Is it better to sit in the back or the front of the plane? (2024)

UPDATED: Aug 3, 2017 16:27 IST

Getting the seat of your choice is a matter of concern for every passenger boarding a flight.

Every time you're at the checked-in, you may have avoided a middle seat or opted for the one near the window. Or you may have chosen a seat away from the emergency exit, if not the one with more legroom. Again, some might prefer to be seated in the front, to avoid the queue when deboarding a flight, while some prefer the rows in the back, for "more safety" in case of an untoward incident.

Reasons for choosing a seat in a flight may vary from person to person. But every time you are making a choice, knowingly or unknowingly, you are also being entitled to certain scientific benefits.

According to experts, choosing the seat in front is always a better option. "Our centre of gravity is usually around 28 per cent, and the centre of pressure usually acts around 25 per cent of the mean aerodynamic chord (1/4 of the way down the wing). These two forces form a couple, around which the aircraft pivots,'' Sebastian Lender, an airline pilot, wrote for an online poll on the choice of seats, in Quora.

''If you sit over the wing, around 1/4 down the aircraft, you will have a far more comfortable flight. Forces acting during landing, take off, taxi and turbulence are magnified, the further from this point you are, and at the back of the plane, is the furthest you can be. Add to that the fact that you have a big rudder at the back yawing the aircraft laterally around a point roughly central, and it is no wonder that most of our vomiters are sitting down the back,'' Lender added. This means that sitting at the front will ensure a more comfortable flight. Other users on Quora also showed preference for front seats.

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On the other hand, Federal Aviation Administration's CSRTG (Cabin Safety Research Technical Group) Aircraft Accident Database reveal that the middle seats in the rear of an aircraft have the highest survival rates. An analysis, conducted by Time in 2015, found that the seats in the back-third of the aircraft had 32 per cent fatality rate, compared to 39 per cent in the middle-third and 38 per cent in the front-third. The worst-faring seats were on the aisle in the middle-third of the cabin with 44 per cent fatality rate.

Also Read:Here's how you can book the best seat in your flight

However, if an accident proves to be fatal, it will depend on the very circ*mstance of the mishap, rather than the seat you are in. And that's why, technically, there cannot be a "safer" seat in flight. It totally depends on chance. But we can, of course, take our own precautions.