RUDDER & WRENCH SAFETY / for airplane without a BRS or airplanes that have BRS but are outside the deployment envelope. While crashworthiness is a complex subject, let's set out the most important factors briefly and bluntly. Know and follow the three rules of crash survival: 1. All occupants fully strapped in-shoulder harness and seat belt-all the time; 2. Minimize the speed at touchdown (slightly simplified, force is a squared function-when you double the impact speed you quadruple the force of the impact); and 3. Give the airplane as much space as possible to decelerate between the initial touchdown and coming to a stop. Protecting ourselves Fly the airplane all the way to the crash BY RICK DURDEN I T'S A SUBJECT often spoken of in hushed tones but of significant concern to us as pilots-how can we most effectively protect our passengers and ourselves if we have to put an airplane down when and where we'd really rather not? The good news is that aircraft manufacturers paid attention to the extensive research and full-scale crash testing done since World War II, so the crashworthiness 98 AOPA PILOT / January 2024 of our general aviation airplanes has been steadily improving. The better news is that there are things that you can do to increase the probability that everyone will walk away from the airplane after a forced landing or other landing event (the most common type of general aviation accident). We'll note here that accident data are showing that the best occupant protection is a full-airplane ballistic parachute-so what follows is Strap in Restraining the occupants is the foundation of crash survival. That is the only way that they get the benefit of the design of the aircraft to " crush " and absorb impact loads rather than transmit them to the frangible humans. A seat belt is not enough-they cause the occupant to jackknife and face plant into the panel. That means a head injury that is fatal or at least temporarily incapacitating so the person doesn't get out if a fire starts. Bottom line-the FAA reports that 88 percent of injuries and 20 percent of fatalities have been eliminated by the use of shoulder harnesses in general aviation crashes. That's as close to a silver bullet for success in aviation as there is. If your airplane does not have shoulder harnesses for all seats, see if they can be retrofitted-it's possible in almost every seat in every general aviation airplane. The gold standard retrofit is AmSafe's SOARS (State of the Art Restraint System), an airbag seat belt system (amsafe.com). Slow down Touching down as slowly as possible increases the probability that the airplane will be able to perform its final design function-crush and absorb energy, protecting the occupants. Use all the flaps to minimize the stall speed, but don't stall the airplane. That DANIEL HERTZBERGhttp://www.amsafe.com