This question may sound a bit strange. But if a plane full of people traveling to their destination goes down, why not drop the seats? Or eject them sideways. Or however. At a height where it's possible for the people to breathe safely. Does the design of a plane forbid this? Is it too expensive? A crash is a rare event, so I can imagine the last. Contrary to a car crash, there is time, before the actual crash, to throw the people out somehow (with a parachute, that is). I know my father would be delighted!
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Among other reasons: 1) Weight & cost. 2) A large fraction of crashes happen on takeoff or landing, where the ejection seats would be of little use. – jamesqf Jun 10 '21 at 17:39
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..and the extra weight would mean that more flights would be required to transport the same number of pax, resulting in more of those risky takeoffs/landings. Fitting ejector seats and parachutes would kill more people than they would save. – Martin James Jun 11 '21 at 06:26
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Ejection seats would be very costly and heavy. Aircraft are weight sensitive. The more the aircraft weighs, the less weight (people) it can carry. That means, travel would be way more expensive. And, fewer people could travel. They are also violent. Their very use would lead to deaths and casualties. Unfortunately, self bailing out of the aircraft is also not likely. Parachuting is a perishable skill. Regular passengers would not have the skill nor discipline to evacuate the aircraft properly, let alone skydive to safety. – Dean F. Jun 11 '21 at 17:29