True impact of brace position as world's most experienced pilot revealed why we use it
The importance of the brace position has been explained after one of the most experienced pilots in the world spoke about its importance.
While a lot of people might not pay attention to the safety demonstration/video on their travels, there are a few key details that most are familiar with when it comes to the highly unlikely event of a plane crash.
Obviously, that's the last thing you want to be thinking about when you're trapped in a metal tube 30,000 - 40,000 feet above the ground, but it is still a possibility.
Activating your life-jacket and putting an oxygen mask on before helping others are well-known, but what about the all-important brace position?
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In the event of a crash, you're told to sit forwards with your arms and head on the seat in front of you, or to hold your legs together with your head in the middle - but why?
Nick Eades, the world's most experienced Boeing 747 pilot, explained to LADbible in 2024 that it's to 'stop people breaking their necks in a big impact'.
"You're just trying to get the body into a position that's going to suffer the least damage," he said.
"It's like whiplash - you're trying to avoid that sudden movement of the head, which can result in serious injury, if not death.”
The British pilot also picked apart the word 'brace', as a lot of people onboard planes don't speak English, and that in high stress situations, people may not know what 'brace' really means.
While his suggestion of 'heads down, hands over your head' may not be as catchy, he said that it gives worried passengers 'something to do'.
But looking into the position itself, why do we brace in the first place, and does it really make that much of a difference?
According to a paper written by Richard F Chandler in 1993, titled Brace For Impact Positions, the FAA's Protection and Survival Laboratory worker highlighted its scientific importance.
Chandler claimed that just '3gs of deceleration' in a crash, considered a mild level, could mean that a passenger's head would hit another part of the aircraft at a speed of 24 feet per second.
He added: "Or 215gs of deceleration if it crushed one half inch of material. But possibly peaking at 500g," which could be fatal.
According to the expert, the interior of the aircraft is designed to crush six inches on impact, and if you are in the brace position, the deceleration could be put down to 18g, or even 3g, which would be 'the same rate as the aircraft crash as a whole.'
Speaking to MailOnline, an anonymous aviation safety expert revealed that 87.7 percent of aeroplane accidents are survivable and result in zero deaths, meaning that the brace position isn't flawless.
However, the expert spoke about the 'secondary impact' of a crash and how it can be softened by the brace position.
This is when the body and head move forward into the object in front as the plane makes contact with the ground or sea.
The first impact is the tightening of the seat belt and moving forward as the aircraft stops.
He explained: "The best position to adopt is one where you crouch down and reduce the movement of the head in a forward direction.
"Anything you can do to stop your upper torso and your head moving forward is the best position to be in."
Joshua Nair