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Old 1st Aug 2013, 17:20
  #22 (permalink)  
pattern_is_full
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Denver
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Crumple Zone Seats. As some have pointed out here - a seat that survives while the occupant does not is not really useful. However, it should be possible to design seats that absorb some of the deceleration so that the peak load on the occupant does not exceed a survivable level. So a peak/instantaneous 25G seat with a 10G peak for the occupant perhaps.
I think this is the key point. (also mentioned by keylime).

While it is obviously good to have seats (and luggage racks and other furniture) that stay in place and don't break loose and fly about the cabin - it doesn't help much to have an undamaged "50g" seat, filled with jelly-that-used-to-be-passenger(-or-crew).

A 100-foot (30-meter) fall is going to cause injuries - unless you have a shock absorber such as the air bags or nets that stunt people use. Or engineered metal shapes that can absorb the force without folding, spindling, and mutilating the occupant (or occupants of nearby seats).

There may or may not be a weight penalty - but that is what engineers are for. To find the optimax for protection vs. weight.
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