The crash of the Asiana Airlines passenger plane broke the record of no fatalities in Boeing 777 accidents since its operation in 1995. This aircraft, hailed as "the safest passenger plane in the world," was completely destroyed in this incident, causing dozens of casualties. Although Asiana Airlines denied any mechanical failure of the aircraft, the engine issues of the Boeing 777 had previously been criticized and led to several minor accidents.
Using the measure of the fatal accident interval time for a certain type of aircraft — that is, how long the aircraft can fly safely — BusinessWeek recently released a list of the world’s most dangerous airplanes. Aircraft with higher accident rates are mostly older "vintage models" that have been in service for a long time, including the Boeing 737-JT8D and the Russian-made Il-76.
The ranking of the most dangerous aircraft models is as follows: 1. Boeing 737-JT8D; 2. Il-76; 3. Tu-154 (1.04 million hours); 4. Airbus A310 (1.068 million hours); 5. McDonnell Douglas DC-9 (1.069 million hours).
Essential Air Disaster Survival Knowledge
If the airplane disintegrates at high altitude: Always keep your seatbelt fastened in the air
If a high-altitude disintegration occurs, the chances of survival are slim no matter where you are seated on the plane. For example, in the June 2009 Air France A330 mid-air breakup, all 228 people on board were killed. Even if the chance of survival is slim, you must keep your seatbelt fastened in the air. Otherwise, before the plane even hits the ground, passengers may be killed by being thrown around the cabin during the aircraft’s tumbling.
Takeoff accidents: Count how many rows you are from the emergency exit
Takeoff accidents may be caused by mechanical failure or severe weather. If there is a malfunction but no explosion or fire, all passengers on board may be saved; if severe weather is encountered, especially downdrafts when descending from the sky to the ground, the plane may crash. For example, in January 2010, an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 took off into heavy wind and rain and soon crashed into the Mediterranean Sea, with no survivors.
Regardless of the cause, passengers should observe where the emergency exits are before takeoff and try to count how many seats are between your row and the exit row, so that even if you can’t see the exit, you’ll know when you’ve reached it.
Landing crashes: Stay calm and evacuate the wreckage quickly
Generally, the front of the plane is slightly lower during landing, making the nose the most likely part to be hit, while the tail remains intact. In such cases, sitting in the tail section is the safest. For example, in a previous Libyan air disaster, the fuselage was completely shattered, but the tail remained largely intact. Some experts believe the surviving boy was likely seated in the tail section.
As long as your seat has not been impacted or caught in an explosion, staying calm and evacuating the wreckage as quickly as possible gives you the highest chance of survival.
Plane crash landing: Escape fire and explosions
After a plane crashes, survivors must quickly leave the aircraft to avoid the deadly threats that follow. If there is fire or smoke after a crash, passengers generally have less than two minutes to escape.
After evacuating the plane, if it crashed on land, passengers should move to an upwind area at least 200 meters away from the wreckage but not too far to allow rescuers to find them. If the crash occurred at sea, passengers should quickly move away from the wreckage as it may explode or sink.
Real-life Tutorial: A Single Mistake in Air Disaster Evacuation Can Be Fatal
One of the more significant domestic air disasters in recent years was the Yichun air crash. At around 22:10 on August 24, 2010, a passenger plane flying from Harbin to Yichun crashed into two pieces and fell just before landing at Yichun Airport. Some passengers were thrown out of the cabin upon impact, leaving little hope of survival. There were 91 passengers on board, including 5 children. The August 24 crash resulted in 42 deaths and 54 survivors. A veteran pilot used the Yichun air disaster as an example to explain the details of surviving an air disaster:
Survivor: “A passenger in row ten picked up a cellphone and desperately tried to smash the window, but couldn’t break it at all.”
Pilot interpretation: This is an instinctive reaction by passengers, but it is clearly a waste of evacuation time, because airplane windows are made of transparent resin composite material, which is extremely difficult to break even with a gun, and definitely cannot be broken with a cellphone or high heels.
Survivor: “On the right front cabin wall, there was a huge hole, probably formed when the plane bounced back and forth on the runway. Without thinking much, I just jumped out through that hole…”
Pilot interpretation: The aircraft fuselage is quite high, at least several meters from the ground. Jumping directly from where the cabin is broken is likely to cause disability. It is best to use the evacuation slide to descend. Each airplane is equipped with evacuation slides according to its size, usually located near the boarding doors. In emergencies, professionally trained crew members will deploy the slides.
Survivor: “Passengers eager to escape all rushed toward the emergency exit, blocking it instantly.”
Pilot interpretation: Based on current information, it is likely that most of the flight attendants on the Yichun flight had already perished before the passengers, otherwise they would have organized an orderly evacuation and more people could have escaped. After a crash, the escape hatches may become deformed and jammed, making them hard to open. Crews are generally equipped with tools to open these hatches and organize an orderly evacuation. If all passengers rush to the emergency exit at once, it will inevitably block the escape route and waste precious time.
Survivor: “Some passengers trying to escape even brought their suitcases with them, and were pushed back by others.”
Pilot's interpretation: Carrying a suitcase while evacuating is clearly an irrational act—it slows you down and wastes precious time.
Survivor: “Amid the plane’s violent bouncing and jolting, all the overhead luggage compartments burst open, and bags of all kinds came crashing down heavily on the passengers...”
Pilot's interpretation: It’s best for passengers to check in large luggage, and not carry overly heavy items on board—otherwise, in an emergency, falling luggage from the overhead compartments can easily injure people.
This pilot also noted that flying remains the safest mode of travel at present, with a very low probability of accidents. The total number of people worldwide who have died in air disasters is still less than the number of people who die in car accidents globally within just three months.