the steel tube as soon as possible after landing is also in a privileged position to receive the weight of the force of a free fall.
“The front section is obviously comfortable because it’s away from the engine and the noise,” says Adjekum. But, he points out, “It is usually the first point of impact. Therefore, it is an area of great vulnerability“.
The backalthough it can separate from the plane in a catastrophic accident, it has more likely to remain intact than the front and middle parts, which are still connected to the engines.
“The rear section is often departed“, Says Adjekum, that is, the last section of the plane, behind the wings.” A lot of this kinetic energy goes to the front of the plane and leaves the back intact. “
Somewhere in the middle
A Central section of the plane has a lot in your favor In the case of a rugged flight. The point where the wings are in the center creates a more stable base that serves as a center of gravity for the plane, making it less likely to jump when it reaches turbulence.
“Many of the turbulence oscillatory forces are less intense in the middle section than in the tail section,” says Adjekum. “In situations of turbulence, the plane It works essentially as a balancé“Explains the investigator.
Although the environment can be better for turbulence, it is not necessarily ideal for a catastrophic situation. After all, the central section is usually where they are fuel depositswhich means that, in case of fire, we are even on a barrel of gunpowder.
What the central section has in your favor is the easier access to exits emergency in the center of the plane. The closer you are from the exits, the better your survival hypotheses will be after an accident.
Corridor, half, or window?
Once again, there are advantages and disadvantages in each option. Sitting in the lame leaves it closer to any exit emergency, but also leaves you more vulnerable to being reached by the fall of luggage or loose debris that mock through the coxia.
Sit together At the window allows you to see what is passedabroad, which gives you a situational advantage, but leaves it leaning against the wall and waiting May the other people in your line come out first.
Occupy the place of the middle gives you A pair of human shields On either side to cushion any blows, but the place of the middle is uncomfortable and a first unpopular choice.
If you are afraid to fly, all these concerns to try to discover the perfect place to sit will only cause you more inner turbulence. Frankly, it is probably not worth worrying. Plane accidents are rarely.
Ultimately, says Adjekum, his chances of surviving an emergency in flight have less to do with the place where and more with the formation of the flight crew – and with the attention it gives to its instructions.
“Whenever you sit on a plane, the first thing to do is to be aware of the situation,” says Adjekum. “Listen to the instructions on the cabinetbecause they know their work and are there to ensure their safety, regardless of where they are sitting. ”
