San Francisco – Many survivors of Saturday’s plane crash in San Francisco have a surprising pattern of spine injuries that a doctor says shows how violently they were shaken despite wearing seat belts.
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So far, two people are unable to move their legs — doctors don’t yet know if the damage is permanent — and several others have needed surgery to stabilize their spines so they can move, said Dr. Geoffrey Manley, neurosurgery chief at San Francisco General Hospital who is overseeing their care.
Among the worst injuries are crushed vertebrae that compress the spinal cord, and ligaments so stretched and torn that they can’t hold neck and back joints in place, Manley said in an interview Monday.
That 305 of the 307 passengers and crew of the Asiana jet survived the crash is remarkable, and a testimony to improvements in airline safety in recent years. More than 180 people went to hospitals with injuries, but only a small number were critically injured.
Still, Manley said even among those who suffered mild spine trauma, he is struck by a pattern that shows how their upper bodies were flung forward and then backward over the lap belts that kept them in their seats and undoubtedly saved their lives.
The injuries are somewhat reminiscent of the days before shoulder belts in cars, although much more severe, said Dr. David Okonkwo of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, who isn’t involved with the survivors’ care.
Does that mean shoulder belts in airplanes would prevent such injuries? Okonkwo said that’s simplistic considering how much more speed and force are involved in a plane crash. Shoulder belts might just transfer that force to the neck, he cautioned.
“If you put in the shoulder belt, it might just move the injuries up further. Your head weighs a tremendous amount,” agreed San Francisco’s Manley. He hopes to study the issue, comparing survivors’ injuries to where they sat.
The airline industry says adding three-point seatbelts to airplanes would require major changes to seat design that would mean higher airfares and less comfort.
Some business class seats have added a type of shoulder restraint, but those seats are more like beds and often don’t face forward.
Meanwhile, Okonkwo said assuming the “crash position” — leaning forward with the head as far down as possible and arms over it — can limit the spine jolting back and forth and offer some protection. It’s not clear if any survivors of Saturday’s crash had time to do so.
OK, I am not aware of any revenue seats on planes that are configured for back facing flight direction. It seems like it would help somewhat in deaccelerating accidents. I was involved in a minor train accident and I was sitting backwards. There were some complants of injuries, I had been on the phone and noticed nothing except a sudden short stop.
It should also be noted that the luggage rack fell on the people, that sounds very dangerous in itself.
Go to United’s website and check their fleet guide and than the seat maps for all of their 747 and old UA’s 777’s. The business cabins of both have an equal amount of rear and front facing seats. It makes for a more comfortable sleep as the front of the plane is always tilted a bit upwards while flying.
Installing Air Bags for every seat would prevent all these spinal injuries 100%.
It’s just not done because it costs money to do so and so airlines choose the loss of life, over loosing some profits.
Rear facing seats were phased out because fliers didn’t like them. It feels weird and uncomfortable for many to be facing the other way, kind of vulnerable.
The spinal injuries are expected, the acceleration and force vector cause the whle upper body to whip forward upon impact. This is why the crash position shown pre-flight has fliers hunched over, so that they won’t whip forward violently.