Does the choice of seat on the plane have an impact on your survival in the event of a crash? According to a recent report, survivors of Azerbaijan Airlines and Jeju Air flights had a more favorable place than others on the plane.
For many years, a debate has persisted among travelers used to flying. In the event of a crash or unexpected incident, which seat is considered the safest for survival? Is it better to be at the front of the plane, in the middle, or sitting at the back? The answer to this question seems to have been answered among the accidents that occurred at the end of December 2024.
During the Christmas holidays, two plane crashes made the news. The first took place on December 25. Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243 crashed near the town of Aktau in western Kazakhstan, killing 38 people. Of the 67 passengers present at takeoff, 29 survived. A few days later, on December 29, another, more deadly incident occurred in South Korea. Of the 181 people on board Jeju Air budget airline Flight 2216, only two crew members escaped death.
According to reports obtained by the aircraft’s black boxes and on-site investigations, the survivors of the two flights had one similarity: they were seated in the same seat on the plane.
For example, the 29 survivors of the Azerbaijan Airlines flight crash and the two crew members of Jeju Air Flight 2216 were all seated in the rear of the plane. This choice of seat would therefore have saved the lives of the thirty passengers and if we are to believe a meta-analysis by TIME Magazine on air accidents between 1985 and 2000, the statistics confirm the hypothesis. According to the source, sitting in the front third of an airplane has a mortality rate of 38%, compared to 32% for the rear third, and even 28% for seats in the middle of the rear third.
However, experts point out that each plane accident is unique and that the choice of seat does not necessarily have an influence on the survival rate of passengers. A speech that the president of the Flight Safety Foundation confirmed to the American channel CNN on January 4: “There is no definitive data that shows a correlation between places and chances of survival. All accidents are different.”
In any case, if the choice of seat does not have a scientifically proven impact on the survival of passengers, there remains a way for companies to make a profit. Today, seat location has become a paid option on many low-cost flights, without necessarily having any additional advantage or one linked to possible survival. In the event of an accident, the most important thing is to have easy access to emergency exits and to follow the instructions of the crew members.