British aviation experts reveal where passengers are most likely to be sheltered from impact should a plane crash happen
Amidst the burning wreckage of Thursday’s Air India disaster, which saw a passenger plane crash in the city of Ahmedabad and claim the lives of more than 260 people, there was one unexpected miracle – a sole survivor.
Astonishing TV footage showed British father-of-one Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, who lives in London with his wife and child and had been visiting family in India, hobbling away from the scene of the crash with visible injuries to his chest, eyes and feet.
Mr Ramesh is currently the only known survivor of the accident – and being allocated seat 11A on the plane, the first seat (from left) on the fourth row of the plane, almost certainly saved his life, aviation experts have told MailOnline.
From the hospital bed where he was receiving treatment for his injuries he recounted how he escaped from the wreckage before a fireball consumed it.
He said: ‘When I got up, there were bodies all around me. I was scared. I stood up and ran. There were pieces of the plane all around me. Someone grabbed hold of me and put me in an ambulance and brought me to the hospital.’
Aviation expert Professor John Alexander McDermid, from the University of York, told MailOnline that the British man was extremely fortunate to have been seated where he was – and being given that ticket was likely the difference between life and death.
‘Did he have a better than average chance of survival because of where he was sat? The intuitive answer is yes.
‘There’s a bit more space around the emergency exit – and he could then get out of the aircraft quickly.’
‘The front of the plane was affected more badly than the back so, in that sense, he’s been very lucky.
‘If he had been seated near a rear exit, it would have been easier to say that’s how [he escaped]. Although there would have been a lot of good fortune in that too.’
Professor McDermid said while sitting down at take-off in 11A was one factor, being able to get out quickly was another and would have come down to survival instinct: ‘Get out and get away… it would have been an instinctive reaction from him.’
In terms of how much time he would have had to escape, Professor McDermid said: ‘I think we’re talking single digits seconds. From the videos we’ve seen, the plane went up in flames very quickly and was carrying a full fuel load.
‘At this point, just after take off, with the severity of impact, it’s very likely the fuel tank or at least the fuel pipes will have ruptured on impact.
‘You’ve then got fuel coming out onto what would be hot parts of the engine and the aircraft. It would go up in flames very quickly – within a few seconds.’
Sole survivors of plane crashes are rare, but ‘miracle passengers’ who have emerged relatively unscathed from air accidents in recent years might suggest that sitting at the front of a plane is the safest place to be in the event of a crash.
In 2020, a Pakistan International Airlines Airbus A320 ploughed into a residential neighbourhood in Karachi, killing all but two of the 99 passengers onboard.
Just two men survived the devastating accident – and both were seated in the first eight rows of the plane.
President of the Bank of Punjab, Zafar Masud, was sitting in seat 1C, and was filmed being pulled alive from the smoking wreck – and engineer Mohammad Zubair, 24, was sitting in seat 8F. Both men suffered moderate injuries including fractures but recovered.
There’s also evidence that the back of the plane is the safest place to be.
When a Boeing 737-800 crashed in South Korea last December after a bird strike, the only two people who survived were a pair of flight attendants seated in the very back of the plane.
The two crew members, a man and a woman, were miraculously rescued from the tail section of the burning plane. All the other 179 people on board were killed.
A 2015 study by Time magazine, which collected 35 years of crash data from the Federal Aviation Administration, found that the rear seats in an aircraft had a fatality rate of 32 percent while front seats had a 38 percent fatality rate.
However, for those in the middle of the plane, it was only 29 percent.
Aviation expert Professor McDermid told MailOnline where he considers the safest seats to be on a plane.
He explains: ‘Emergency exits that are over a wing are going to be better protected, they give you structural strength.
‘Being near the exit near the back of an aircraft when they crash nose-first, you’re going to get more absorbing of the energy of the impact at the back and stand a better chance of survival.’
He said the fact airlines position their black boxes – containing vital data in the aftermath of a crash – at the back is telling.
‘The black boxes, actually orange, are close to the tail of the plane, and there’s a reason for that – they’re much more likely to survive the impact there than anyway else.’
He adds: ‘It is a bit of a lottery but if there’s any distribution of risk, you’re better at the exits over the wing and at the back.’
HOW TO SURVIVE A PLANE CRASH
THINK ABOUT YOUR WARDROBE
Many passengers dress to be as comfortable as possible on long flights, but doing so may not improve your chance of survival in an accident.
The more of your body that is covered during an impact the better, as it reduces the injury from burns and wounds. Wear long-sleeved shirts and pants and a sturdy pair of shoes. If flying over a cold region, keep a warm jacket to hand. If flying over water, wear wool instead of cotton as the fabric keeps its insulating properties better when wet.
Loose and fussy clothing is not advised as it can easily get caught when moving at speed in a confined space, like trying to rush off a plane.
Avoid high heels or sandals, which can rip plane evacuation slides or leave feet vulnerable to broken glass and toxic liquids.
DON’T SIT AT THE FRONT
Yes, there really is a silver lining for those who find themselves in at the back of the plane. Research shows that those in the more expensive seats up front generally have the worst chance of surviving a crash.
Safety experts stress that every crash is different and that there is no ‘magic safe seat’, but given that so many planes crash nose-first, some believe that your best chance is to sit at the back.
When a Boeing 737-800 crashed in South Korea last December after a bird strike, the only two people who survived were a pair of flight attendants seated in the very back of the plane. All the other 179 people on board were killed.
A 2015 study by Time magazine, which collected 35 years of crash data from the Federal Aviation Administration, found that the rear seats in an aircraft had a fatality rate of 32 percent while front seats had a 38 percent fatality rate. However, for those in the middle of the plane, it was only 29 percent.
This, say experts, reflects the fact that the emergency exits over the wings are in the middle of the plane. What matters most in surviving a crash, they argue, is how quickly passengers can evacuate.
NOTE THE LOCATION OF EXIT ROWS
With that in mind, count the number of the rows between your seat and the closest exit row and, if necessary, write it down. If the plane crashes, in the ensuing smoke, darkness and general confusion, finding that exit could be infinitely more challenging.
If you’re actually sitting in an exit row, take a look at the door and understand how to open it. (A flight attendant will usually do this for you – but not if they’re incapacitated.)
KEEP YOUR SEATBELT ON… TIGHT
This is really important. According to research, every centimeter (0.4 inches) of slack in a passenger’s seat belt triples the G-Force they’ll experience in a crash. A tighter seatbelt also limits how much the body flails around.
Try to push the belt down your body so that it’s over your pelvis rather than your stomach. The former is firmer and helps to brace you much better for impact.
YOUR OXYGEN MASK BEFORE OTHERS
Hollywood disaster movies love to show the hero or heroine unselfishly helping other passengers around them to put on their masks before attending to their own.
Resist that urge. If the cabin loses pressure, you have only about 15 seconds at most to start breathing through your mask before you lose consciousness.
Once you have your own mask on, you can help others – even after they’re unconscious.
WORK OUT WHERE THE PLANE WILL CRASH
If you’re flying above water, put your life jacket on. But don’t inflate it until you’re out of the plane, otherwise you could be in for all sorts of problems: if the cabin fills with water, you would float to the ceiling and it would be very difficult to swim back down and exit the plane. It might also tear during the evacuation, rendering it useless for buoyancy.
If the plane is coming down in cold weather, keep a blanket or coat to hand as the aircraft descends.
BRACE FOR IMPACT
Having returned your seat to its upright position, make sure you shoes are securely on your feet and stow away any loose items that might fly around the cabin.
There are two standard crash ‘brace’ positions. If you can reach the seat in front of you, lean against it, placing one hand palm-down on the seat back and crossing the other hand – also palm down – over the first hand. Rest your forehead against the backs of your hands. Sometimes, in this position, experts recommend instead lacing your fingers to cradle it as you lean your head against the seat.
Alternatively, if you cannot reach the seat in front of you, lean forward and press your chest on your thighs and your head between your knees, grabbing your ankles.
AVOID THE SMOKE
Statistically, fire and smoke are responsible for more deaths in plane crashes than other causes. Many survivors pass out from the smoke, which on a burning aircraft can be particularly noxious. Try to cover your nose and mouth with a cloth – preferably a damp one – to avoid inhaling it.
While heading towards an exit, try to stay as low as possible to duck under the smoke which is likely to be rising towards the ceiling. Look out for other passengers who remain in their seats, victims perhaps of a psychological condition known as ‘negative panic’ in which people cannot assert themselves in a crisis.
LEAVE YOUR BELONGINGS
In tests, aircraft manufacturers need to show they can evacuate a large passenger plane in 90 seconds but it often takes much longer in a real accident as so many things – from jammed doors to a passenger stampede – can go wrong.
Safety experts warn survivors should not try to take their belongings with them as this will only slow them and other people down and block the aisles (and items may be salvageable later). Unfortunately, past crashes show passengers repeatedly trying to take their carry-on luggage with them, even when the plane is on fire. The bags can also easily puncture evacuation chutes.
DON’T HANG AROUND
Once you’ve exited the plane, move at least 500 ft upwind from the crash site as soon as possible. Although you don’t want to go too far as you await rescuers, the plane could explode at any moment and the flames could spread far further than you imagine. The same rule holds true even if you’ve landed in water – swim away.
Above all, say experts, when you know you are traveling in a packed plane and people all about you are losing their heads as it’s about to crash, try to stay calm.
Julian Bray, UK Aviation Security Expert told MailOnline that passengers shouldn’t obsess over the safest seats onboard a plane, saying: ‘Is one part of the plane safer than another?
‘Not these days…there are many emergency exits and many emergency chutes on board.
‘I personally prefer to sit at the back of a plane but that’s simply because I like to be left alone, it has nothing to do with safety.’
Professor McDermid agrees that getting hung up on the safest seats is a futile exercise.
He said: ‘My own preference is usually an exit row – if I can get one, but you don’t always have the choice.
‘If you look at accidents statistics, they’re incredibly unlikely – one in ten million departures – so where I sit on the plane is mostly based on comfort.’