Here is cool but unsettling diagram of a commercial airliner showing your chances of survival depending on where you’re sitting during a crash. When I fly commercial I make it my duty to sit in the seats near the emergency exits in the aisle; be one of the first out of the plane and more leg room.

An article by the Times Online based upon research of 105 accidents and personal accounts from 2,000 survivors states, “Passengers sitting towards the front of the aircraft had a 65 per cent chance of escaping a fire, while the survival rate for those at the rear was 53 per cent. The survival rate in aisle seats was 64 per cent, compared with 58 per cent for other passengers.”

The article continues by pointing out that human behavoir during a real crash is very different than in a simulation so the numbers above may be off. Even though the people may exit the plane in an orderly fashion in a simulation, it could be complete chaos when the real thing happens. Hopefully we’ll never have to find out if this is true.