Why The Brace Position Is Not A Myth, According To Flight Attendants

If you've ever had a seat with a view of the flight attendant jump seats, you may have noticed that flight attendants sit on their hands during takeoff and landing. This position is supposed to help keep flight attendants and passengers safe in the event of an emergency landing or plane crash — but does it actually work? It might seem unlikely that a person's sitting position could make any difference in a crash, but believe it or not, this is a tried and true safety procedure. To find out exactly how brace position works, why it works, and how to do it in an emergency, Islands spoke to Barbi, a veteran flight attendant and journalist. She assured us: "The brace position is a well-established safety protocol that has been studied and used by aviation experts for decades to improve one's chance of survival in a plane crash with as few injuries as possible."

Barbi explained that several factors affect crash survival, including the plane's speed, whether the crew had advance warning, whether loose objects were present in the cabin, and whether passengers wore seatbelts. Still, being in the appropriate brace position can make a serious difference. If you know that a crash could occur and have enough warning, getting into a brace position is a huge advantage. "When a passenger or flight attendant is in the proper brace position during a planned emergency landing that does result in a crash, injury to their spine, head, and neck is significantly reduced," she said.

Hard as it may be to imagine, how you're sitting really can make a difference in a plane crash or emergency landing. While there are a lot of factors that determine if a person will come out of an emergency situation unscathed, the brace position is the best option for improving survival chances and reducing the risk of serious injuries. Experienced flight attendant Barbi explained that both airline seats and brace positions are designed specifically to minimize injuries. "Your seat has been designed to absorb energy from the impact, and by bracing against it, your body is better able to withstand the forces of the impact," she noted.

While positioning your body against the seat to make sure that it takes the impact for you, brace positions can help protect you from other possible injuries that you might sustain during a crash, too. For one thing, it keeps your limbs from being jerked around by the plane's rapid movement or the force of the impact, which could leave you with broken bones. It also protects your head and neck — critical if there are unsecured objects hurtling around the cabin, a common hazard during severe turbulence or emergency landings.

Brace positions are not one-size-fits-all. Just as bodies come in different shapes and sizes, there are different brace positions designed to keep passengers safe. While it might be one of the dirtiest surfaces on an airplane, the safety instruction card in the seat back pocket is worth spraying some hand sanitizer to take a look at. It will show you diagrams of brace positions for people of different heights and weights, as well as for pregnant individuals. In general, though, Barbi explained that most passengers should tighten their seatbelts, keep their feet flat on the floor directly under their knees, bend forward and tuck their chin, resting their head on their knees. She advised: "If your head is not touching the seat in front of you, place your hands over each other over the back of your head, keeping your elbows tucked close to your sides."

As important as brace position is in the event of an emergency, you don't need to hold this uncomfortable position whenever you're in the air — just pay attention to the flight attendants. One of the most common in-flight safety mistakes passengers make is ignoring flight attendant announcements. If something goes wrong and there's a chance of an emergency landing or crash, flight attendants will announce when passengers should brace. 

Although it may seem like crashes happen too suddenly for warnings, Barbi said that sometimes crews have time to get passengers ready. "Sometimes the crews have enough time to plan for the crash and will do a planned emergency landing briefing for the passengers," she said. "Follow the flight attendants' instructions and do what they tell you to do!"