Ever wondered why we are advised to sit in a brace position on planes in an emergency? This veteran pilot has all the answers for you!
According to a LadBible report, a pilot has revealed the truth about the brace position, along with other practices that you may have always wondered about while taking a flight.?
No one really knows why we are advised to do the brace position - it is just one of the things we are told to do and we do it without questions.?
The position involves bending forward and putting your hands over your head to prepare for a crash, supposedly to help your body brace for impact.
However, the position's efficiency has been a topic of concern.?There have been rumours that the position is actually meant to kill passengers immediately in the event of an emergency so that they do not sue the airline company later.?
However, top pilot Nick Eades, who is the world's most experienced Boeing 747 pilot told LadBible,?"What you're trying to do is to stop people breaking their necks in a big impact."?
He continued: "You're just trying to get the body into a position that's going to suffer the least damage. It's like whiplash - you're trying to avoid that sudden movement of the head, which can result in serious injury, if not death."?
Eades has also written a book titled The Self Improver:?A Pilot's Journey that includes the details of his successful career as a pilot. It also explains that the system has now changed, and that cabin crew will no longer tell people to brace.
Eades has been in the flying industry for more than four decades now.?He recalled a number of occasions where he faced technical difficulties and had to instruct passengers to adopt the brace position.?
He said: "I've had a couple where we had problems with the landing gear, and the cabin crew shout to all the passengers, 'Brace, brace!'?
He added, "Now if you think about it, I would say at least half - probably three-quarters - of passengers on the aeroplane don't speak English as a first language. And if you think about it, what does 'brace' mean? It took a long time for the aviation world to realise if you're suddenly thrown into an emergency situation and people start shouting 'brace' at you, you might think, 'What the hell do they mean?'"?
He explained that the position will remain the same; only the instructions will change.?
He said: "The brace position is going to become redundant, so cabin crew won't shout 'brace' at you anymore. They'll say, 'Head down, hands over your head. Head down, hands over your head.' At least that gives somebody is in probably the most stressful position they'll ever be in their lives something to do."
Find out more about Eades' book, The Self Improver: A Pilot's Journey.