- A video shows people emerging from the rubble of Wednesday’s crash in Azerbaijan.
- A 2015 study by Time Magazine found lower death rates in the back of the plane.
- Pilot actions and crash circumstances affect survivability in all seat areas.
Video footage of survivors emerging from the wreckage of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane that crashed on Wednesday raises questions about how it is possible to survive such a catastrophic event. At least 29 people survived the crash in Kazakhstan and 38 people lost their lives.
Survivability of any aircraft crash depends largely on the circumstances of the accident. It is not yet known what caused the Azerbaijan to go down, or how nearly half the people on board survived.
However, in general, seating arrangements and the actions of the crew on board can contribute to survivability.
In particular, seats in the back of a plane — the section from which Azerbaijan’s survivors were disembarking — are historically the safest, the data show.
Federal data analyzed by Time Magazine in 2015, which examined 17 crashes between 1985 and 2000 that had survivors and victims and seat maps available, found that the rear third of the plane had a fatality rate of 32% .
The middle rear seats had the lowest mortality rate at 28%.
This compares with a 39% mortality rate in the middle third and a 38% mortality rate in the anterior third. The study found the highest fatality rate was in the middle section seats at 44%.
The report followed a 2007 analysis by the science and technology magazine Popular Mechanics.
He analyzed 20 crashes dating back to 1971 and found that the rear survival rate was 69%, which is a fatality rate of 31%. The middle and anterior sections had survival rates of 56% and 49%, respectively.
Rear seats may experience less G-force
The rear of the plane may be safer because, when a plane crashes, the front and middle often absorb much of the impact energy.
This can allow the rear of the aircraft to remain more intact during head-on collisions with water or terrain, even if the rear is separated from the aircraft.
The four sole survivors of a Japan Airlines crash in 1985 were sitting in the back when the plane crashed into a mountainside. Another 520 died.
A 1985 Delta Air Lines crash in Texas left 27 survivors, most of whom were seated in the back of the plane. The rear came loose during the crash.
In 2012, the Discovery Channel purposely crashed a Boeing 727 in the desert with test dummies on board to analyze survivability.
They found that the middle and back were less fatal, with the front experiencing 12 times the force of gravity. The middle and rear sections experienced a G force of eight and six, respectively.
Crew actions can increase survivability
Pilot handling and cabin crew reactions can also improve the chances of surviving an aircraft crash.
Azerbaijan’s president, Samir Rzayev, spoke of the pilots’ “heroism” to reporters on Wednesday. Both died in the accident.
“While this tragic accident brought a significant loss to our nation, the crew’s brave dedication to their duties until the last moment and prioritization of human life have immortalized their names in history,” Rzayev said. according to Report, an Azerbaijani news agency.
Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger is one of the most famous examples of pilots whose quick decision-making is credited with saving lives.
In 2009, Sullenberger’s US Airways plane lost engine power over New York City. He responded by ditching the plane in the Hudson River because there was no runway in the glide radius. All 155 passengers and crew survived.
Survivors in lifeboats near the sunken wonder of the Hudson. Images by Bebeto Matthews/AP
Decades ago, a United Airlines plane crashed in Iowa in 1989 due to an engine failure and subsequent loss of hydraulics, meaning the plane’s control was severely limited.
The pilots held the landing gear to absorb some of the shock of the crash and maintained relative control of the plane as it went down. 184 of the 296 passengers and crew survived.
Flight attendants have also been praised for saving lives. During a fiery Japan Airlines runway crash in January, the flight crews’ quick response and communication were cited for the successful evacuation of all 379 people on board.
There is no safer universal seat
Federal authorities say there is no safer seat on an airplane because every crash is different and depends on factors such as the plane’s impact with the ground and whether there was a fire.
Sully’s water landing is an example of how the rear of the plane could be at greater risk after landing because it was taking on water with no exit doors available – so those passengers were among the last to exit.
In the United crash in Iowa, most of the survivors were in the rows behind first class but in front of the wings. They likely lived because of the way the plane hit the ground and broke up on landing, allowing people to escape more easily. Several people who were not killed in the crash died of smoke inhalation, an NTSB investigation found.
In 1977, a Pan Am and a KLM Boeing 747 collided in Tenerife, Spain, killing 583 people and becoming the world’s deadliest plane crash. However, 61 people sitting in the front of the Pan Am plane survived.
All survived the fiery Japan Airlines crash in January. STR/JIJI PRESS/AFP via Getty Images
The KLM plane struck the middle and rear of the Pan Am plane, causing less damage to the front of the Pan Am plane and allowing people to escape through an opening near the left wing.
Despite the varying results of various air crashes over the decades, flying is the safest mode of transportation—no matter where you sit—thanks to strict safety laws and improvements in aircraft design.
A 2020 National Transportation Safety Board survival report found that 1.3% of people involved in commercial airline accidents between 2001 and 2017 died, up from 4.7% between 1983 and 2000.
