6 ways to save yourself in an air crash

Many industry insiders believe that the first one and a half minutes after a plane crash is the "golden time" for escape. Whether you can escape at the moment of a plane crash depends not only on how fast your on-the-spot reaction is. Australian professor Gary studied 105 plane crashes between 1983 and 2000 and interview records of more than 2,000 survivors, and summarized six self-rescue methods.

1. Don’t be separated from your family

Guerrier said that 50% of the passengers travel in groups, so his first advice is: "If you are traveling with your family, you should insist that the airline not separate you. The reason is simple. If you are sitting in different places in the cabin, you will always want to reunite before escaping, which is very dangerous." For a family of four, they should sit together and be prepared to escape separately. "Maybe you agree that one adult will look after one child, so you are two groups and each group should be prepared to escape through a different exit."

2. Learn to unfasten your seat belt

This may sound ridiculous, but it is very important. Even flight crews can make mistakes on this issue during emergencies, according to Guerrier's research. "When you unbuckle your seatbelt, you subconsciously think of how you unbuckle a seatbelt in a car, you push a button, but on an airplane you need to unlock a latch. If you can't unbuckle your chances of escaping are slim."

3. Close to the escape exit

Guerrier came up with some rules of thumb after evaluating the seats of 2,000 survivors. "The average distance a survivor has to travel is about seven rows, so you can choose to sit within that range," he said. "You should also count how many rows are to the two nearest exits so that you can find the exit in the dark. Why choose another exit when the one closest to you may not be available?"

4. Face away from the direction of flight

Passengers would be safer if planes had seats that faced backwards, but "the problem is, most passengers don't want to turn their backs to the direction of flight," said Guerrier. On military aircraft, seats are often arranged to face backwards. When Guerrier travels by train, he usually sits in an empty seat opposite him. He said: "Because in the event of a collision, the person sitting in front of me would hit me and cause me to be injured."

5. Wear a cigarette hood

If you survive the impact, the next thing you have to face is fire and smoke. "Smoke contains toxic gases and inhaling too much of it can lead to death." Gailil brings a smoke mask when he travels, but he warns that if you want to bring such a device, you need to learn how to use it, otherwise you will waste time putting it on.

6. Listen to the flight attendant’s explanation

After boarding the plane, listen carefully to the flight attendant's explanation and read the safety regulations. Before a crash occurs, follow the flight attendant's instructions to adopt an anti-impact posture: pull your calves back as far as possible, beyond the vertical line of your knees; tilt your head forward, as close to your knees as possible. "The impact-proof position is an important thing for a passenger to learn to reduce the risk of you being knocked unconscious," Guerrier said.