When the Wright brothers took to the air for the first time in 1903 it was considered an extraordinary feat, but nearly a century and a quarter later, flying has become a normal, and safe, mode of transportation for billions of passengers globally.
Safety is at the forefront of the aviation industry’s considerations, in terms of reducing both the risk of incidents and their severity. A range of equipment and training programs have been designed, implemented and improved to enhance the likelihood of survival for passengers and crew in the unfortunate event of a serious incident.
This article looks at how safety equipment has evolved over the last few decades, highlighting some of the innovations and enhancements that have been put in place from both a technical and a training perspective, including the increased focus on human factors as a key element of safe operations. While there have been several incidents recently (discussed in our Q1 Airline Insurance Market Update), the aviation industry remains statistically one of the safest forms of transport, and the constant enhancements to safety equipment and training are vital to this ongoing success.
Structural enhancements
We may not always know what causes an aviation incident, but we know what happens when an issue becomes a problem. Enhanced seat design and the wider use of fire-retardant materials have reduced the risk of gravity- and conflagration-related injury.
Crashworthy seats
One of the most critical advances has been the development of ‘crashworthy’ seats, a term used to denote that a piece of equipment offers passive protection in the event of an incident. Since 2009, all commercial aircraft seats have been designed to absorb impact energy of up to 16 times the force of gravity (16g),
prior to which, the requirement had been for seats to be able to absorb 9g (although 16g seats had been mandated by some aviation authorities on newly developed aircraft since 1988).
Modern seats have stronger frames and energy-absorbing cushions, which reduce the forces transmitted to occupants during a hard landing. The introduction of head injury criteria (HIC) compliant seats has further enhanced safety by mitigating the risk of cranial injuries.
The aircraft that flipped on landing on February 17, 2025, at Toronto Airport would have had these seats, which is likely to have played a role in the fact that all passengers and crew survived the incident.
Fire-resistant materials and design
One of the loss events that had a strong influence on the safety of the aviation industry was the 1985 British Airtours disaster at Manchester Airport. During the take-off run, the aircraft suffered an uncontrolled engine failure which led to a fire, filling the aircraft with toxic fumes due to the cabin’s combustible materials. This led to the deaths of 53 passengers and two crew members.
Following the event, regulations mandating fire-retardant materials were introduced, most notably for seat covers and carpets. Modern aircraft interiors, including the uniforms of cabin crew on some airlines, are now made of materials that are either less likely to ignite or retard the spread of flames.
The loss also highlighted the need for a wider gap between rows of seats near emergency exits, to reduce the risk of blockage as people try to access the exits. These developments provide passengers with more time to evacuate an aircraft in the event of a fire, reducing injuries and fatalities.
The Manchester disaster also offered lessons about how weather can make things worse
The Manchester disaster also offered lessons about how weather can make things worse. The stricken aircraft had been able to move off the runway and onto a taxiway during the initial phase of the incident, but the change of position meant that the wind started to fan the flames across the wing and onto the fuselage.
It is also worth noting that the way that the wings are attached to the fuselage section on a modern aircraft has also changed. They are now attached using a series of specialized bolts, some of which allow stripping of the wing under certain impact forces (particularly when the aircraft is impacted from the side). This allows the fuselage to continue moving and come to rest safely while reducing the potential for a post-impact fuel fire engulfing the sections of the aircraft that contain the passengers and crew, as demonstrated in the recent Toronto incident.
Technological innovations
From lighting to cockpit enhancements, technology has played a key role in mitigating the risk of crashes.
Enhanced emergency lighting
Emergency lighting systems, such as floor-level lighting that guides passengers to exits, were also enhanced after the Manchester loss. The lighting is designed to remain operational even after a crash, ensuring that passengers can safely and quickly find their way out of an aircraft even in challenging circumstances. These systems have repeatedly proved to be invaluable during aircraft evacuations, even in conditions of low visibility.
EGPWS, TCAS and FOQA/FDM/FDA
Cockpits are also far more advanced than they used to be. The Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System (EGPWS) and the Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) warn pilots if they are getting too close to terrain or other aircraft.
Flight Operations Quality Audit (FOQA), also referred to as Flight Data Monitoring (FDM) or Flight Data Analysis (FDA), is another technology-led program and adds a layer of oversight to day-to-day operations. It collects data that can be analyzed and provides feedback to aircraft crew and training teams as they strive to achieve an ideal flight profile every time. The approach is intended to ensure that there is a close connection between the technology that manages the aircraft and the humans that operate it. The system is mandatory for commercial aircraft with a take-off weight of more than 27,000kg, and while turboprop operators are not required to use it, most of them have implemented it in some form.
It is worth noting that while the international aviation community strives to simplify and standardize language as far as possible, FOQA is the terminology used by organizations including the U.S. Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) and the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) uses FDM, and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) uses FDA.
The CVFDR/Black box
Recovery and interrogation of the black box is one of the priorities in the immediate aftermath of an incident. The black box contains data collected by the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) alongside the Flight Data Recorder (FDR), which tends to be combined to be known officially as the CVFDR.
The lack of CVFDR data can be a major impediment to investigations
This flight data helps investigation teams understand what was happening on an aircraft and what its systems were doing in the moments leading up to and immediately after an event. The lack of CVFDR data can be a major impediment to investigations and can leave lessons unlearned.
The CVFDR is exceptionally robust and designed to withstand impacts of up to 3,400g and temperatures of up to 1,000°C (1,830 °F). The name black box dates to the 1940s, but they have been bright orange since the 1960s to help recovery crews can find them more easily.
Emergency response equipment
Emergency equipment for the passengers and crew, such as oxygen systems and life vests and rafts, is also constantly being enhanced.
Oxygen systems
In the event of an incident at high altitude, the availability of breathable oxygen is crucial. Improved oxygen systems ensure that pilots and passengers receive an adequate supply of oxygen until the aircraft reaches a safe altitude. These systems include advanced oxygen masks that are easier to deploy and provide a more consistent flow of oxygen.
Life vests and rafts
For incidents involving water landings, the development of advanced life vests and life rafts has been instrumental in improving survivability. Modern life vests are equipped with features such as water-activated lights and whistle attachments to aid in rescue operations.
Just remember to not inflate your life vest until you have exited the aircraft
Life rafts have also become more durable and easier to deploy, providing a safer refuge for passengers awaiting rescue. Just remember to not inflate your life vest until you have exited the aircraft as, in the event of an aircraft filling with water, an inflated life vest can hinder, or possibly even prevent, one’s exit.
Training and protocols
Improvements in equipment have been complemented by enhanced crew training and passenger safety briefings.
Crew training
In 1972, an Eastern Airlines passenger flight crashed in the Florida Everglades. Investigations into the event found that the crew were preoccupied with a faulty nose landing gear indicator light and, such was their focus, they did not realize they were losing altitude for several minutes. This crash led to the development of Crew Resource Management (CRM), which emphasizes situational awareness and communication within the cockpit.
Many airlines have also adopted programs such as Line Orientated Safety Audits (LOSA) which analyze (anonymously) how crews react to threats and information from outside the aircraft (such as adverse weather and air traffic control instructions) and monitor errors that occur inside the cockpit (such as inadvertent skipping of a checklist item, or an unhelpful distraction during setting of an altimeter pressure setting) in order to understand how well the crew prevent occurrences leading to unsafe situations. The lessons from LOSA are fed back into the operator’s training program to enhance the guidance to crews.
Cabin crews are also better trained to handle emergency situations. This training includes the use of simulators that replicate various crash conditions, allowing crew members to practice evacuation procedures and the correct use of emergency equipment for events such as lithium battery fires, which need to be controlled in a specific way.
Passenger safety briefings
In January 1989, British Midland Airways flight 092 left London for Belfast but suffered an engine failure. The pilots erroneously shut off the good engine and, without thrust, the aircraft crashed on the M1 motorway in Leicestershire, killing 47 of the of the 126 people on board. The subsequent investigation revealed that many of the passengers did not assume the brace position during the crash. This led to a revision of the brace position, which is now widely adopted. Other recommendations from this loss included improved seat design, stronger overhead lockers and improvements in locker latches (which gave way in the crash and caused injury from falling bags). Configuration management training was also enhanced to ensure that crews understood the specific characteristics of the aircraft they were working on.
The industry has had to grapple with the proliferation of personal headphones
Since these recommendations were released in 1993, effective passenger safety briefings have played a role in improving survivability. These briefings provide passengers with clear instructions on how to use safety equipment and what to do in the event of a crash. The use of visual aids and demonstrations helps passengers prepare and act quickly and efficiently in the unlikely event of an emergency. The industry has had to grapple with the proliferation of personal headphones and find ways to ensure passengers play their part in protecting themselves by actively paying attention to safety briefings.
There is also standardization and rules for the safety cards available on each passenger seat. Icons and infographics on these cards must follow international standards, which is why they all look similar and tend to avoid embellishment.
Standardized language
Airports and air traffic control (ATC) operators have also enhanced their processes and procedures as a result of lessons learned from previous incidents.
The dreadful loss of two aircraft in Tenerife in 1977 led to the development of more standardized language and clearer instructions from ATCs. Research into this event helped develop further CRM, Human Factor Management and Fatigue Risk Management, all of which later played a crucial role in enabling a crew to crash-land a crippled aircraft in Sioux City in 1989.
Conclusion
Continuous advances in aircraft safety equipment and human factor-based protocols have significantly improved the chances of surviving an aircraft crash. From structural enhancements and technological innovations to improved emergency response equipment and rigorous training programs, the aviation industry remains committed to ensuring passenger safety. While the ultimate goal is to prevent accidents, these developments provide a vital layer of protection, improving passenger and crew prospects even in the most dire circumstances.
With the aviation industry back to pre-COVID 19 levels of activity and the potential growth of advanced air mobility over the next few years, there is unlikely to be any let-up in the focus on safety. All the incidents above are tragic, but industry professionals have learnt from each event and created systems, engineered structures and developed processes to reduce frequency and increase survivability of aircraft crashes.
