Almost all aircraft accidents are survivable – with 87.7 per cent of incidents involving zero fatalities – but there’s one step which can massively increase your chances, an expert has explained.
Last year, crew members who were pulled from the wreckage of the plane crash which wiped out nearly an entire Brazilian football team said they had survived by “following emergency protocol’ – while other passengers stood up and screamed.
Specifically, the crew members remained seated, and huddled over to protect from the impact.
Adopting a ‘brace’ position, where passengers curl over and fasten seatbelts will prevent many of the most severe injuries incurred in crashes, an unnamed plane safety expert told Mail Online.
The expert said, “When a plane crashes you have two impacts.
“The first one passengers feel is a tightening of the seat belt. But as the aircraft stops you continue to move forward.
“But it’s the secondary impact that’s critical. What will happen is that your upper torso will move forward. And in moving forward you will hit something.
“That’s certainly the case in economy class seats.
“The best position to adopt is one where you crouch down and reduce the movement of the head in a forward direction.
“Anything you can do to stop your upper torso and your head moving forward is the best position to be in.
“If you’re in an aircraft accident you have a very good chance of survival.
“Very few accidents involve total impact with the ground, and those that do are probably non-survivable.”
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