The International Cessna^® 170 Association

In the September 2002 issue of Aviation Safety there is a good article on how to pick a forced landing site. A couple of interesting points made was to slide the front passengers seat back as far as it will go. Of course you would want to make sure it engaged in the track but their points were 1) it gives them somthing to do rather than scream, 2) it moves them away from the panel, and 3) it makes it more difficult for them to impulsively grab the yoke out of fear. And, it said to go ahead and crack a door open and stick a shoe, checklist, bra (maybe that's why you are going down ), or something to hold it open early to get a feel for how the airplane flies. There were many other good points made in the article, sliding the passengers seat back was something I had either not heard mentioned before or had forgot about it.

Lot's to think about here. Sliding the front seat back facilitates the front seat passenger's debarkation, but may impede the rear seat passengers' ability to deplane quickly. Also, a fully slid back front seat may result in a shoulder harness angle that is not optimum. I like to keep a few of those marine seat cushion/life preserver-type thingees in the cabin (within reach!) to use as face protection (anti-injury, not anti-ugly) and as life preservers in the event of a liquid landing.