WALKING AWAY from a plane crash may seem unlikely, but experts claim that 95 per cent of them are actually survivable.
However, this is down to passengers and their own actions, including the seats to avoid and the clothes to wear.
Plane crash incidents rose last year, despite the pandemic.
According to the Dutch aviation firm To70, the number of people killed in large commercial airplane crashes rose in 2020 to 299, with 40 accidents – five of which were fatal.
While this may seem worrying, this works out to just one fatal crash for every 3.7m flights.
Here are some of the ways you can increase your chance of surviving if you are ever unlucky enough to be in a plane crash.
Dress correctly
What you wear increases your chance of surviving a plane crash, especially if it crashes in harsh conditions or climates.
Dave Inch, a captain of a Boeing 787 said: “Remove everything sharp from your pockets, loosen your belt and remove your tie or scarf and remove high heeled shoes.
“Take glasses off for landing so they don’t fly off and are available to help you see your way out if you need them.
Author Christine Negroni, who wrote a book on airline mysteries added: “Everyone is wearing yoga pants on aeroplanes now, but I avoid all artificial fibres because they are more likely to burn and stick to you if there is a fire.
“I’d say wear cotton clothes or anything made of natural fibres.”
She also added that boots are better over flip flops, to protect feet from debris, and tighter clothing to avoid getting caught on anything when escaping.
Upton Rehnberg, who survived the United Airlines flight 232 crash in 1989 said he always wears a hooded jumper on flights, as he was told by a flight engineer that they are taught to put a blanket over their head during an emergency landing to avoid being burned by fuel or hot oil during an accident.