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[bearfoil]

svarin

The lap belt is engineered to resist forward 40g (air.) It is not intended to keep the passenger centered or from some "unusual" situation. A five point harness would be better for that. Up and forward resistance is designed for. The seat should withstand 40g also, but not in sideways (lateral) or "up". Beyond 40g is considered unnecessary, it is the rare human body that can survive that load anyway. The buckle itself is designed to resist opening in most aspects, for obvious reasons. The consideration is that the device works. If proven to have failed, it would require a determination such as you report, an exception. If as HazleNuts39 posits, the VS encountered a 66g load at impact, this opens up an area where the fuselage contents could have been so exposed. Old Engineer proposes earlier disruptive damage at the VS, again, it is logical to assume similar loading within the Fuselage.

With limited reporting of injuries and limited conclusions therefrom, little is known by the public relative to the passengers and the actual mechanism of impact/entry.

edit to add the most salient conclusion. The BEA imply "seated throughout the cabin". Fine, but that would eliminate a prior belt malfunction. Instead it would speak to the survivability of the wreck, and belted passengers proven via injury assessment. It also requires a subsequent belt release, as no chairs survived to be recovered. Does not add up. The Pelvis can fail in any number of ways, as can compression of the Spine be caused in different body aspects to acceleration. The conclusion lacks a foundation at least, if it exists, it is not presented.