Air India Plane Crash: Is 11A the safest seat on an aircraft? Ways to stay safe on your next flight

Air India Plane Crash: Vishwas Kumar Ramesh, the lone survivor of the ghastly Air India plane crash on June 12, was sitting on seat 11A when the aircraft crashed. His survival through the exit door has now fuelled speculations on whether this seat is the safest in every aircraft.

Aviation experts have however explained that the answer cannot be so simple as aircraft vary a lot in terms of seat configurations, while the nature of crashes are often unique. Both of these come into play when survival in a plane crash is concerned.

“Each accident is different, and it is impossible to predict survivability based on seat location,” Mitchell Fox, a director at US-based nonprofit Flight Safety Foundation, was quoted as saying by Reuters.

Safest seat of the day

Seated in 11A, next to an emergency exit, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh said he initially believed he had died but managed to unbuckle himself and crawl through an opening in the fuselage.

“In this particular instance, because the passenger was sitting adjacent to the emergency exit, this was obviously the safest seat on the day,” Ron Bartsch, Chairman at Sydney-based AvLaw Aviation Consulting, told Reuters.

However, the seat does not always have to be 11A in particular, like in the Air India aircraft, he said.

“But it's not always 11A, it's just 11A on this configuration of the Boeing 787.”

Sitting next to an exit door, like Ramesh, gives the passenger a chance to be among the first persons to get out of the plane, although some exits don't function after a crash, the expert told Reuters.

The opposite side of the plane was blocked by the wall of a building it crashed into, he said.

How to stay safe on an aircraft?

Paying attention to the safety briefing at the start of your flight - often dismissed as routine - is likely the best way to improve your chances of survival, experts say.

Safety briefings typically cover critical instructions such as how to fasten your seatbelt securely, adopt the correct brace position and plan your evacuation route.

A common tip is to count the number of rows between your seat and the nearest exit - vital knowledge if the cabin fills with smoke and visibility is low.

Despite disasters such as the Air India plane crash, plane designs have evolved to increase the likelihood of passengers walking away from a rare plane accident, Fox told Reuters.

These include floor path lighting, fire detection and extinguishers, less flammable cabin materials and improved access to emergency exits.

“There have been remarkable advancements in airplane cabin design that have improved the survivability of accidents on or near the ground,” Fox was quoted as saying.

(With inputs from Reuters)