Bracing for Impact Ups Chances of Surviving Plane Crash, Test Crash Finds | Welcome to Linda Ikeji's Blog

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Tuesday 2 October 2012

Bracing for Impact Ups Chances of Surviving Plane Crash, Test Crash Finds

If you're a frequent flyer, this is something you should read. Found it on Yahoo and thought to share...
A test crash of a Boeing 727 in the Sonoran desert to learn more about what actually happens to passengers when a plane goes down found that simply bracing for impact could help save lives.
In one of the most ambitious tests ever undertaken in the name of airline safety, Discovery TV had a Boeing 727 equipped with more than a half a million dollars worth of crash test dummies, 38 specialized cameras and sensors, and a crew of incredibly daring pilots. The pilots, who'd donned parachutes, bailed out of a hatch in the back of the aircraft minutes before the huge jetliner careered into the ground in a horrific crash that tore the plane apart.
Staged last spring as part of the Discovery Channel's "Curiosity Plane Crash," the test crash was the result of four years of planning and consultations with a huge team of experts, all to better understand what happens to passengers when an aircraft goes down.

Cindy Bir, a professor of biomedical engineering at Wayne State University, took charge of the crash test dummies, examining them immediately after the the plane hit the desert to get an idea of what injuries might have been sustained.

" I suspect … one may have a concussion, one may have a broken leg," Bir said as she looked over the dummies.

Bir told ABC News that her data made it clear that bracing for impact -- placing one's head down and putting one's hands over one's head -- could increase the odds of survival.

During the crash, which was a belly flop done nose first, passengers near the front bore the brunt of the impact. Rows one through seven held the "fatal" seats -- seat 7A was catapulted straight out of the plane.
Many of the seat-belted dummies who weren't bent over in the bracing position incurred spinal injuries from jerking forward in their seat belts.

Bir also simulated a woman holding an infant on her lap - a familiar one-seat money-saving move many parents opt for. After a relatively minor simulated impact, the mother could no longer hold on. Bir cautioned that holding a child on one's lap was not safe.

The test crash also revealed other aspects of plane crashes, such as the tremendous amount of debris that could prove deadly to any passenger sitting upright, and how important it was to be able to get out of the plane fast. Generally, sitting within five rows of an exit gave passengers the best odds.

An MIT study that drew on worldwide safety data from 2000 to 2007 found that the chance of dying on a scheduled flight in developed nations such as the United States, Japan or Ireland was one in 14 million. In other words, a passenger who took a single flight every day could on average go 38,000 years before dying in a plane crash.

Discovery's test findings offers some tips on how to perhaps improve those odds even further.


Watch the full Discovery Channel documentary “Curiosity Plane Crash” on Sunday, Oct. 7 at 9 pm ET.

36 comments:

Graceful said...

Thank you for the information Linda. Much appreciated.

Unknown said...

i don't think this will apply to us as Nigerians. A Nigerian would rather pray and chant Allahu Akbar or Jesus, like a mantra, rather than brace up for the crash.

AJ said...

Only God saves...do your best but dnt rely on your ability or knowledge....

www.ahdaizy.wordpress.com

Anonymous said...

quite educating.that is why the west is far ahead of us.we sit back and wait for them to do the discovery, while we only consume.

Anonymous said...

wow! and 7A is like my favourite seat o!hmmmmmm,thanks Linda for sharing this.

Unknown said...

na destiny jooor. person wey destine 2 die 4 london no go die 4 lagos. even if he no get money 4 ticket, e go borrow.

Anonymous said...

CHAI wahala dey....
gistpost.wordpress.com/

Anonymous said...

Lin Lin u don dey enter plane abii . . Loool

Real8 said...

linda, may God not allow us to experience it but i dont think any amount of lessons can save a life on a crashing plane if so, all the crew will be alive cos they get taugt these things. at the point of a plane crashing i personally think all sense of do this and that will be lost. there will be too much chaos and possibly over crowding at the exits which could even worsen the case of having any survivals.

Anonymous said...

Ok, i will have this in mind the next time i boared. olorun ma je ka ri esu!

LivepenNG said...

Go flyn .

Cent said...

Linda,Thanks for this info,i haven't flown before but we never can tell when it might come in handy.

mridontry said...

Lindaikeji, you are good. Much love.

http://www.mridontry.com

Unknown said...

Nice one, thats a life saving info....

Anonymous said...

It will never work in Nigeria.

BONARIO NNAGS said...

Hmmmm dis test is not for Nigerians coz d shout of Jesus by both Christians,pagans,herbalist, ritualists, criminals and eveh Muslims sef, will make u forget d whole discovery stunt. I pray crashless airtravels.
~BONARIO~says so via NOKIA3310

Segun said...

Na why i like oyinbo be this. They always strive to make the world better.

Anonymous said...

Nice article. Will surely look out and watch the program. Big Ups Lindy! Bukkie

Anonymous said...

Nice article. Will surely look out and watch the program. Big Ups Lindy! Bukkie

Anonymous said...

Makes perfect sense...thank God 4 daring pple like dose pilots.

Anonymous said...

So first class is not safe...noted. I hate flying but its jusy so necessary and I get very sick travelling by road. Dear LIB readers, what should I do?

Jenny-Coco said...

WE ARE TALKING ABOUT ADVANCED COUNTRIES HERE THO. I THINK ON THE AVERAGE, EVERY NIGERIAN PRAYS FOR SURVIVAL FOR EVERY SINGLY FLIGHT TRIP. MAY GOD HELP US ALL

Unknown said...

Woooo. Why will they not move forward in life, always daring to make d world a better place

Anonymous said...

Linda wetin self ehn.... Wat of us wey dey fly bike... Better put our own o ...but on a serious note... D impact of a plane crashin in d sea and dat of one crashin on land and buildings isn't d same.... Even crashin in a forest is also different.... Its kinda wrong to conclude ..... Na only baba God dey save person....
Danphilip

Anonymous said...

OMG! They are given you scientific knowledge, ur saying do your best but don't rely on your knowledge. People like you start to flail your arms around praying fervently. What happens? They die! At least they go to heaven. Even the bible says wisdom is profitable to direct. Listen to instruction and brace yourself!

Anonymous said...

7A on what model of aircraft? Pls try to task ur brain a lil before running to press publish . or is it only 727 u travel with?

GLAM ME PRO said...

Nice article let's kip praying not to experience such in our lives. Burning nko?

Anonymous said...

can it work in dana air crash? somebody pls ans

Warri Girl said...

See experiment. Good they are conscious of saving lives unlike 9ja

African Sweetheart said...

Only JESUS can save.. anything else is just time waste.

I am not going to ask you to check out the link below =)

http://africansweetheart.blogspot.co.uk/

Anonymous said...

Ok guys these type of information is very useful, few yrs ago a cousin died in a plane crash ditched in the ocean,about 40 people out of 250 passengers survived.They were all asked to put life jacket on but because the the plane was hijacked there was no instruction on how to follow tru.Many died because there life jacket was inflated before impact,when the plane sunk many were pushed towards the inside roof mainly because there life jacket were inflated to early.Ideally they should ve looked for cracks and wholes make there way out and inflate the life jacket that way they ll be pushed up the water surface.That is what a survival explained to my parents ,he was sitting besides my cousin.

Anonymous said...

Mumu! Learn learn!! learn!!! I too know, what sort of person are you ahdaisy! come to think of it you hv a blog I don't know that stupid people do hv blog o instead of u to say thanks to Linda u are saying gibberish! There is nothing wrong with having nothing to say unless u insist on saying it! Introduce u tongue to you brain next time bcos what Linda wrote make sense! Ode goat

Anonymous said...

Very very informative. Thanks for posting

lazioman.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

Experiments like this is common in Developped countries. Unfortunately those of us that see these everyday have diff explaining things to our friends/ family back home. The make comments like we dont believe in Jesus/ God. God gives human beings knowledge to do wonderul things. Planes/ cars are designed not to crash. Human errors are responsible for most mishaps, not the devil. Its ok to pray but its also ok to follw common sense maitenance of your car/ airplane.

Jeffiejay said...

Wooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwww!! -------> "An MIT study that drew on worldwide safety data from 2000 to 2007 found that the chance of dying on a scheduled flight in developed nations such as the United States, Japan or Ireland was one in 14 million. In other words, a passenger who took a single flight every day could on average go 38,000 years before dying in a plane crash."

Anonymous said...

wteva d info is..jst no ye dat wat wil kil a man ar bnd 2 hapn an d ar mostli cr8td by man itslf

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