Originally Posted by
DaveReidUK
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the whole point of the brace position to improve the passengers' and F/As' chances of walking away from an abnormal landing ?
How exactly does bringing your head closer to the hard plastic of the seat back in front of you improve your chances? And even if you are in business or first and can actually bend down to hug your knees, doesn't it actually increase your chances of getting a spine injury? And why do we have to put our seats in an upright position if lying back is actually safer? (Cosmonauts go to space like that.)
As almost everything in aviation, the "brace position" is a compromise and the least of some evils. It is supposed to (kind of but not really) protect your head and chest from flying debris. But it's, by no means, ideal. Especially considering that it was "invented" at the times when economy had a 40-inch pitch and NASA could afford to crash an airliner just to see what happens inside. And just like most of the "common knowledge" from those times, it's a myth. Not unlike the "dangers" of activating the de-icing boots "too soon".