Seat 11A: Is it the safest seat on a plane? Experts say it depends
The crash, which took place shortly after takeoff Thursday from the Ahmedabad airport, killed 241 passengers and crew members. As investigators probe the crash and families mourn those killed, attention has turned to Ramesh Viswashkumar.
Viswashkumar, 40, was the only person to survive the crash.
The Latest: A single passenger survived the Air India crash, hospital says
The British national was in seat 11A at the time of the crash, leading many to wonder if that particular seat is safer than others.
The badly injured Viswashkumar struggled Thursday to describe what he experienced as people died in front of his eyes. NBC News reported that Viswashkumar was able to escape from the broken emergency exit door just moments before the fuel-loaded plane exploded in a fireball.
'Emergency door is broken. My seat is broken,' Viswashkumar told DD India in an interview. 'Then I see the space a little bit and I will try to come out.'
'Little bit of fire, after I'm out, then blast.'
Air India's sole crash survivor narrates his escape
So, is seat 11A the safest in a crash? It depends on multiple factors, according to experts.
Seat 11A on a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner is typically located near the front of the Economy Class cabin. Depending on the airliner's configuration, it is a window seat in the first or second row of that cabin.
According to The Times in London, seat 11A on Flight 171 was the first economy seat, adjacent to the bulkhead emergency exit. There were seven other emergency exits on the plane.
What to know about the Air India plane crash that killed more than 240 people
Aviation experts say that determining the safest seats on a plane is not a straightforward task.
'Each accident is different, and it is impossible to predict survivability based on seat location,' Mitchell Fox, a director at Flight Safety Foundation, told Reuters.
Ron Bartsch, chairman of the Sydney-based AvLaw Aviation Consulting, told the news agency that seat 11A's location may have made it a safer choice on this particular flight, but that will not always be the case.
Sitting next to an emergency exit also does not guarantee survival. Despite seven other emergency exits on Flight 171, there were no other survivors.
Air India black box recovered after crash that killed 241 onboard and several others on the ground
Emergency exits might not work following a crash, or they might be blocked by debris, experts say. Sitting in an aisle seat could offer a faster escape, but there is the threat of luggage falling into the aisles or hitting survivors as it tumbles from an overhead bin.
A 2015 analysis by Time magazine found that passengers in the rear third of an aircraft have a better chance of surviving a lower-impact crash, according to The Times. The front of the plane typically takes the brunt of the impact.
Seats near the wings may offer more protection, both because of their proximity to emergency exits and because of the structural reinforcements in that section. Those seats are closer to the fuel tanks, however.
Sitting near an emergency exit also comes with added responsibility because passengers in exit row seats are asked to help fellow passengers evacuate the plane in a crisis.
A look at previous plane crashes in India
Viswashkumar, who was filmed walking away, bloody and bruised, from the crash, never had that chance. Reuters reported that he initially believed that he would perish with his fellow passengers.
'But when I opened my eyes, I realized I was alive, and I tried to unbuckle myself from the seat and escape from where I could. It was in front of my eyes that the air hostess and others (died),' he said.
According to Reuters, it is vital for passengers to pay attention to the safety briefings that the cabin crew provides at the start of any flight. Compliance with the crew's instructions is credited with saving the lives of 379 passengers and crew aboard a Japan Airlines flight last year.
Along with paying attention to the safety briefing, the Federal Aviation Administration advises that passengers keep their seat belts buckles whenever the seat belt light is lit up. Seat belts, designed to be worn low and tight on the hips, keep passengers safe during takeoff and landing and during instances of air turbulence.
Children under 40 pounds should be restrained in an approved child safety seat. Passengers should also follow the airline's carry-on policies to help prevent injuries.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Scotland's papers: Colleges at risk and bid for foreign students
More from Scotland's papers The Herald The Scotsman Daily Record The Scottish Sun Daily Mail Scottish Daily Express The Times The Telegraph The National The Courier The P&J Glasgow Times Edinburgh News
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Council's warning over 'beautiful' garden feature smothering city suburbs
An Aussie council is again urging residents to keep a wary eye out for a 'beautiful' escaped garden plant that is suffocating suburban trees. While it might look stunning in your backyard, Spanish Moss, a hanging plant that thrives in warm, humid weather, is 'becoming a serious environmental weed'. In Sydney, Willoughby City Council on the city's Lower North Shore is warning residents about the threat of the weed and encouraging them to take action. 'It's smothering native trees like Sydney Turpentine, Lilly Pilly, Brush Box, and Cheese Tree," the council said in a social media post this week. "Putting our threatened ecological communities at risk, including critically endangered Sydney Turpentine-Ironbark Forest.' The advice stunned locals, some of whom said they had been growing it for years. The ornamental, which is native to tropical and subtropical America, is a common addition for those with a green thumb, but there are concerns gardeners are unaware of just how quickly it can spread and overwhelm larger trees. It can smother the host tree it grows on and shade its leaves. Following months of heavy rainfall, it's understood the species has since exploded across Australia's largest city. Local councils and landcare groups initially shared their concerns about Spanish Moss earlier this year, with Willoughby authorities noting at the time that the plant is 'becoming a problem'. Nearby Lane Cove Council issued a similar warning stating that Spanish Moss 'is becoming increasingly common in the Sydney region' and 'threatens the local critically endangered Sydney Turpentine-Ironbark Forest and Blue Gum High Forest communities'. 'If you have Spanish Moss growing in your garden, it is recommended that you remove it and dispose of it in your green waste," Lane Cove Council said. Speaking to Yahoo News, Dr Carol Booth, the Invasive Species Council's policy director, explained 'bush regenerators are raising the alarm as Spanish moss spreads more widely'. 'It's an epiphyte — a plant that grows on other plants — and it can infest dozens of native tree species. We've seen turpentines, brush boxes, lilly pillies and cheese trees all severely impacted,' she previously said. 'It can grow thickly, smothering trees, blocking sunlight, breaking branches and sometimes killing the host by preventing photosynthesis.' 🌼 Invasive weed vanishes from tourist attraction thanks to tiny 'miracle' 🌳 Woman's 'incredible' 500-year-old discovery hidden behind invasive weed 🌸 Desperate plea over invasive plant threatening 'beauty' of Australia Problematic plant 'can be legally sold across the country' While the plant is increasingly being recognised as an environmental weed — particularly in the Sydney region — it's not currently declared so under any laws, Dr Booth said. It has been established in the wild in parts of Queensland and NSW, including the Lismore area and Lord Howe Island. 'It spreads readily through fluffy wind-borne seeds or fragments carried by birds, wind or human movement. That makes it particularly hard to contain once it's in the landscape,' Dr Booth told Yahoo. 'Despite the risks, it remains a popular ornamental plant that can be legally sold across the country.' And it's far from the only one, with experts sounding the alarm over another nasty weed — gazania — earlier this month. Despite the South African native flower emerging as a serious invasive threat to native grasslands and grain-growing regions, it's still being sold at nurseries. Escaped garden plants are the primary source of new weeds in Australia, with three-quarters of all environmental weeds starting out as ornamentals. This has prompted the Invasive Species Council to campaign for stricter regulations on the nursery industry to stop the selling and spreading of such plants, which contribute to over $5 billion in losses each year. 'More than 30,000 plant species have been imported into Australia for gardening, but fewer than a quarter have been assessed nationally for their weed risk,' Dr Booth said. 'Some of our worst invasives — like lantana and blackberry — were once common garden plants. 'Unless governments act, we'll keep selling the next potentially disastrous plant, putting our bushland and protected areas at risk.' How do I remove Spanish moss from my garden? Anyone who finds Spanish moss in their garden is encouraged to remove it and place the material in their green bin. Cuttings shouldn't be gifted to neighbours or used for decoration. 'It can be removed by hand, though this can be difficult on tall trees,' Dr Booth said. 'Herbicides may also work, but there's a risk they could harm the tree it's growing on — so mechanical removal is the safer option where possible.' Residents who are unable to extract the plant themselves can contact their local council for advice. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@ You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Yahoo
Gaza aid distribution site photos are staged for emotional effect, German media claims
The BILD report focuses on a widely circulated photo of desperate Gazan women and children holding pots and pans in front of a food distribution site. There has been significant media attention over the last few days regarding reports by two German-language papers - BILD and Süddeutsche Zeitung - that accuse Gaza-based press photographers of staging photos of starving civilians. The issue of staged photos or photos taken out of context came to a head at the end of July when the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) said that a picture of a Gazan youth being portrayed as starving is actually suffering from a genetic disease. TheBILD report focuses on a widely circulated photo of desperate Gazan women and children holding pots and pans in front of a food distribution site. Except photos taken by others at the same site show that the hoard is actually standing opposite freelance photographer Anas Zayed Fteiha, commissioned by the Turkish news agency Anadolu, BILD argues. The pots and pans are not being held up to the food distribution site, but the photographer, which Bild claims is staging for means of propaganda. Undistributed photos show Gazans calmly receiving aid Additionally, BILD adds that his photos at the Gaza aid distribution site show mainly women and children, but that other photos at the same site show mostly adult men calmly waiting for and receiving food. Fteiha did not distribute these ones. "I assume that many of these pictures with starving and sick children are simply staged or come from other contexts," emeritus history professor and photography expert Gerhard Paul told SZ. Paul, who has been researching images from Israel and Gaza for 25 years, said the photos are not fake, but "people are presented in a certain way or provided with a falsifying caption to mobilize our visual memory and emotions." Paul told SZ that he and his students at the University of Flensburg recreated the scenes from images of various wars in three dimensions in order to understand the situation depicted, which is often not easy to understand from the two-dimensional image. "Where is the photographer? Who is standing around him?" he asks. "What do the people depicted in the picture see? Do they see what we suspect, for example a food distribution? Or are they facing photographers?" "The images also have an additional function," Paul explained. "They are intended to overwrite the brutal images of the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. Many people don't even remember these pictures. Hamas is a master at staging images." However, he stressed that the journalists and photographers in Gaza are in a dangerous position, and due to their proximity to Hamas terrorists, cannot move freely. "Little bypasses Hamas," Christopher Resch of Reporters Without Borders told SZ. Resch also told SZ that the concept of photographers staging photos is not unique to Gaza, and is not necessarily problematic. "I don't think it's reprehensible when a photographer instructs people to stand here and there with their pots," he said. "As long as it approximates reality." Nevertheless, BILD's report stressed that the photographer in question - Fteiha - is not exactly unbiased in his photojournalism. He posts videos to social media saying "f*** Israel" and works for a news agency that speaks directly to the Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan who has had ties to Hamas. As a result of the investigation, the German Press Agency and Agence France Press told BILD that they will no longer work Fteiha and would carefully check the pictures of other photo reporters as well, whereas Reuters says his photos "meet the standards of accuracy, independence and impartiality." "Despite his bias, his photos are published by major outlets like CNN, BBC, and Reuters," Israel's foreign ministry seethed in its response to the two reports. "With Hamas controlling nearly all media in Gaza, these photographers aren't reporting, they're producing propaganda." "This investigation underscores how Pallywood has gone mainstream with staged images and ideological bias shaping international coverage, while the suffering of Israeli hostages and Hamas atrocities are pushed out of frame," the ministry concluded. The Jerusalem Post watched the video taken from the aid destruction site a few days ago, shared by Al Jazeera Arabic. It is worth noting that the same setting of the women and children with pots and pans is seen in the video, and they are receiving food, so it is possible that the photo by Fteiha was taken before the aid workers arrived. Solve the daily Crossword
