The best brace position for an unexpected impact—such as during an airplane emergency—is a forward-leaning, tucked posture. It prevents your head from whipping forward, minimizes the distance your body travels against sudden force, and protects your vital organs and limbs from flailing.
For a forward seated passenger wearing only a lap belt, common recommendations for the brace position include: Place head on, or as close as possible to, the surface it is most likely to strike. (For example, the bulkhead or seat in front.)
People avoid Seat 11A on many aircraft (particularly Boeing 737s) because it is a "windowless window seat". Due to the placement of air-conditioning ducts and structural reinforcements over the wing, you will often find yourself staring at a solid wall instead of having a view.
Hawaiian Airlines
Hawaiian has been flying planes since 1929 and never once had a fatal accident, making it, if our stats stand up, the longest functioning carrier to have never lost a passenger.
Yes, the brace position is highly effective and significantly increases your chances of surviving a plane crash. Developed from decades of real-world crash data and extensive testing, it works by preventing your head and torso from snapping forward into hard surfaces and stopping your limbs from flailing.
💪🏽 3 Common Bracing Mistakes to Avoid ❌ 1️⃣ Wearing your lifting belt too tight. If it's cranked on so hard you can't expand your ribcage or breathe properly, you're limiting your ability to brace effectively. 2️⃣ Pushing your stomach out and over inflating.
Although the thought of being involved in a plane crash is harrowing, the National Transportation Safety Board reports that more than 95 percent of passengers involved in a plane crash survive.
Several major airlines have never experienced a fatal crash or passenger fatality throughout their operating history. Among the most notable carriers with a flawless safety record are:
The flight attendant who fell 33,000 feet and survived is Vesna Vulović. On January 26, 1972, the Serbian flight attendant was working on JAT Flight 367 when a suspected bomb caused the airplane to break apart and crash over Czechoslovakia. She holds the Guinness World Records for surviving the highest fall without a parachute.
1. Coffee ☕ (Or Any Caffeinated Drink)
It's All About Safety
Takeoff and landing are famously the most critical and potentially hazardous periods of a flight, and so it's important for the crew to be ready in case anything goes wrong. This upright, hands-under-the-legs way of sitting therefore ensures that all members of the crew are braced for action.
Yes, you can absolutely fly over the age of 80. Most commercial airlines do not have an upper age limit for passengers. As long as the passenger is in good health and can withstand the altitude and pressure changes of air travel, they are free to fly.
Flight attendants recommend avoiding these three things to stay comfortable and healthy at 30,000 feet:
Pilots say "heavy" as a mandatory safety suffix when their aircraft has a Maximum Takeoff Weight (MTOW) of 300,000 pounds or more. This verbal warning tells Air Traffic Control (ATC) and nearby planes to maintain extra distance to avoid the powerful, invisible wake turbulence these massive jets leave behind.
To safely "knock yourself out" on a plane, you can use over-the-counter (OTC) sleep aids or prescription medications. Always consult your doctor before trying new medications for a flight, and never mix them with alcohol.
Recovery of the passengers and crew took several weeks, and very few intact human remains were found given the sheer violence of the impact, immersion in swamp water and scavenging by wildlife.
KLM Flight 4805 and Pan Am Flight 1736, March 27, 1977
This crash remains the deadliest ever, claiming the lives of 583 people when two 747s collided on a foggy runway on the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands.
From 1987: 4-year-old girl survives plane crash
When Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashed in the Detroit suburb of Romulus, Cecelia Cichan was the only one to survive. Her family was among the 154 passengers killed. Originally reported by Kay Lowry on August 18, 1987.
According to the AirAdvisor Airline Safety Score, Allegiant, American, Frontier, Hawaiian, JetBlue, Southwest, and Spirit Airlines are all the safest. Each had a perfect accident record in 2023 and 2024 with no reported incidents based on data from IATA.
Yes, Delta Air Lines has had crashes throughout its long history, though it is one of the safest airlines in the world and has not experienced a fatal mainline crash in decades.
The riskiest phases of a flight are takeoff and landing. While cruising at 30,000 feet is remarkably safe, aviation industry statistics indicate that approximately 80% of all commercial aviation accidents occur during the first and last 10-15 minutes of a flight.
Yes, a small number of people survived from the upper floors of the South Tower. At or above the impact zone (floors 78 to 84), only four people survived. All four were in the South Tower and used a single, miraculously intact stairwell to escape.
The reality is that in a high impact scenario the brain does not have the time to process the feeling of pain or fear for long. But do victims remain conscious before the plane caught fire. When the aircraft hits, the brain suffers severe physical trauma.
Passengers are required to remove certain shoes, specifically high heels, during an emergency landing because the sharp, pointed heels can puncture or tear the inflatable evacuation slides.