--- title: What is the safest place to sit on a plane? | TIME description: Where you should sit next time you get onboard canonical: https://time.com/video/bJ6pkbGM/ og:title: What is the safest place to sit on a plane? og:description: Where you should sit next time you get onboard og:url: https://time.com/video/bJ6pkbGM/ og:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/bJ6pkbGM/poster.jpg?width=720 og:type: video.other twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: What is the safest place to sit on a plane? twitter:description: Where you should sit next time you get onboard twitter:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/bJ6pkbGM/poster.jpg?width=720 --- # What is the safest place to sit on a plane? > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ## Video: What is the safest place to sit on a plane? [Watch (HLS stream): What is the safest place to sit on a plane?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/bJ6pkbGM.m3u8) (1:50)  _Published 2015-06-24. Where you should sit next time you get onboard_ --- Jul 27, 2023 6:28 PM UTC --- ## More From This Series [All Videos](https://time.com/video/) [TIME for Kids Sits Down with Dr. Vivek Murthy](/video/ZJWzXvgf/) ### TIME for Kids Sits Down with Dr. Vivek Murthy [TIME for Kids Sits Down With Janet Yellen](/video/cBBiOqDH/) ### TIME for Kids Sits Down With Janet Yellen [TIME for Kids Sits Down With Dr. Rochelle Walensky](/video/XUGtKuep/) ### TIME for Kids Sits Down With Dr. Rochelle Walensky --- ## Transcript Where is the safest place sit on a plane? According to the Federal Aviation Administration, there is no safest seating area because survivability depends on the circumstances of the accident. That's true, but Time analyzed 17 accidents since 1980 and look at two key. Section of the plane, and row position. Here's what we found. The middle of the cabin historically has the highest overall a fatality rates. More specifically, the middle aisle seats, where the fatality rates are 57 % higher than the safest seat on the plane. Let's move to the back of the plane. You know, the seats closer to the bathrooms. Well according to our research, these are the safest of the aircraft, but it's not just the rear of the plane that's more secure. It's the middle seats in the back rows. The fatality rate here is 28 %, compared to 44 % up here. Now, for passengers who survived a plane's impact Having a seat closer to an emergency exit in case of say a fire is crucial. People who are positioned within one or two rows of the exit can evacuate quicker. [ MUSIC ] Keep in mind, our analysis is based on a small sample size. Since 1980 there have only been 17 flight accidents with both those who survived and who didn't And that had available seating charts. Most crashes only happen in the first three minutes and the last eight minutes of the flight. So keep your shoes on. Of all of the accidents that have happened in the last 30 years, the fatality rate is very low, only 4 %. The average person only has a one in 8000 chance of ever [ MUSIC ] Ever dying in a plane accident. 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