Does the brace position really make you break your neck more quickly?
We received inquiries about this claim because it was shared in the form of a status post on Facebook:

ATTENTION PLANE TRAVELERS! Very disturbing information has come to my attention from an ex flight attendant!!! Below is word for word what the flight attendant told me!
“We are trained to tell people to put their heads down while holding their neck during a crash. During an insurance settlement hearing my supervisor admitted to me off record the horrible and sinister truth about why we are taught this procedure! PLACING HEAD DOWN AND HANDS OVER HEAD WILL FORCE THEIR HEADS INTO THE BACK OF THE SEAT IN FRONT…BREAKING THE PASSENGERS NECKS KILLING THEM INSTANTLY! This way the insurance pay outs will not be as high due to those paralyzed or permanently injured and the airline can pay out a fast lump sum death settlement.”
You heard it correctly!!
The airline would rather you DIE during a crash then live to tell the story and collect $$$ forever!! HOW SAD IS IT WHEN PROFITS ARE MORE IMPORTANT THEN SAVING LIVES!!!?? The correct way to avoid death during a crash is to brace yourself sitting strait upward! I had to share this because it might just save your life or someone you love! Posted by Scott L. BiddleATTENTION AIR TRAVELERS! I received very disturbing information from a former flight attendant. Below is what the flight attendant told me, word for word!
“We are trained to tell people to put their head down while holding their neck in an accident. During one of my supervisor's hearings during an insurance settlement, he admitted that he did not tell me the terrible and dark truth about why we are taught this procedure! PLACING THEIR HEAD DOWN AND HANDS OVER THE HEAD FORCES THEIR HEADS INTO THE BACK OF THE FRONT SEAT…. BREAKING PASSENGER NECKS KILLING THEM INSTANTLY! This way, insurance payouts due to paralyzed or permanently injured individuals will not be as high and the airline can pay out a quick death benefit.”
You heard it right.
The airline wants you to die in an accident, then tell the story live and collect $$$$ forever. HOW SAD IS IT WHEN PROFITS ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN SAVING LIVES. The right way to avoid death in an accident is to lean up while sitting! I had to share this because it might save your life or someone you love! Published by Scott L. Biddle
[*Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator]
The fact check
Do airlines really have an interest in making short work of passengers when in doubt?
An example:
A flight disaster in 1989 (also the Kegworth Crash ) shows different developments.
Of the 118 passengers on board, 39 were killed directly in the crash and eight later died from their injuries, for a total of 47 people dead. All eight crew members survived the accident. Of the 79 survivors, 74 suffered serious injuries and five suffered minor injuries.
Improved flight safety
The official report on the disaster contained 31 safety recommendations.
The evaluation of the injuries sustained led to a significant improvement in flight safety and emergency instructions for passengers. These were derived from a CAA-funded research program carried out by teams from the University of Nottingham and Hawtal Whiting Structures (an engineering consultancy). The study, between medical staff and engineers, used analytical “occupant kinematics” techniques to assess the effectiveness of the brace position. In October 1993 a new notice was issued to operators regarding the change in brace position.
Experts are dealing with it
Research into this accident led to the creation of the International Board for Research into Aircraft Crash Events ( IBRACE ) on November 21, 2016. IBRACE is a joint collaboration of experts in the field with the aim of developing an internationally agreed, evidence-based set of impact anchoring positions for passengers and (eventually) cabin crew in a variety of seating configurations. These are submitted to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) through its Cabin Safety Group (ICSG).
The brace position in action
Johannes von Kesselstatt reported to DasErste that he had also assumed the brace position during a crash landing on September 14, 1993, shortly after touchdown in Warsaw:
During this turbulent landing, the aircraft touched down too late. Then the brakes failed. The Airbus crashes into an earth bank at the end of the runway and catches fire. One of the pilots dies in the cockpit. Only one passenger in the cabin is unable to escape from the burning aircraft and dies of smoke inhalation.
Johannes von Kesselstatt was hardly injured. When he landed, he was properly strapped in and intuitively behaved correctly: “I made a movement that, I would say, was like this, and I pulled my legs up like this. In any case, I stretched my spine like this and got something like this Package made.”
“Brace position”
When the impact occurs, Johannes von Kesselstatt is almost in the so-called “brace position”. This is what accident researchers call leaning on the front seat. This slows the body down from the seat. If you sit up straight, your upper body would fall forward and literally hit the seat in front. Fatal cervical vertebra injuries are the result of such an impact.
More research...
In 2012, researchers had a plane crash in a controlled manner in the Sonoran Desert (northern Mexico) - three dummies were positioned in the plane.
Researchers were particularly interested in security issues.
- Which passengers make it and which don't?
- Which seats have the greatest chances?
- What position should a passenger assume in order to optimally absorb the forces of the impact on his body?
The dummies were equipped with high technology and each was put in a different position:
... Sensors in the head, neck, chest, spine, pelvis and legs measure which forces affect the body and with what consequences.
…
The dummy in the brace position broke his leg, which would have prevented him from leaving the cabin quickly - fatal in the event of fire and smoke. In contrast to the upright sitting dummy, the head and spine remained intact. Another argument for the brace position: better protection against flying debris.
Our colleagues at Snopes received inquiries about this claim years ago. Here too, the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) is said to have spoken out in favor of the brace position:
Over 70% of airline accidents are survivable. 71% of people who die in survivable crashes do so after the aircraft comes to a complete stop. In many cases it's because they are unprepared for the crash.
More than 70% of aviation accidents can be survived.
71% of people who die in survivable accidents do so after the plane has come to a stop. In many cases it is because they are not prepared for the crash. [*Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator]
Snopes notes another medical journal about the Kegworth crash:
Of the initial 87 survivors of the East Midlands Boeing 737/400 aircraft, 77 sustained head and facial trauma during the crash, 45 of whom were rendered unconscious. There were 21 who received injuries to the back of their head, including 5 of the 6 severely head-injured adults. Those passengers who adopted the fully flexed “brace” position for crash-landing achieved significant protection against head injury, concussion, and injuries from behind irrespective of local aircraft structural damage.
Of the initial 87 survivors of the East Midlands Boeing 737/400 aircraft, 77 suffered head and facial injuries during the crash, of whom 45 became unconscious.
There were 21 who sustained injuries to the back of the head, including 5 of the 6 adults with severe head damage. Passengers who assumed the fully flexed “brace” position for crash landing achieved significant protection from head injuries, shocks and rear injuries, regardless of local aircraft structural damage. [*Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator]
Result:
Researchers' verdict is that the " brace position maximizes the chances of surviving a plane crash uninjured ."
Martin Sperber, this position is correctly taken as follows:
“First of all, I sit down correctly in the flight seat, push my pelvis as far back as possible, place the lap belt over my pelvis, close it and tighten it. Tighten it as tightly as possible so that the lap belt sits as tightly as possible over my pelvis and not in the soft tissue area. Then I would have to bring my feet relatively far forward, as far as possible, with my head as far forward as possible, until my forehead touches the backrest and place my hands on the right and left of my head.
Of course, the brace position does not guarantee survival in the event of a fall , but it does help to stabilize the body so that it is less likely to thrash around uncontrollably.
It cannot be confirmed that the airlines intend to use this position to “kill” passengers more quickly in order to minimize later payouts. In addition, the improved brace position was developed after a catastrophic plane crash in Kegworth, in which 47 people died and 79 passengers were mostly seriously injured.
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Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )

