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Plane truths

The world loves to fly, and indeed, needs to fly. Over 2 billion passengers take to the wing in aircraft each year. So on average, one in every three people fly each year.

British Airways Flight BA38 crash

British Airways Flight BA38 crash (Source: Marc-Antony Payne/Wikimedia Commons)

Most people realize that flying in a jet with a major airline is incredibly safe - after all, when you compare death rates per kilometre, flying is about twice as safe as rail travel and six times safer than car travel. But most people wrongly believe that if you are on a plane that crashes, then you are certain to die.

It seems a fairly reasonable assumption - even though it's wrong. After all, a modern plane is a tube made of aluminium only a few fragile millimeters thick (and aluminium can burn fiercely). The plane is also carrying up to a few hundred tonnes of inflammable fuel, it's filled with substances that when they burn give off toxic fumes, and it's moving at close to a thousand kilometers per hour. But surprisingly, your chances of surviving an aircraft accident are actually quite good.

For example, in the USA between 1983 and 2000, there were 568 aircraft crashes. There were 53,487 people on board these aircraft, and about 95% of them (51,207) survived. In fact, about 90% of aircraft crashes are survivable.

There's a lot you can do to help you become a survivor.

The first thing is your clothes. Avoid synthetics that can burn and melt into your skin, and instead make sure that you wear long pants and a long-sleeved top (made from natural fibres) and sensible leather shoes that cover all of your foot. Then, pay close attention to the Flight Safety Briefing by the cabin crew - and yes, do count the number of seats to the nearest exit. In my 50-or-so flights per year, I watch the Briefing for a few reasons - professional solidarity with a fellow performer, politeness, and of course, safety. In an emergency, it may well be pitch black and full of smoke, and you will be glad that you made the effort

It sounds really stupid to be told how to undo a seatbelt - but in an emergency, precision is often lost in a panic. There have been many cases of people in aircraft accidents being simply unable to lift the latch to undo the belt.

What is the safest location to sit in a plane, in the unlikely event of a crash? It all depends on the type of crash - whether head-on into a mountain, or tail-down into a runway. But there is one consistent safety issue to seating. If possible, sit within seven seats of an emergency exit - this increases your chances of getting out of the plane quickly, once on the ground. In a crash landing, assume the Brace Position which folds you forward - it reduces the chances that your limbs will swing around and hit something hard and break your bones. Make a plan about what you will do if an emergency is declared. I am perhaps a little more obsessive than the average passenger, and bought a few fold-up plastic smoke hoods that sit in my shirt pocket during a flight. It seals around my neck and filters the air that I breathe, to keep out all the poisonous chemicals coming from the burning inside the plane. But if you don't have one of these, in the event of a fire, try to keep below the smoke.

And above all, obey the instructions of the highly-trained cabin crew - their main job is not to feed you lollies and drinks, but keep you alive if something goes very wrong. Think of the 777 that crashed-landed at Heathrow Airport in mid-January 2008, with an impact so savage that it ripped off the right landing gear, and rammed the left landing gear up into the very solid root of the left wing. All 152 passengers survived.

So chocks away, and have a nice flight.

Tags: air-transport

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Published 02 April 2008

© 2014 Karl S. Kruszelnicki Pty Ltd