The brace position actually does save lives and reduces injuries.
It saves lives by putting your head already against the thing it’s most likely to hit in an impact, namely the seat in front. This reduces your chance of a head injury. If you can’t get your head against the seat, or are in an exit row, then the modified brace position secures your head against your legs.
It reduces injuries by tucking your limbs in and holding them in place, meaning they don’t move during the impact, meaning they’re less likely to be broken.
And, ya know, if you are conscious and don’t have a broken leg, you have a much higher chance of evacuating safely from a plane that is, say, on fire, or sinking into a river…
Numerous reports indicate that bracing maximizes your chance of surviving uninjured in a survivable crash – and over 70% of crashes are survivable.
Mythbusters busted this by putting a dummy through a series of simulated plane crashes, and they discovered that the brace position absorbs more of the crash energy than sitting upright, and that the force was channeled into the chair.
So, why do flight attendants sit in a different position? Because jumpseats are not designed the same way as passenger seats.
First of all, some jumpseats are rear facing. On some planes, some passenger seats are rear facing. If you are in a rear facing seat, then you should not brace, you should sit upright and press yourself into the seat, legs together.
Second of all, flight attendants often wear shoulder harnesses, so their shoulders are secured to the seat. They do not, however, put their legs against anything, they tuck their legs under the seat. Sometimes they sit on their hands, sometimes they put their hands firmly on their thighs – this is, again, to minimize limb movement.
So, this is bullshit. If you are on a plane and the cabin crew yell Brace, BRACE. It might save your life.
When someone gives you safety instructions, FUCKING LISTEN. Don’t try to think you’re smarter than them because you read a conspiracy theory on the internet.
ANOTHER POST THAT TELLS YOU TO NOT FOLLOW SAFETY REGULATIONS
FFS. SEAT BELTS. PLANES. WHAT NEXT
There are fifty years of aviation engineering, and BILLIONS of dollars, poured into survivability of crashes.
When you seat yourself, read your safety booklet. Just knowing that information elevates your chances of exiting the plane in the event of an emergency–and most crashes are survivable, so assume you’ll survive.
In the event of a crash, exit immediately if possible. Crawl if you must. The most common cause of death after the crash is fire; you’ll need to adhere to the standard precautions: stay low to the ground, keep moving, evacuate asap. If it smells like gas or oil, move faster if you can. Cover your face with a leather jacket or other “flame retardant” material; not so they can identify your pretty mug but to protect your eyes from glass and fumes.
In the event of a water landing, DO NOT INFLATE YOUR LIFE VEST UNTIL YOU EXIT THE PLANE. Doing so takes up space, decreases maneuverability and if the plane fills with water, you’ll be unable to evacuate and will drown pinned to the ceiling.
Lastly: the overwhelming majority of incidents occur within three minutes of take off or landing, when airplanes aren’t high enough to compensate for the error. On the plus side, they’re also not fast enough to cause much trouble and they’re generally close to emergency services at the airport, thus increasing your chance of walking away.
And that’s from someone who’s
1) worked in aviation 2) currently flies once every eight weeks for a living 3) on planes ranging in size from widebody Boeings to turboprops so small you practically wind the propellers with rubber bands 4) studied mass disasters, specifically crashes 5) been in an emergency situation on a plane, specifically engine failure at 32,000. Obviously, it turned out okay
So yeah. Don’t panic, know your exits, listen to the people who are trained to keep you safe and
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