The Brace Position

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Member for

24 years 2 months

Posts: 645

Hello All,

The Brace position assumed by passengers during an emergency landing came up in conversation today.

Several people came up with their own reasons for it including... 'qiuck death...i.e broken neck..'!! another was to make identification easier.... Come on these cannot be true can they???

Does anybody actually know the true medical reasoning behind why the brace position is best during an emergency landing?

I suprised myself at not really knowing the answer to this one...!

Rgrds

BEN

Original post

Member for

24 years 2 months

Posts: 2,253

dunno, I assumed it was more to do with not being thrown around as much (you make yourself smaller, there'll be less torque/g force acting on you in a crash situation.)

However... I've never quite mastered the technique, I've tried it once or twice, but always seem to end up headbutting the seat in front... have any of our cabin crew got any remedial suggestions about that? ;)

Member for

24 years 2 months

Posts: 645

surely the G-force is dependant on your weight/mass... the force due to gravity, so the space you take up shouldn't matter, your mass remains constant? maybe not...

Rgrds
Ben

Member for

20 years 11 months

Posts: 12,842

It's so you can kiss your a**e goodbye

Member for

24 years 2 months

Posts: 3,538

Each airline seems to use its own version of the brace position. It is about as close as you can get in an airline seat to rolling yourself up in a ball. This protects the torso which obviously contains the most vital organs. The position is also designed to protect the head and limbs from flailing and the head from direct blows and the legs (as best as possible) from injuries inflicted by the seat in front. It is not a perfect solutuon but is the best the airlines can come up with until someone starts designing airbags into airline seats. The danger of airbags is that after they have deployed they become a hazard restricting subsequent evacuation.

Member for

24 years 2 months

Posts: 2,491

Airbags are dangerous if they activate too close to someone's face. Without wanting to appear rude about charter airlines, that would seem to be quite a big risk, given the seat pitch we usually see!

Also, the seatbelts in an aeroplane seat do not restrain you to the same extent as say, a car seatbelt. There is therefore a slight risk you could be thrown forward at an angle and perhaps catch a glance on the side of the airbag. That would seem likely where there is lots more space, like in First class. I suppose that would increase the chance of damage to the eyes.

Member for

24 years 2 months

Posts: 3,672

i have to say i really do prefer the 5 point harnesses over the cabin lap belts. even with a 5 pointer without the soulder restraints just felt a lot safer in my eyes

Member for

24 years 2 months

Posts: 11,159

Can't help thinking during a crash or emergency landing, that how I brace myself or which style of seatbelt I've got might be low on my list of priorities ?

Reminds me of a another typical pub style conversation where a friend wondered why they often tell you the temperature outside the aircraft ?

I think his response was along the lines of " If I ever find myself outside of the aircraft then the last thing I'll be worrying about is the fact it's a bit nippy" ! :D

Member for

20 years 10 months

Posts: 2,513

It gives the pilots something to say and I have to admit the first time I heard it as a passenger I was amazed at how cold it was. I agree, after you've been on a number of flights the importance of the outside temperature and alititude lessens. Two of the hardest things for pilots is: 1. figuring out what to say during an announcement. 2. trying to say it without sounding like an idiot. :)