Plane seat location critical in emergencies as experts warn row position impacts survival odds

In the wake of the recent deadly collision at LaGuardia Airport that killed both pilots and injured dozens of passengers, questions about airline safety are once again on people's minds. The aircraft, carrying 72 passengers and four crew members, struck a Port Authority vehicle while landing Sunday night. As investigators continue to piece together what went wrong, many travelers are discussing whether seat location can influence passenger safety and survival. Daniel Bubb, a former airline pilot and commercial aviation expert at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, told Fox News Digital that sitting toward the back of the plane gives passengers the best chance of survival because the front and middle parts absorb most of the impact in head-on collisions. Motley Rice aviation attorney Jim Brauchle noted that the safest location is the emergency exit row, and emphasized that passengers must not attempt to retrieve personal belongings during an evacuation. Statistical analysis from 2015 indicates that middle seats in the rear of the plane offered the highest survival rate at 28% fatality, while aisle seats in the middle section had the poorest outcomes at 44%.