How to survive a plane crash
January 9th, 2008 by Tim Uden
The BBC documentary Survivor’s Guide to Plane Crashes was on the telly last night.
Although flying is one of the safest forms of transport it was a good programme to watch and it has some great practical life-saving advice.
The show states that 90% of plane crashes are survivable, and knowing what to do dramatically enhances your chances of survival if you are involved in a crash.
These are the main points:
- Adopt the brace position. this makes a much bigger difference than you would ever imagine.
- Don’t inflate the life jacket until you get off the plane. If the plane fills with water, an inflated life jacket can make it impossible to swim to the exit.
- Be familiar with your selt belt. It sounds unbeliveable but many people die because they panic and can’t undo their seat belt. Remember it is the opposite to a car seat belt - you don’t push a button, you pull the latch instead.
- Plan how you will evacuate in an emergency and count the number of seat rows to the exit. Many people die because they can’t find the exit in a smoke-filled plane.
- If you are within seven seat rows of an exit, you have more than a 50% chance of surviving a crash.
- The safest place to sit on the plane is usually - but not always - above the wing. You are close to an emergency exit and it is structurally the strongest part of the plane. But it really depends how the crash impacts the plane.
- If you’re travelling with a group, don’t try and find your friends, just get off the plane. Trying to fine other people you are travelling with just blocks other people from getting off the plane.
In short, people who survive are those that pay attention to the flight attendants’ safety demonstration. They know about the brace position, they don’t inflate their life jacket until they leave the plane and they can get their seat belt undone and get to the exit.
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