We have good news and we have bad news.
The good news is: A study has shown the safest place to sit on a plane (in the event of a crash).
The bad news is: Well… a plane crashing is never good news.
Time Magazine has released information from the Federal Aviation Administration’s CSRTG Aircraft Accident Database (or the FAACSRTGAAD for short… just kidding), analysing 17 plane crashes from 1985 to 2000.
Verdict: The middle of the rear. (That’s good news for next time you check-in late and get the crappy seats next to the rear toilet.)
It’s all pretty close, though. Read on if you want to know about fatality rates and stats. If you have a fear of flying: Skip to the bottom line for some reassuring information.
The study by Time showed that seats in the middle third of the aircraft had the highest fatality rate at 39%, while the front third had a 38% fatality rate, and back third had the lowest at 32%.
The best seats: Middle seats of the rear of the aircraft (28% fatality rate).
The worst seats: Aisle seats of the middle third of the cabin (44% fatality rate).
However, surviving a plane crash has a lot to do with the circumstances of the crash (i.e. the point of impact), and a lot of luck. Time admitted that the Federal Aviation Administration experts do not agree that there is a ‘safest seat’ on the plane, as survival vs fatality is random and very circumstancial.
Read more: This is how a sneeze on a plane travels. BYO hand sanitiser.
We were pleasantly surprised by the low-ish percentages of fatality rate (to be honest, we would have guessed fatality rate in any seat of a plane crash was closer to 80% or 90%), and also to read the final statistics:
The odds of a commercial flight crashing are only 1 in 8,000 (and even then, they have lots of survivors). In comparison, the odds of dying on a motorbike are 1 in 900, as a pedestrian are 1 in 700, and in a car are 1 in 112.
Hmm. We suddenly have a fear of driving, instead…
Do you ever think about safety when you’re choosing your seat on an aeroplane?
