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Aviation experts explain what it takes to survive an aircraft accident
Aviation experts said that passenger jet design and engineering have greatly improved to withstand accidents. They also explain technical improvements
All the 76 passengers of Delta Airlines escaped with minor injuries after their jet caught fire upon landing on a Toronto runway in Canada on Monday. Aviation experts speaking to the Associated Press attributed the miraculous escape to advances in plane design and a skilled crew that flawlessly executed an evacuation plan.
Michael McCormick, an assistant professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Florida, said, “It was absolutely astounding to watch the people actually climbing out.”
“When I first saw (footage of) that aircraft upside down at the airport, I was like: ‘How can that happen? And how can anybody survive that?” he wondered.
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Aviation experts said that the passenger jet design and engineering have greatly improved.
Fuel tanks are now stored in the aircraft's wings and are designed to break off in the event of a crash. The tail-like fin called the vertical stabilizer can also break to help a flipped-over aircraft stay flat on the ground and help passengers evacuate.
McCormick cited these technological advancements to assert that, “Aviation is and remains the safest form of transportation.”
Jeff Guzzetti, an airline safety consultant and a former investigator for the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board, said, the improved seats and belts also helped prevent fatalities during the Delta Airlines fire accident.
The seat belts restrained the suspended passengers when the plane slid to a halt on the Toronto runway. “ The odds of getting injured or killed in a commercial airline accident is far less than driving in your car,” Guzzetti told AP.
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Experts also lauded the aircraft crew for quickly evacuating passengers before the arrival of emergency rescue personnel. Deborah Flint, CEO of Greater Toronto Airports Authority, called the flight crew “heroes.”
Delta CEO Ed Bastian praised their response as a “testament to the safety that’s embedded in the systems.”
A Canadian official probing the crash refused to comment on the preliminary theories. “At this point, it’s far too early to say what the cause of this accident might be,” said senior investigator Ken Webster.
(With AP inputs)
