Actual safest seats to book pinpointed when Boeing deliberately crashed plane
Back in 2012, a film crew carried out a controversial experiment, crashing a Boeing 727-200 on purpose to find out if passengers in certain seats had greater chances of surviving
The only passenger who survived Thursday's Air India crash was in seat 11A - and while talking to his family after the tragedy, he admitted he doesn't know how he managed to escape alive.
Briton Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, 40, was seen walking away from the site of the crash in Ahmedabad, India, and is now recovering in hospital. His window seat was right next to one of the aircraft's emergency exit. Sharing details of the incident last night, he told a medic that around 30 seconds after take-off there was "a loud noise" before the plane split in two, throwing him out, and crashed.
His survival has prompted speculation over whether 11A is the safest seat on a plane in case of an accident - but experts say this is difficult to say as circumstances can change and it's impossible to predict survivability based on seat location. Back in 2012, a team working on a documentary carried out a controversial experiment which saw them crash a Boeing plane on purpose in a bid to find out which seats are the safest in the event of such a collision.
The experiment, which used an unmanned Boeing 727-200, was conducted in the Sonaran desert in Mexico on April 27, 2012. Several federal permits were needed before the crash could be performed - and Mexican authorities required that the aircraft had to be flown by humans during part of the flight as it was due to fly over a populated area.
The airplane, piloted by captain Jim Bob Slocum, took off from Mexicali International Airport with three flight crew and three support jumpers as well as crash dummies with breakable bones, cameras and sensors, and sand bags. The dummies were arranged in three different positions on the plane - one in the classic brace position and wearing a seatbelt, a second with a seatbelt but not in the brace position, and another without seatbelt and not in the brace position.
As the flight progressed towards the desert, its occupants parachuted to safety, with former United States Navy pilot Chip Shanle controlling the aircraft remotely after the pilot exited. The plane hit the ground at 140 mph and upon impact, it broke into several sections, with the first 11 rows of seat ripping out as the nose of the plane dipped.
Following the crash, the "passengers" in seats at the front of the aircraft were found to be the least likely to survive. Experts also found that the dummy in the brace position with its seat belt fastened would have survived the impact.
The second dummy, whose seatbelt was fastened but was not in the brace position, would have survived but suffered severe head injuries. The third unrestrained dummy would have died. Anne Evans, a former investigator at the UK's Air Accidents Investigation Branch, inspected the black box data recorded after the event and said at the time: "It is safer to sit at the back of the aircraft where the flight recorder is. The front is more vulnerable because that often sees higher impact forces.
"I would pick somewhere which is comfortable and within a few rows of an emergency exit." The experiment, which was met with controversy as it was carried out just weeks after seven Brits were killed in a plane crash in Nepal, was only the second time a jet has been crash-tested in this way. The plane involved in the first experiment, which was carried out by Nasa in 1984, ended up in a fireball.
Generally, aviation experts say that seating towards the back of the plane is safer - and because of this, Vishwash's survival has left many people baffled. CNN safety analyst and former US Federal Aviation Administration safety inspector David Soucie he told CNN how the seat was positioned, "right where the spar of the wing would go under, and it would be a solid place for the aircraft to hit the ground, but as far as survivability above it, that is incredibly surprising."
Data from the National Transportation Safety Board in the US, which came from analysis of 20 plane crashes, found that passengers sitting at the back of the plane had the best chance of survival - a 69 per cent chance of staying alive compared to 59 per cent for those at the front. Another study, by Time, analysed crash data and also found that the back of the plane seemed to be the safest place to sit. It also found that passengers sitting in the middle seat tended to have a higher chance of survival, Forbes reported.
Seat maps of the aircraft show that Ramesh's seat, 11A, was positioned close to the front of the plane. He was also next to a window - all of which makes his survival statistically unlikely. However, he was placed near an emergency exit, according to the plane seat map, which could have played a key role in his survival. Cary Grant, an assistant professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's College of Aviation, told Travel + Leisure that "if there was a seat that was safer, being close to an emergency exit increases the chance of getting out quicker."
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Daily Mail
18 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
British Air India disaster survivor's first words to his father after he survived the crash are revealed as more bodies are recovered and death toll rises to 279
The first words the sole survivor of the devastating Air India flight said to his father after his brother was killed on the Gatwick-bound aircraft has been revealed. British national, Viswashkumar Ramesh, 40 was returning from a business trip in India with his brother Ajay Kumar, 35, when they boarded the doomed flight from Ahmedabad to Gatwick on Thursday. In what has been described as a miracle, Viswash Kumar, who was seated in 11A survived the disaster, which is said to be one of the worst in India's aviation history, having claimed the lives of 279 people so far. Among the victims believed to be dead, which includes 53 British nationals, is the 40-year-old's brother Ajay Kumar, who was sat on the other side of the aisle in seat 11J perished in the fireball explosion. Terrifying CCTV footage showed the Boeing 787 Dreamliner careen to the ground shortly after take off in the densely populated Meghani area of the city at around 1.40pm local time (8.10am BST). Detailing the moments after the crash, Viswash described seeing several passengers and crew lose their lives as parts of the plane were scattered around the site. He managed to escape after his side of the plane fell onto the ground of a floor building, forcing his way out of the plane, past a broken door before being assisted by locals and taken to hospital in an ambulance. Still clutching his boarding pass at the hospital, he called his father in the aftermath of the tragedy. His brother Nyan Kumar Ramesh told Sky News: 'He video called my dad as he crashed and said, 'Oh the plane's crashed. I don't know where my brother is. 'I don't see any other passengers. I don't know how I'm alive, how I exited the plane'.' A video posted to social media appeared to show the plane descending in a controlled manner with a high nose angle and landing gear deployed The plane momentarily disappeared from view behind trees and buildings before a massive fireball erupted on the horizon in this horrifying clip Devastatingly, injured Viswash has been begging from his hospital bed: 'Find Ajay, you must find Ajay.' His cousin, Ajay Valgi, told the BBC, how Viswash has a wife and 'little boy' at home: adding: 'He only said that he's fine, nothing else. [We are] happy that he's OK, but we're still upset about the other brother.' Previously said of his younger cousin's, Ajay's death: 'I'm feeling absolutely upset. He's not just my cousin, he's also one of my best friends as well. 'They were sitting next to eachother, but we don't know what happened to [Ajay Kumar]. We're not doing well. We're all upset.' On Thursday, relatives gathered at the family's terraced home in Leicester to comfort the brothers' mother who is said to be too grief-stricken to speak. 'It's a miracle at least one of them survived,' younger brother Nayan said. 'He said his plane had crashed and he couldn't find anyone, we couldn't believe it. There was blood running down his face. The tragedy's death toll has since increased to 279 dead, according to a senior Indian police source, making it one of the deadliest plane disasters of the 21st century. This is a further increase on an earlier figure of 265 victims, which includes those on the plane and grounds. The siblings had been a few seats apart onboard the plane, with survivor Viswash sat at 11A and his younger brother positioned at 11J on the other side of the aisle Air India said there were 242 people on board the London-bound flight, with only one survivor, with at least 38 people killed on the ground when the plane smashed into residential buildings. The official casualty number will not be finalised until the slow process of DNA identification is completed. Air India said there were 169 Indian passengers, 53 British, seven Portuguese and a Canadian on board the flight, as well as 12 crew members. MailOnline previously revealed the British victims were Akeel Nanawaba, Hannaa Vorajee and their daughter Sarah, 4, Fiongal and Jamie Greenlaw-Meek, Javed Ali Syed, his wife and two children, Raxa Modha, her grandson Rudra and her daughter-in-law Yasha Kamdar, and Ajay Kumar Ramesh, the brother of the tragedy's only survivor. Relatives of Harrods ambassador Mariam Ali Syed, 35, her husband Javed - a manager at the Best Western Kensington Olympia Hotel - have spoken out since the tragedy. The couple's children Zayn, five, and Amani, four, are believed to be the youngest named victims of the crash so far. Mrs Ali Syed's sister-in-law, Yasmine Hassan, 45, broke down while confirming the children's names, and pleaded with officials to offer more support to the families of the 53 British citizens onboard the flight. 'They are so small, they are five and four. And it's just thinking how scared they must have been,' she told the Telegraph. 'We're not angry about the lack of answers [from UK government officials] – we understand that takes time. 'We're angry because no one has reached out to offer support or even ask if we need anything. These are British citizens.' Adam Taju, 72, and his wife Hasina, 70, were flying back to the UK with their son-in-law Altafhusen Patel, 51, when they lost their lives in the tragedy, The four had been spending time with Mr Taju's 96-year-old father in India to celebrate Eid, their son Altaf Taju told MailOnline. 'He's the one they wanted to see because he's 96 and it's very hot in India. 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They were happy when they left [to go to India]. They were going on holiday to celebrate Eid,' he said. 'They were part of the Neighbourhood Watch group. We're all devastated. 'Anything they needed we'd help them with. They weren't very IT savvy and I used to help them out,' the IT manager added: 'We grew up with their children. I was friends with Afia, their youngest daughter.' Recalling the moment his local councillor who's from the Gujarat community informed him of the plane crash, as well as Adam and Hasina being on board, Mr Hussain said: ''I thought 'That cannot be true'. 'I called the youngest daughter [Afia]. She was crying. She didn't say much. All she said was 'Say prayers for my parents'. She was hoping they were okay and alive.' Councillor Salim Patel described Adam as 'a wonderful man, a community man', who was 'always out and about supporting communities'. 'He will be very missed,' he said: 'It will take a very long time for this community to accept he's not there. It's a great loss, to lose him as a human being. 'Whatever the community needed he would stand up with the community, whether it was to help campaign against fly-tipping or help people in need during Covid. 'Whenever I needed his support, he would be there. 'He was a kind and humble gentleman. There are no words to describe how we are going to miss him. I've known him for nearly 30 years. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner issued a mayday call moments before it crashed around lunchtime on Thursday after lifting barely 100 metres (330 feet) from the ground. Investigators have also since recovered a black box recorder on Friday from the crash site, with forensic teams still looking for the second. US planemaker Boeing said it was in touch with Air India and stood 'ready to support them' over the incident, which a source close to the case said was the first crash for a 787 Dreamliner. It comes as an aviation expert believes the co-pilot on Air India flight AI171 pulled the plane's wing flaps instead of retracting the landing gear, causing the plane to crash. Commercial airline pilot and YouTuber Captain Steve, who analyzes plane crashes and close calls, gave his theory on the incident which killed 241 people on board. The London -bound 787 Dreamliner began losing height moments after take-off and crashed in a fireball over a residential area in the Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Steve said he suspected there had been an exceptionally simple error in the cockpit when the co-pilot was asked to retract the landing gear, with devastating consequences. He said: 'Here's what I think happened, again folks this is just my opinion. I think the pilot flying said to the co-pilot said 'gear up' at the appropriate time. Rescuers work at the site of an airplane that crashed in India's northwestern city of Ahmedabad in Gujarat state, Thursday, June12, 2025 The tail of the Dreamliner plane that crashed, hitting buildings in a residential area Remnants of the fuselage and the landing gear were seen dangling through a gaping hole in the side of what appeared to be a canteen, with half-finished plates of food clearly visible on benches inside Parts of the jet appeared to have smashed into the BJ Medical College and Civil Hospital Read More Expert's theory on simple mistake he thinks Air India co-pilot made that caused crash and killed 265 'I think the co-pilot grabbed the flap handle and raised the flaps, instead of the gear. If that happened, this explains a lot of why this airplane stopped flying.' Steve said that the flaps being raised would cause the flight to lose airspeed and altitude quickly, something he thinks the pilot would have struggled to control. 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The Independent
27 minutes ago
- The Independent
Why did the Air India flight crash? Here's how experts will investigate the 30-second disaster
Investigators in India are trying to identify the cause of the Air India plane crash that killed all but one of the 242 passengers onboard. The flight, which had been bound for London Gatwick, came down shortly after taking off from the western city of Ahmadabad. With speculation rife about the cause of the disaster, safety experts will soon be joined by a team from the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) to work out what happened before the disaster on flight AI171 unfolded. According to air traffic control at Ahmedabad Airport, the aircraft departed at 1:39 p.m. (0809 GMT) from runway 23. It gave a Mayday call almost immediately, signalling an emergency, but thereafter there was no response from the aircraft. Footage from the ground shows that the the plane was only in the air for around 30 seconds before it appeared to run into trouble, the BBC reports. The investigators will draw evidence – including radar, CCTV and crucially the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and flight data recorder (FDR) – to understand what factors were involved in the accident, the first fatal one involving the Boeing 787. If there is evidence of a previously unknown problem that could jeopardise the safety of other aircraft, they will announce their initial conclusions as soon as possible. As always in the early stages of an investigation, aviation safety experts will consider a wide spectrum of possible contributory factors. These are the key areas they will be looking at. Bird strike Twin-engined aircraft like the Boeing 787 are engineered to be able to take off on a single engine, even if a bird strike happens at the worst possible moment. Could both engines have been put out of action as the Air India aircraft climbed? In the ' Miracle on the Hudson' plane crash in 2009, both engines of a US Air aircraft lost power shortly after take off from New York's La Guardia airport. On that occasion, the plane had gained more altitude and was able to crash-land on water, with all on board surviving. Mechanical issues As the investigators sift through the wreckage, they will be looking to see if there was some kind of failure, possibly involving power, that left the pilots helpless to control their aircraft in the crucial seconds after take off. Philip Baum, visiting professor of aviation security at Coventry University told The Independent it 'seems likely' the accident was caused by system or multiple systems failures. Human factors Taking off with a heavy load of fuel, passengers and cargo in hot weather is challenging at the best of times. Could these highly trained and experienced pilots have made decisions and taken actions that jeopardised the safety of the aircraft? A captain for a leading US carrier said some focus should be given to the flap settings – the moveable panels on an aircraft's wings – used for take-off for 'a heavy airplane on a hot day, and resulting poor performance which ultimately may have led to a stall'. Investigators will be examining the wreckage, the recorders and will also be delving into the background and health of the crew. Malicious act Tragically, over the years individuals and groups have repeatedly downed aircraft for reasons ranging from grudges to terrorism. But Professor Baum said it was 'unlikely there was anything more sinister at play'.
Daily Record
an hour ago
- Daily Record
Air India co-pilot made simple mistake which 'led to horror crash', says expert
A commercial airline pilot who analyses plane crashes has shared his theory on Thursday's crash. The co-pilot on the Air India flight involved in Thursday's horror crash pulled the aircraft's wing flaps in instead of retracting its landing gear, an aviation expert has claimed. According to commercial airline pilot and YouTuber, Captain Steve, the simple but devastating error caused the London-bound plane to crash into a residential area in Ahmedabad, western India, on June 12, killing all but one of the 242 people on board. Steve, who analyses aviation crashes and close calls, said yesterday: "Here's what I think happened, again folks this is just my opinion. I think the pilot flying said to the co-pilot said 'gear up' at the appropriate time. "I think the co-pilot grabbed the flap handle and raised the flaps, instead of the gear. If that happened, this explains a lot of why this airplane stopped flying." Raising the flaps would have resulted in the aircraft losing speed and altitude quickly, which Steve says would have been challenging to control. He believes this would have resulted in the impact with the ground, and the world's worst aviation disaster in 10 years, the Mirror reports. Steve believes his theory to be correct because the composite wings on the Boeing 787 would normally bend during take-off as the lift forces take it upwards into the sky. However, in shocking footage taken seconds before the crash, the wings do not appear to do so, supporting the idea that the flaps which help with lift had accidentally been pulled back. Crash investigators will only get definitive answers about what happened once they have located both of the plane's black boxes and analysed their data. One was found amongst the wreckage on Friday morning, and the recordings will be examined by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. Other possible causes being considered include possible engine failure, miscalculation of the runway and a bird strike. However, Steve acknowledged that, although both pilots were highly experienced, human error is possible. Captain Sumeet Sabharwal was in charge, assisted by First Officer Clive Kundar, and between them, they had over 9,000 hours of flying experience. Both tragically lost their lives in the crash. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. The only survivor of the disaster, British national Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, managed to walk from the wreckage after the middle section of the plane - where he sat in seat 11A - was spared the worst of the impact. The 40-year-old said: "I still can't believe how I came out of it alive. For a moment, I felt like I was going to die too." He was taken to hospital after the crash, with family members from Leicester travelling to be by his side. He added: "When I opened my eyes and looked around, I realised I was alive. I still can't believe how I survived."
