Ok, yeah you're right... my confusion came from the fact that i knew the PanAm jet had clearance to take off and the KLM one didn't. I didn't realize that the PanAm jet did not leave the ground, but was accelerating to take off.

No, I do not. Comfort is paramount in my seat decisions. I imagine that if I am in an accident so severe that fatalities and major injuries result, no where on the aircraft will be particularly safe. And the chances of that happening are so small, that if I worried about it I may as well seal myself in a concrete bunker now.

But it is rather convenient that my favourite seats on BA also happen to be rear-facing, which apparently is safer (especially in an aborted take-off).

I have also read tales that pax in the front have a greater chance of dying during an impact, so maybe flying economy would be prudent if safety is a major concern.

I also remember hearing things about being above the wings and wingbox is safest, although I do not know why. Maybe because that part of the aircraft is best protected during an impact. Or maybe shielded from flying debris from destroyed engines. IIRC, some people in the Teneriff disaster were killed on the PanAm aircraft as they evacuated by debris from the severely damaged, but still operating, engines.

This question really has not entered my mind until reading this post. When choosing seat on the seat map, immediately, I think of SeatGuru, exit rows, or bulkheads, then click on my seats, all for comfort sake. Of course the probability of any accident cannot be fully eliminated, but frequent flying can make one very much attuned to the high standards of safety and reliability of present aviation and flights.

I'm the original poster of this question. Many of you have responded that you select seating based on comfort and convenience. I guess my selection of exit row or rows adjacent to exit rows is based on "mental" comfort. We've heard so much during recent days about counting number of rows between you and the closest exit. I figure if it's one row, it's easier to keep up with.

I also am somewhat focused on exit routes in hotels. I lived in a high-rise combination hotel/apartment in Philadelphia that experienced 2 minor fires during my one year stay. I was on 29th floor and learned the value of proximity of exit stairwells.

I always take whatever I'm assigned. Worry more about cars than planes. Hotels I also don't worry about. (Do note exits always.) Now, high rises? Lived in one once. They unnerve me. I guess the reason is that you're in planes and hotels only for hours or day or two. But high rises, at least a year. But even then, although I'd rather be near an exit, probably wouldn't make a fuss about it.

No, I think you've still got it the other way around. The KLM thought it had takeoff clearance and began its takeoff roll. The Pan Am was just taxiing on the runway - it was nowhere near ready to take off.

Yup, the Clipper was taxing to the end of the runway, where it needed to do a 180 before being able to take off. The KLM had completed that procedure already and thought it had t/o clearance, which it did not.

I pick exit row seats for the space not because I'm afraid of some potential accident.