Newsstand - New argument in the aisle vs. window debate - you just might survive a crash in aisle

In a plane crash safest seats are in aisle

Study suggests the best location to get out alive from a burning aircraft

From The Times June 26, 2008

By Ben Webster, Transport Correspondent

It is the question that most nervous flyers ask themselves whenever they board an aircraft: where is the safest place to sit? The answer is now much clearer after an exhaustive study of 105 accidents and personal accounts from almost 2,000 survivors of how they managed to escape from crash landings and onboard fires.

For the best chance of getting out alive from a burning aircraft, people should choose an aisle seat near the front within five rows of an emergency exit.

http://tinyurl.com/6gqdq5

From the linked article:

"Robert Gifford, director of the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety, said the study “shows your choice of seat on a plane really can be a matter of life or death." ><snip><

"Mr Gifford said airlines should consider putting families and elderly people near the exits."
><snip><

Why do the lives of the "elderly" and "families" have more value than anyone else's?

Why do the lives of the "elderly" and "families" have more value than anyone else's?

My thoughts exactly! Oh well, in the event of a real emergency I would just trample over the elderly and small children to get to the exits...

The back of the plane is also safer than the front.

I've had a good run here on Earth, and if sitting in the front of the plane means I'm in a minuscule amount of greater danger, I'm willing to suffer. ;)

I can't say that much of the findings are really eye opening.

Sit in the exit row, you have a good chance.
Sit 2-5 rows from the exit, an average chance.
Sit further away, a worse chance.

Sit in the aisle, with easy access to move the exit, have a better chance than the middle seat, which has a better chance than the window - because they have to follow the aisle sitter out.

Bottom line - easier/faster access to the exit gives you a better chance of survivability.

The higher probability of safety in the front is the only other variable - I suspect it's because the fuel/fire will start mid-plane and given that the plane is probably in motion, will be blown towards the back.

1A bulkhead next to the door exit is probably the safest of all.

From a purely statistical standpoint, I would think that elderly and small children in the exit/aisle/front would create an impediment and lower the overall average number of survivors.

My thoughts exactly! Oh well, in the event of a real emergency I would just trample over the elderly and small children to get to the exits...

here here, I would walk all over people to live, first come first served

I have read dozens of studies on this subject and no consistent and definitive answers as to aisle vs window seats or front vs rear seating.

MisterNice

I can't say that much of the findings are really eye opening.

I completely agree with this assessment. I think most people would come to these conclusions on their own. However, the difference in safety between aisle and window seats is something that never crossed my mind. I guess it makes sense that the aisle would be safer.

So who cares?

Like, on average, I'll have to live maybe 60000 years before I get
the chance to see for myself.

I have read dozens of studies on this subject and no consistent and definitive answers as to aisle vs window seats or front vs rear seating.

MisterNice

The main problem with studying such a question is that there are remarkably few deaths in commercial aviation (that's really a good problem to have). There is a particularly small number (especially considering how many flights there have been) of crashes where some passengers survived and some perished. With so few incidents to work with, it is very difficult to draw meaningful conclusions.

We get caught up in the hassles of travel, but just think how remarkable an achievement it is -- widely affordable air travel that is extraordinarily safe.

Aisle Seats safer - well not really they have the problem that comes from above namely luggage out of the over head compartments - with all those kitchen sinks up there theses days..........We even see some compartments open on really hefty landings - never mind any other problem.

I have read dozens of studies on this subject and no consistent and definitive answers as to aisle vs window seats or front vs rear seating.

MisterNiceI haven't made a study of it, since it goes alone the lines of "nothing I can do about it" but there was a documentary on about a decade ago which did say this. Plus, it's been stated in more recent studies:
http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/worst_case_scenarios/1289341.htmlThe odds of surviving a crash are higher in the middle-to-rear section compared to the middle-to-front section of the cabin. An aisle seat offers the easiest access to the escape route, unless you are sitting next to an emergency exit. The best seat in the house is next to the window in an emergency-exit row.

From a purely statistical standpoint, I would think that elderly and small children in the exit/aisle/front would create an impediment and lower the overall average number of survivors.

Indeed. Plus they'd get trampled.

O/H

"Mr Gifford said airlines should consider putting families and elderly people near the exits."

Is this person INSANE?!

These are the same people who, in the less stressful situation of boarding (as compared to an emergency evacuation), can never seem to get out of their own way.

Most likely end result:
Possible slight increased survivability for familes and elderly
Dramatic decreased survivability for everyone else

Mr Gifford should try thinking before speaking..... :mad:

Aisle Seats safer - well not really they have the problem that comes from above namely luggage out of the over head compartments - with all those kitchen sinks up there theses days..........We even see some compartments open on really hefty landings - never mind any other problem.

This wouldn't happen if the airlines didn't charge those obnoxious fees on checked baggage....but then they're the master of obnoxious fees. Treat customers with, like, dignity and respect, and they might come back to you.

My thoughts exactly! Oh well, in the event of a real emergency I would just trample over the elderly and small children to get to the exits...

Amen to that! It's just instinct; nothing personal.

"Mr Gifford said airlines should consider putting families and elderly people near the exits."

Is this person INSANE?!

These are the same people who, in the less stressful situation of boarding (as compared to an emergency evacuation), can never seem to get out of their own way.

Most likely end result:
Possible slight increased survivability for familes and elderly
Dramatic decreased survivability for everyone else

Mr Gifford should try thinking before speaking..... :mad:
The elderly are closest to death anyway; why try to hinder the man in the black gown?

This makes sense. At the same time, I read another study a couple of years ago that analyzed where the survivors were sitting in the handful of crashes where there were both fatalities and survivors, and it concluded the best place to sit was in the back 1/3 of the plane. The theory being, of course, that the front of the plane absorbs the most force in a crash. One of the examples he cited was a crash in South America not too many years ago (I think in the jungle in Peru or Chile or something) where a high percentage of the people in the front 1/3 of the plane were killed whereas a fair percentage of the people in the back 1/3 of the plane were able to walk away from the crash. I have to confess that since reading that study I always sort of hesitate before confirming my seat near the front.

The elderly are closest to death anyway; why try to hinder the man in the black gown?I don't think of myself as elderly, but then, who does? I am officially closer to 60 than 50 now, though.

I have to confess that since reading that study I always sort of hesitate before confirming my seat near the front.And because of the above, I'm willing to take your upgrade to keep you safe! ;) :D

Each aviation accident is simply too unique in its circumstances -- and most importantly, in the distribution of impact forces and the spread of fire and smoke, which are what really determine who lives and who dies in an otherwise "survivable" accident -- to draw any meaningful conclusions on the best place to sit within an aircraft.

Seems like much ado about nothing. I doubt many passengers will try to move their seat location based on this...and I'm not going to stop requesting upgrades because the front of the bus isn't as safe as the mid to rear section. Wearing a hockey helmet may increase one's chances of survival as well, but I doubt you'll see many folks wearing them on your next flight.

From the linked article:

"Robert Gifford, director of the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety, said the study “shows your choice of seat on a plane really can be a matter of life or death." ><snip><

"Mr Gifford said airlines should consider putting families and elderly people near the exits."
><snip><

Why do the lives of the "elderly" and "families" have more value than anyone else's?

Great idea...we can all die while waiting for them to exit the burning aircraft in the same excrutiatingly slow method in which they boarded.