Crash Protection of Air Transport Passengers

Jet transport means vastly increased velocities at takeoff, flight, and landing. These velocities build up correspondingly high kinetic energy that increases the hazards of crash landings if not dissipated. But jet safety design standards have changed little from those of the piston engine, even though there are sufficient statistics available for design purposes. In addition, the limits of human tolerance to injury have been determined with sufficient precision to provide minimum standards for safety equipment. If these data were applied to modern aircraft design, many fatalities occurring today could be prevented.