This Is The Safest Seat On An Airplane According To Experts

Do you ever consider which seat will provide the best emergency protection when booking a flight? Most likely not. Most people reserve seats for reasons of convenience or comfort, such as space for their legs or easy access to the restroom.

A frequent traveller may choose a seat as close to the front as possible so they can get off the plane faster. It's uncommon for us to reserve a flight in the hopes of securing one of the middle seats in the final row. Guess what, though? According to statistics, these are the safest seats on board.

The middle seat in the final seat is your safest bet

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The middle rear seats of an aircraft had the lowest fatality rate: 28%, compared to 44% for the middle aisle seats, according to a TIME investigation that examined 35 years' worth of aircraft accident data.

This also makes logical sense. If there isn't a fire on that side, sitting next to an exit row will always give you the fastest exit in an emergency.

However, because the wings of a plane also serve as fuel storage areas, the middle exit rows are no longer the safest row options.

The likelihood of survival also depends on the nature of the emergency. Running into a mountain will drastically reduce your chances of surviving, as was the case in the tragic New Zealand disaster of 1979. 257 passengers and crew members perished when Air New Zealand Flight TE901 collided with the side of Mount Erebus in Antarctica.

In addition, there are fewer survivors when a plane lands in the ocean nose-first, as was the case with Air France Flight 447 in 2009, which had 228 fatalities among its crew and passengers.

However, in an emergency, aircraft are built to be very durable. In actuality, "clear air turbulence," which can occur at any time at high altitudes, is the main reason the cabin crew reminds us to keep our seat belts fastened and not the risk of a crash. This weather phenomenon has the potential to harm passengers and aircraft the most.

There's actually no need to worry so much

According to an analysis of census data by the US National Safety Council, the likelihood of dying in a plane is approximately 1 in 205,552, as opposed to 1 in 102 in a car. Even so, we don't pay much attention to fatal car accidents, but when we learn that an ATR72 crashed in Nepal, it immediately becomes the top news story.

We may be interested in plane crashes because we want to know why they occur or what the likelihood is that they will occur again. Perhaps it's even a good thing because it guarantees a thorough investigation into these tragic events, which helps maintain the safety of air travel.

To be completely honest, there is really no reason to be concerned about your safety when you board a commercial flight. But if you're still curious and have that nagging question in your head, keep reading.

What do you think about this? Tell us in the comments.

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