After Singapore Airlines, now turbulence on Qatar flight: Can wearing seat belt keep you safe?

Last week, one person was killed and dozens seriously injured due to turbulence on a Singapore Airlines flight.

Now, it’s happened again.

Twelve people, including six crew, have been left injured after a Qatar Airways flight was hit by turbulence.

Singapore Airlines has said it will take a ‘more cautious approach’ to managing turbulence and has tightened its seatbelt rules.

“In addition to the suspension of hot beverage service when the seatbelt sign is on, the meal service will also be suspended,” the carrier said in a statement to AFP.

“SIA will continue to review our processes as the safety of our passengers and crew is of utmost importance.”

But can wearing a seat belt on a flight really keep you safe from turbulence?

Let’s take a closer look:

A brief history of the seat belt

First, let’s briefly look at the history of the seat belt.

According to the US’ Federal Aviation Administration, Major General Benjamin D Foulois is thought to have invented the first airplane seat belt in 1911.

Foulois was one of the US’ first pilots.

He was just the fifth person to be given the title of military aviator.

The idea behind the seat belt was for pilots to avoid being thrown out of the plane.

While his seat belt was good at this, it did not protect pilots during crashes.

The US by 1914 – the beginning of World War I – began installing seat belts in army planes.

The US in 1926 passed the first aviation regulation.

The law, known as the Air Commerce Act of 1926, mandated “safety belts or equivalent apparatus for pilots and passengers in open-cockpit airplanes carrying passengers for hire or reward.”

By 1928, all aircraft were required to have seat belts – though it was not compulsory for passengers to wear them.

By the 1940s, the focus of authorities had changed from restraining passengers during crashes to keeping them safe.

In the 1970s, the FAA changed laws to make it compulsory for passengers to wear seat belts during take-off and landing.

How do they work? Can they keep you safe?

According to Skybrary.areo, seat belts stop the body from moving during a crash or turbulence.

 They do this by

• Stopping people from being thrown around the aircraft and into hard objects or other persons

• Stopping people being thrown out of the aircraft in case of a hull breach, either in flight or during a high impact crash

Experts say the answer to the question is an unequivocal yes.

“Certain events, such as clear air turbulence, can occur without warning, and can cause unexpected changes in movement to aircraft,” a spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) was quoted as saying by The Telegraph.

“Seat belts are required and designed to ensure passenger safety and reduce the risk of injury, particularly during deceleration, turbulence and unplanned or difficult to predict events.”

“We know that in the rare event of an accident, seatbelts save lives,” added a British Airways spokesman. “That’s why we always advise our customers to wear them and our cabin crew carry out regular checks.”

They say turbulence puts passengers most at risk for physical injury.

Air safety experts told AFP that passengers are often too casual about wearing seatbelts, leaving them at risk if the plane hits unexpected turbulence.

Experts say people don’t understand what happens to those who aren’t buckled up when a plane loses altitude as a result of turbulence.

Heather Poole, an American air stewardess, explained to _The Telegraph, “_The reason you must wear a seat belt, flight crew included is because you don’t want the plane coming down on you.

“People think they’re lifted up in the air during turbulence. The truth is the plane drops. It comes down hard and it comes down fast and that’s how passengers get injured - by getting hit on the head by an airplane.”

Passengers also underestimate the dangers of being injured during turbulence.

According to Travel and Leisure, people have been known get concussions, broken bones, and injures that are even worse.

As per Time Magazine, turbulence caused 22 passengers from the Singapore Airlines flight to be treated for spinal damage.

Another six suffered skull and brain injuries.

Twenty people are in intensive care, while 17 have undergone surgery.

The Guardian quoted Keith Davis, an Australian passenger aboard the Singapore Airlines flight, describing the chaos aboard, as saying, “It was absolute carnage, instantly. It was absolutely surreal. You know, there’s no warning.”

“Before we knew it we were on the ceiling. And then bang, we’re on the ground. And you don’t know what is going on.”

Davis said his wife Kerry suffered a severe spinal injury.

She now has no feeling below the waist.

People also underestimate the prevalence of turbulence.

NDTV quoted a 2021 study by the US National Transportation Safety Board as saying that turbulence-related airline accidents are the most common type of accidents.

The agency also found that turbulence comprised over a third of airline accidents from 2009 to 2018.

It usually left one or more person seriously injured.

Rohan Laging, deputy director of emergency services at Melbourne hospital group Alfred Health, told Time Magazine passengers it can be as dangerous as falling headfirst off a ladder or diving into a shallow concrete swimming pool.

But others say serious injury and death from turbulence is rare enough that airlines are unlikely to make permanent changes.

Ron Bartsch, an ex-safety chief at Qantas Airways Ltd, told Time Magazine, “I can’t remember the last fatality associated with turbulence. It’s not as though it’s a common occurrence.”

“People don’t like to be told to have their seatbelt fastened as a requirement and return to their seats. I don’t expect any major changes to the way airlines operate.”

Regardless, Poole said passengers must keep themselves safe.

“You never know when it’s going to happen, and it happens, even when the sign is off. That is what is called clear air turbulence. Turbulence is no joke. People get hurt.”

With inputs from agencies