Airplane Safety Features to Make Crashes Survivable
Planes to have stronger seats and seat belt air bags to save lives in a crash.
Oct. 26, 2009— -- It may be surprising, but most airplane crashes are survivable -- especially those that happen during takeoff and landing.
Now, Federal Aviation Administration officials hope a new rule going into effect Tuesday will make it even more likely that passengers will be able to walk away from a crash.
The new guidelines require commercial planes to have stronger seats and better head protection for passengers to help ensure they survive a hard impact and have time to get out of the aircraft before it's too late.
"Only one out of three major airline accidents is fatal," William Voss, president of the Flight Safety Foundation, told ABC News. "So it's very important that you are able to get up and out of the aircraft quickly. ... You've only got about 60 seconds typically if there is a major fire."
Safety experts point to the August 2005 crash-landing of Air France flight 358 in Toronto as an example of how stronger seats can save lives. More than 300 people were able to scramble out of the aircraft after the Airbus A340 sped off the runway and burst into flames.
"The stronger seats are going to help you survive that initial impact uninjured and help you quickly move out of the cabin," said Voss.
The FAA is requiring manufacturers to install seats that can withstand impacts of 16 times the force of gravity. While many commercial planes already have the stronger seats in place, starting Tuesday they will be required on all new aircraft. The improved seat essentially absorbs the energy of the crash so the passenger doesn't.
Also, airlines are beginning to install on some passenger seats seat belts equipped with air bags meant to prevent serious head injuries in a crash.
Bill Hagen, president of AmSafe Aviation, which designs airplane safety equipment, helped develop air bags for General Motors. Now he's applying the same technology to planes.
"We'll sew that bag onto the same seat belt that you wear on an ordinary seat," said Hagen, who gave ABC News a tour of his company's seat belt production facility in Phoenix. "If the aircraft runs into something and decelerates at a great enough level to be a risk to the passengers, the air bags will deploy."
