Over the nearly 112
Years of aviation accident investigation, many safety recommendations have been
developed and implemented, and the domain of aviation made increasingly safe.
Most of these recommendations, however, are not specific to cabin safety.
Concerning cabin
safety, accident investigations have shown that deficiencies and inaccuracies
in safety information briefings, signs, placards, and markings can negatively
impact passenger survival rates. Well-informed, knowledgeable passengers have a
better chance of surviving life-threatening situations that may occur onboard
an aircraft.
In this article, I am
going to give you a summary of the brace-for-impact position, commonly referred
to as the brace position, which is adapted by passengers and crew to reduce an
injury during a crash sequence. The next article will be about brace-for-impact positions with images.
Brace for Impact
" Meaning
A brace-for-impact
position commonly referred to as the brace position, is to reduce an aircraft
occupant’s injuries during a crash sequence. Injuries may result from the
initial impact(s) of the aircraft against the terrain, or obstacles when an
occupant’s body and limbs flail around the fixed point of the seat belt.
The brace position
serves two purposes:
a) it reduces flailing
by having the forward-facing occupant flex, bend, or lean forward over his/her
legs in some manner; and
b) it reduces
secondary-impact injuries by pre-positioning the body, predominantly the head,
against the surface that it would otherwise strike during that secondary
impact, thus reducing the momentum of the head and other parts of the body.
Research on Brace Positions
Since the 1960s,
extensive research has been conducted on brace positions using anthropomorphic
dummies in a series of sled-impact tests. Such research aims to determine the
most beneficial passenger brace position in forward-facing, economy-type
aircraft seats. Research shows that a reduction of secondary impact by
prepositioning the body, predominantly the head, against the surface it would
otherwise strike during impact can minimize the potential for injuries during
the crash sequence.
Kegworth Air Disaster, British Midland Flight 92, 8 January 1989
In that accident, the
pilot announced "Prepare for crash landing" 10 seconds before impact,
and the resulting injuries - from both those who did and did not adopt the
brace position - this accident used in further study by A research program
funded by the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority and carried out by teams from
the University of Nottingham and Hawtal Whiting Structures (an engineering
consultancy company).
The result of the study led to the development of what became known as the Kegworth brace position, which was adopted by the UK Civil Aviation Authority in August 1993 and remains the UK CAA recommended brace position for all forward-facing, lap-belted passengers in UK airlines up to date. The Kegworth brace position was one of many brace positions recommended in ICAO Doc 10086.
New "Brace for Impact" Position for Passengers and Crew
Kegworth Air Disaster
research led to the formation of the International Board for Research into
Aircraft Crash Events (IBRACE) on 21 November 2016.
IBRACE is a cooperation
between experts in the field to produce an internationally agreed,
evidence-based set of impact bracing positions for passengers and (eventually)
cabin crew members in a variety of seating configurations.
After two years, with
the aid from:
- Experts from civil
aviation authorities, airlines, aircraft manufacturers, training organizations,
as well as international organizations.
- IBRACE and ICAO Cabin
Safety Group (ICSG).
ICAO published the
first edition, 2018, of The Manual on Information and Instructions for
Passenger Safety (Doc 10086). This new document contains new recommended
brace-for-impact positions and sample commands used by cabin crew members to
instruct passengers in the event of an emergency.
The Three Phases of an Aircraft Accident
Passengers and crew
survivability are linked to three phases of an accident:
Phase 1 :
Surviving the crash
sequence (i.e., the impact forces, consequent deceleration, and secondary
impacts);
Phase 2 :
Evacuating the
aircraft; and
Phase 3 :
Surviving the post
evacuation environment (e.g., sea, jungle, mountainous region).
To enable the physical
evacuation of the aircraft, passengers and crew must take action to minimize
the potential for injuries during the crash sequence. One action that
Passengers and crew can take to contribute to their survival is to assume an
appropriate brace-for-impact position.
Passenger Safety Briefing Card
The passenger safety
briefing card provides information on exit locations and the use and location
of emergency equipment. Additionally, it includes relevant safety and emergency
procedures that, when followed correctly, can significantly improve a
passenger’s survival following an accident. Information is presented in a
visual and pictorial format that assists passengers to respond to an emergency
as quickly and effectively as possible.
The passenger safety
briefing card is also an important tool that cabin crew members can use to
individually brief passengers during an anticipated emergency.
National Civil Aviation Regulations
ICAO safety standards
require States to enforce operators to communicate specific information and
instructions to passengers in a variety of methods to facilitate understanding,
especially, during abnormal and emergencies.
Annex 6, Part I,
contains a requirement that passengers be instructed on actions to take in the
event of an emergency. The operator must provide instructions to passengers in
the event of an emergency, such as the preparation of the cabin for an
anticipated emergency landing or ditching. ( ICAO Annex 6, Part I, paragraph
4.2.12.3).
Note: This lifesaving
information is relayed to passengers via passenger safety briefing cards,
videos, signs, placards, emergency lighting systems, and verbal briefings
provided by crew members.
Preparing for Anticipated Emergency Landing/Ditching
Cabin crew members are
trained to respond to a variety of safety-related situations including
conducting an evacuation, which in part entails managing passengers in such a
way as to optimize egress from the aircraft.
As soon as it is
expected that an emergency landing will be required the senior cabin crew
member will be called by the cockpit by the captain for emergency briefing
(NITES). While other crew members will suspend service and go to their
emergency stations to receive a briefing from the senior cabin crew member.
When all cabin crew is
briefed, then they will take their safety demonstration positions in the cabin,
then the captain may make the first announcement to the passengers.
The cabin crew will
start to seek passengers to assist in the evacuation, these passengers are
called able-bodied men.
After the final check
of the cabin, the brace command will be given by the captain on the P.A (brace,
brace) or by another signal. Brace command will be initiated approximately
200ft/30 seconds before impact. On hearing the " brace" command, the
cabin crew will brace and shout relevant commands to passengers. All will
remain in the brace position until the aircraft has to come to a complete stop.
Unanticipated Emergency Landing/Ditching
In an unanticipated
emergency landing, the captain may only have time to give the warning to brace
for impact. In this case, Well-informed, knowledgeable passengers have a better
chance of surviving.
Conclusion
Most aviation-related
accidents result in fatalities while the fact is most aviation accidents are
survivable. Aircraft occupants can significantly increase their chance of
survival and lower their risk of injury by assuming an appropriate “brace for
impact” position. “Brace for impact” is an action whereby an individual
prepositions their body against whatever surface they are most likely to strike
during impact, thereby reducing impact forces and subsequent injuries.
ICAO published the
first edition, 2018, of The Manual on Information and Instructions for
Passenger Safety (Doc 10086). This new document contains new recommended
brace-for-impact positions and sample commands used by cabin crew members to
instruct passengers in the event of an emergency.
ICAO safety standards
require States to enforce operators to communicate specific information and
instructions to passengers in a variety of methods to facilitate understanding,
especially, during abnormal and emergencies.
Thank you for visiting
our website, and we welcome any update or addition to this article.
We will be very happy
if you share this article for the benefit of many civil aviation professionals
Further reading:
The Manual on Information
and Instructions for Passenger Safety (ICAO Doc 10086)
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