Air India crash, sole survivor seated in seat 11A: what experts say about the safest seats on airplanes
The crash of Air India flight AI171, which took off last June 12 from Ahmedabad towards London-Gatwick and crashed after a few [...]
Air India
Star Alliance
The crash of the flight Air India AI171, Took off last June 12 from Ahmedabad bound for London-Gatwick and crashed after a few minutes, it is undeniable that it has upset all. What was even more astonishing, however, was that - given the dynamics of the accident - there was a survivor: He is a 40-year-old British citizen, Viswashkumar Ramesh, who was sitting in the seat 11A.
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We have all seen the images and videos circulated on the web: Ramesh, after the plane crashed into a student residence, albeit limp and with some wound got into the ambulance on his own legs. How did he save himself? Most importantly: Is seat 11A the safest seat in the airplane? These are just some of the questions that so many users in social are asking.
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While the first question is complicated to answer-some might 'cry for a miracle'-the second question, on the other hand, can be answered in a more nuanced way. No, seat 11A is not the safest; or at least not in all aircraft. In the case of Air India's Dreamliner, 11A turned out to be, arguably, a 'safe' seat, as it was close to an emergency exit, to say the least. But, we recall, companies set up their planes differently; in another carrier's aircraft, therefore, 11A, may not be a seat located in an emergency row.
A study of Popular Mechanics published in 2007 and cited recently by Reuters-whose purpose was to analyze aircraft accidents from 1971 to the present found that those traveling in the rear of the aircraft were more likely (the 40% extra, to be precise) of survival. Some aviation experts argue, however, that seats located near the wings are the safest; still others believe that aisle-side seats are safer than window-side seats: passengers who sit in these seats evidently have direct access to escape routes.
The truth, however, is that every accident is different: several factors come into play and it is nearly impossible to predict which section of the plane will sustain the most damage. So, no: In airplanes, there is no one seat that is safer than the others. Therefore, as he said Jeff Guzzetti - former accident investigator for the Federal Aviation Administration AA and the National Transportation Safety Board - In an interview with the New York Times., "choose any place that makes you feel comfortable".
