Episode 33: Killer Brace Position and Cellphones vs Drunk Driving
* The brace position on airlines increases chance of death: mythbusted
* Talking on a cellphone while driving is as dangerous as drunk driving: confirmed
Killer Brace Position
Myth: The reason that airlines tell you to get into the brace position is because it increases your chance of dying -- it is cheaper to pay out for death than injury.
120 people are killed and 350 are seriously injured in commercial airline crashes.
According to the MythBuster research department, it is cheaper to pay out wrongful death settlements ($3M-5M) than to pay for injuries ($8M-50M over the course of the victim's lifetime).
Tested with three seat configurations: * Economy seats * First class seats * Rear-facing flight attendant seat
They interviewed Richard Deweese at the FAA/Civil Aerospace Medical Institute. He showed off a test sled that they use for crash simulation that gets to 14Gs in 80ms, and they showed video of the dummies being flung forward.
Test setup: * Drop the seat rig from a crane * 15 ft off the ground * 30-40Gs of impact * 35 ft/s at impact (replicates speed as FAA setup) * Used Buster and some extra 'simulaid' dummies. The simulaid dummies are the correct weight, but not distributed like a human body, so not quite as sophisticated as Buster.
Grant rigged up a new neck for Buster, as Buster's regular neck does not bend backwards. The new neck contains a potentiometer that measures the neck's angle.
Economy seats
* No brace position: seats were completely trashed, hit at 41 ft/s. The frame took 21Gs. Buster's body took less than 50Gs of impact, and his head took 56.4Gs. Neither were deadly injuries -- it takes 100Gs to the head to sustain major trauma. There was one major injury: Buster's leg came off (broken femur).
* Brace position: 35Gs to Buster's head -- 20Gs less than the unbraced position -- and there was less neck deflection. Buster's leg broke off again.
Only 20% die on impact in a plane crash. 80% of people survive, but the rest die from smoke inhalation and fire damage, so the broken leg injuries are significant.
First class seats
They only tested with the brace position with the first class seats. This was one of the more satisfying drops, as Buster's leg went flying (broke both the femur and tib-fib) and a seat phone went flying as well. Still less than 50Gs to the body. 43Gs to Buster's head. Almost no neck deflection.
Back-facing flight attendant seat
They didn't test with the brace position with the back-facing flight attendant seat. Buster's neck hardly moved, but there was 87.4Gs of impact to the head, and the 50G meters tripped on Buster's body.
Dr. Strap crash survival research program. Humans can take more Gs in the backwards position, topping out at 85Gs. However, the main problem with backwards facing seat is that debris from the impact will fly towards your face after impact.
With Real MythBusters
Kari, Adam, and Tory were dropped in the economy seats. For obvious safety purposes (visions of Buster's legs flying off), they were dropped from 5 ft instead of 15.
Kari: "I promosed my mom I wouldn't do anything dumb and unsafe again." "I would like to say I'm sorry to you mom and dad. I dunno. I'm a little stupid."
Tory: "I'd go higher."
None of them were serious injured, but they were definitely banged up.
Overall
Brace position was safer than sitting upright. As for the seats, the flight attendant seat safest, followed by first class, then economy.
According to the FAA guy, using the brace position is 3 times safer than sitting upright.
