Beware 1st-class travellers: Crash test proves safer to sit in rear of plane

Passengers sitting in the rear of a plane have the best chance of survival in the event of a crash, an extraordinary and costly aviation experiment ever conducted has revealed.

Beware first-class travellers! Passengers sitting in the rear of a plane have the best chance of survival in the event of a crash, an extraordinary and costly aviation experiment ever conducted has revealed.

In a unique aviation experiment recently, the 170-seat Boeing 727 was made to crash in a controlled manner in a remote part of Mexico's Sonoran Desert.

After pilot James Slocum parachuted out of the plane at 2,500ft, the jet was guided into the ground by a pilot in a following Cessna via a remote-control device, the reporters reported.

On board the jet were three sophisticated crash-test dummies designed to move like humans.

They were arranged in three positions: one in the classic brace and wearing a seat-belt; one belted but not in the brace position; and one neither belted nor in the brace.

After the jet hit the ground nose-first, experts found that the dummy in the brace position would have survived the impact, the one not in the brace would have suffered serious head injuries, and the dummy not wearing a seat-belt would have perished.

Using this, experts predicted that 78 percent of passengers on board would have survived the impact, but that coming down nose-first, all the first-class travellers would have died because the front of the fuselage sheared off.

Those sitting at the back would have had the best chance of survival.

The 1 million pound project, to be screened on Channel 4 next month, aimed to recreate a serious but survivable incident and allow scientists to study the crashworthiness of the aircraft's frame and cabin, as well as the impact on the human body.

It is also hoped that the findings may help increase the chances of passengers surviving such a crash in the future.

The Boeing was packed with dozens of cameras to record the impact from the inside. Footage was also collected on the ground, in chase planes, and even from the ejecting pilot's helmet.

头等舱的乘客要当心了！一项耗资巨大的特别飞行试验揭示，在坠机事故中生还机会最大的是坐在飞机尾部的乘客。

在近日开展的一项独特的飞行试验中，一架有170个座位的波音727飞机被控坠落在墨西哥索诺拉沙漠的一个偏远地带。

据报道，在飞行员詹姆斯•索罗克姆于2500英尺高空跳伞离开飞机后，后面跟着的赛斯纳飞机上的一名飞行员用遥控设备操纵飞机向地面降落。

试验飞机上有三具精密的坠机测试专用人偶，这些假人的四肢可以像真人一样移动。

它们以三种姿势摆放：一个人偶用标准方式系紧安全带，一个人偶扣上安全带但没系牢，还有一个人偶完全没有系安全带。

在飞机以头朝地的形式坠落到地面后，专家发现，安全带系得很紧的人偶会逃过坠机这一劫，松松地系着安全带的人偶头部会严重受伤，没有系安全带的人偶会毁掉。

根据这一试验结果，专家预测，78%的飞机乘客会生还，但因为飞机是头朝下落地，所以所有头等舱的乘客都会死亡，因为机身前端被削掉了。

那些坐在飞机尾部的乘客生还机会最大。

这一耗资100万英镑的试验项目将于下个月在第四频道播放。该项目的目的是通过再现一场严重但有生还机会的坠机事故，让科学家研究飞机机架和机舱的耐撞性能，以及坠机对人体的影响。

研究人员还希望这些研究结果能有助于提高未来这样的坠机事故中乘客的生还几率。

这架波音飞机上安装了几十个摄像机，从飞机内部来记录坠机影响力。地面上、跟踪的飞机、甚至跳伞飞行员的头盔内也安装了摄像头来采集视频。

Vocabulary:

dummy: 人体模型，假人

perish: 死亡；毁灭

fuselage: 机身

crashworthiness: 耐撞性能

eject: （从宇宙飞船、飞机）把……弹射出来