Last week's "The Middle Seat" column was about how passengers can better prepare themselves, in order to increase their chances of surviving a plane crash. Here's the link:

Wall Street Journal - "The Middle Seat"
Training for a Plane Crash
British Airways Puts Fliers in Mock Disasters; How to Get a Head Start
(September 29, 2011)

There are several excellent tips in the article. Whenever I take a seat on an airline, I note the closest emergency exits... but I have not been counting rows as the article suggests.