• iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • FFS PRODUCTIONS
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content
Airline once crashed a Boeing plane on purpose to find out what the safest seat was

Home> Lifestyle> Travel

Published 16:27 17 Jun 2025 GMT+1

Airline once crashed a Boeing plane on purpose to find out what the safest seat was

That's one very expensive experiment

Brenna Cooper

Brenna Cooper

Picturing our holidays ending prematurely by crash landing into the ocean or the side of a mountain is a situation that none of us ever want to find themselves in. But should the unthinkable happen, we'd want to give ourselves the best chance of survival.

What is the safest seat to be sat in if you find yourself in a plane crash? Well, it depends on the type of crash.

There are numerous conflicting answers to that question, with some people convinced sitting at the back means the odds of making it out alive are more favourable.

However, this theory doesn't stand up against the miraculous survival of British national Viswash Kumar Ramesh, who became the sole survivor of devastating Air India crash by escaping through the emergency exit next to his seat, 11A.

Advert

So, is there actually a 'safest seat' on the plane we should all be scrambling to book? Well, according to one rather expensive experiment conducted in 2012, there actually might be.

(Channel 4)
(Channel 4)

What was the 2012 Boeing 727 crash experiment?

In 2012, a Boeing 727-200 jet was purchased by a collaboration of television companies from the US, UK and Germany, including Channel 4 and production company Dragonfly.

The mission was simple, crash the plane in order to determine whether or not there is a 'safest seat' and, if so, which is it.

Advert

In order for the test to take place, the jet had to be flown from the US to Mexico, where it was then loaded up with crash dummies arranged in various seating positions throughout the cabin, as well as cameras and scientific measurement equipment.

The plane slammed into the ground at 140 mph (Channel 4)
The plane slammed into the ground at 140 mph (Channel 4)

How did they do it?

Alongside the major expenses of sourcing a jet to crash and getting permission to purposely crash it into the ground, the teams involved then faced the issue of how to get the jet into the air in order to conduct the test.

In order to do this, a pilot needed to be in the cockpit for take-off before parachuting out to safety.

Advert

Once the pilot was on the ground, it was over to a team to crash the jet via a remote control.

The Boeing jet then crashed into Laguna Salada, near Mexicali, Mexico at a speed of 140 miles per hour.

What did they find?

After the crash, the team examined the state of the test dummies used inside the cabin, and the results were surprising.

It's bad news for anyone who enjoys the comforts of first or business class, with IFL Science revealing dummies seated in the first seven rows had no chance of survival.

Advert

Crash dummies were used to measure the impact such a crash would have on humans (Channel 4)
Crash dummies were used to measure the impact such a crash would have on humans (Channel 4)

Moving further back through the plane and your chances of survival increase, with 'passengers' seated in the middle of the cabin suffering broken bones, while those at the back could walk out with little to no injuries.

According to data obtained from the crash, the front of the jet experienced forces of 12g, which dropped by half to 6g the further back you got.

The research also supported the brace position, with dummies positioned upright exhibiting severe head and lower back injuries.

Speaking about the results in an interview with USA Today, aviation expert Anne Evans said it confirmed her belief that the front of the plane was the most 'vulnerable'.

Advert

"My favoured location would be the middle, over the wing, or the rear of the fuselage," she said.

Hopefully, you never have to go through the experience of a plane crash, but it's good to know anyway.

Featured Image Credit: Channel 4

Topics: Travel, Weird

Brenna Cooper
Brenna Cooper

Brenna Cooper is a journalist at LADbible. She graduated from the University of Sheffield with a degree in History, followed by an NCTJ accredited masters in Journalism. She began her career as a freelance writer for Digital Spy, where she wrote about all things TV, film and showbiz. Her favourite topics to cover are music, travel and any bizarre pop culture.

X

@_brencoco

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

20 hours ago
a day ago
  • Instagram/@cruisingascrew
    20 hours ago

    Cruise ship worker issues major warning about sleeping with people on board

    A workplace crush might seem harmless, but one cruise worker has warned against it

    Lifestyle
  • Roshni Ward/SWNS
    a day ago

    Brit couple who moved across the globe to escape 'burnt out' life reveal main thing that was 'shock to the system'

    They wanted to get away from it all

    Lifestyle
  • Getty Stock Images
    a day ago

    Budget airline will let you block off the middle seat so you never have to sit next to a stranger

    Wizz Air is trialling the feature for solo travellers or pairs who want extra space

    Lifestyle
  • Kennedy News and Media
    a day ago

    School kid denied boarding on £3,000 holiday by Qatar Airways over passport

    Mum-of-two Meghan Law, 33, claims her son was denied boarding due to an issue with his passport

    Lifestyle
  • Airline is running surprise flights with unknown destination passengers only find out when they land
  • Incredible story of British Airways pilot who was sucked out of plane mid-flight and survived
  • Woman who was filmed by furious mum after refusing to swap plane seat for crying toddler sparks online debate
  • Everything we know about British man who was sole survivor of Air India plane crash in miracle of seat 11A