Protecting infant airline passengers from injury in a severe but survivable accident

Aviation safety regulations in Australia and overseas permit the carriage of an infant passenger on the lap of an adult; however, this practice is known to be unsafe in an emergency landing scenario. This study compared and evaluated the safety of seating arrangements involving infant air transport passengers under emergency landing conditions. Two arrangements were considered: the lap-held infant was either unrestrained or restrained by a supplemental loop belt. A validated numerical model was used to study seat behaviour and measure occupant injury potential. Results were analysed to compare the safety of different configurations, to evaluate safety in terms of an occupant protection standard and to predict the occurrence and severity of a particular injury using existing biomechanical relationships. Analysis demonstrated that regardless of restraint condition, the lap-held arrangement does not represent a means of protecting an infant from injury in an emergency landing scenario. During the impact sequence an unrestrained lap-held infant is likely to be projected through the aircraft cabin, while a lap-held infant restrained by a supplementary loop belt is at risk of serious abdominal injuries.