why don't the seats on airliners face backwards?

Question

wouldn't it be much safer if the seats faced backwards, not just in a crash, but in a heavy landing?

Answer 1

This was addressed in a Mythbusters episode (the myth being tested was that the brace position was designed to kill you as its cheaper for airlines to payout for wrongful death than lifetime rehabilitation). The team built a rig to test the validity of the brace position, and tested it in Economy, First class and the rear facing jump seats.

While they proved that the brace position is NOT designed to kill you, they also showed that the rear facing seats are safer than forward facing seats because the body can sustain higher g-forces to the back without serious injury than it can on the front. They stated around 50 g for the front of the torso and 75 g for the back.

However, the rear facing seats offer no protection for the passenger/attendant from objects flying forward from the rear of the aircraft, and thus, while they may survive the impact, they could be injured or killed by unrestrained objects propelled forward by inertia.

Forward facing seats are used because;

1. The seat in front of you is designed to absorb damage that would otherwise be inflicted on your body.

2. Your seat back protects you from objects behind you that would otherwise strike your back.

Answer 2

My former college roommate, an avation safety science major, used to talk about this topic all the time. Yes, crash suriviablility would be increased some by rearward facing seats, and in fact, there are plenty of airplanes out there with them. I can remember not too long ago when Southwest Airlines had a number of 737s with a couple of rows which faced backwards. (I loved this personally because you could then seat a group of 6 people together, all facing one another in the same aisle!)

The fact is that most people just wouldn't feel comfortable flying this way (especially during takeoff and climb I would guess). While it would be a bit safer I would think, the safety benefits gained would not be worth increasing passenger discomfort. New airplanes continue to be designed with forward facing seats, and retrofitting older aircraft would be a costly endeavor.

Oh, and somebody made mention of airbags in an earlier response, so I thought I'd elaborate on that for a moment. I am a pilot myself, and I have actually flown some small aircraft equipped with a type of airbag. They were stored in a bundle on the lap belt and deployed upon a particularly strong impact. These types of airbags could probably be equipped easily on transport category aircraft as well, but again you would be comparing benefit versus cost, as well as sacrificing some degree of passenger comfort (the lap belt is rather big and bulky as a result).

Answer 3

It is safer facing backwards for only one reason, in the event of an emergency you do not have to adopt the brace position. But this was weighed up against the discomfort to passengers and the forward facing seat won.
As said before military passenger (no concern for passengers) aircraft have rear facing seats eg VC10, C17 and Tristar, having travelled in there i can say it is both wierd and uncomforting, but better than the Hercules where you try and sit anywhere.

Answer 4

some airlines do have backwards facing seats. British Airways has their business class (called club world). In this there are forward facing and backwards facing seats. I've flown 3 flights in business class with BA and all 3 I was seated in the rear facing seat. It was strange at first, but actually kind of liked it. Here is a picture of this:
http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/1833/img1233mp4.jpg

The seat next to the window was backwards facing.

Answer 5

There are some people who are advocates of seats that face backwards. In fact on military planes, at least in the United States Air Force, passenger seats face backwards.

Here's a question, why aren't there shoulder straps on passenger planes? They're required in cars... Why aren't there airbags on planes?

It probably boils down to cost verses benefit. Would passengers prefer motion sickness over improved safety? What would it cost to redesign air craft so that all the video players and screens were towards the back of the plane instead of the front? How much would it cost to put in shoulder belts and airbags?

One company is working on a some face foward, some face back approach that looks a little odd and may take some getting used to.

A face-the-rear design is in theory safer. But, because no one has tried it, in airplanes, at least not on a large scale, then it remains mostly theory. However, putting child seats in a car barkwards, facing the back, is safer for the baby in a car accident, why not in airplanes too? It would at least reduce injuries. That's why most automakers had to phase out most lap belts in cars, the seat stays still while your face is plastered against the seat in front of you, or your guts are scrunched by the lap belt, and your back is broken from your torso following your face into the seat in front of you.

All in all, it would be safer to deal with debrit flying at you and possibly getting hit by a small object, than having your body weight smash into the seat in front of you.

Answer 6

It is purely to keep the passengers happy. People prefer to face the direction of travel. As you say, facing backwards is far safer in the event of a sudden deceleration. The RAF VC10 troop carriers all have their seats facing backwards for exactly that reason.

Answer 7

Only one aircraft that I've been in has the seats facing backwards and that was a Royal Air Force VC10. I was strange seeing where you'd been, not where you were going. I think it's done for the reasons that you've listed but I'm not really sure.

Answer 8

they have thought about putting the passenger seat backwards but then it would look weird.
and yes it would be safer for the passenger to sit backward because if the plane crash into the water or something your neck wouldnt be injure like if we sit facing forward right now.
(it have to do with the G-force or something)

Answer 9

Royal Air Force passenger transport aircraft do face backwards because it is safer, should the aircraft crash.

Answer 10

Some Boeing 727's had some rear facing seats. They were great, as they had a table between them and the opposing forward facing seats. Very civilised, but long gone now I suspect. It would DEFINITELY be safer and quite frankly not exactly hard to get used to.