Most nervous flyers have the bothering question of which is the safest place to sit while aboard an aircraft. Having made a study of over 105 accidents and personal accounts from more than 2000 survivors, a report published in The Times makes some interesting observations.  

The study was conducted by the Civil Aviation Authority and was carried out by the Greenwich University. The study discovered that those seats near the emergency exit and those rows just in front or behind it prove to be the safest with the best survival rate. Between 2 and 5 rows from the exit, passengers have a better chance to escape from a fire.

On the other hand, the most dangerous seats are those between six or more rows from an exit. The study says that in these seats, the chances for perishing greatly outweigh that of surviving. Those passengers sitting more towards the front side of the aircraft had around 65% of escaping the fire. However, the survival rate for those at the rear seats was not more than 53%. Similarly, the survival rate for the passengers sitting in aisle seats was 64% while the same for the other passengers was 58%.

Robert Gifford, director of the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety said, "The study shows your choice of seat on a plane really can be a matter of life or death. Your chance of survival should not be based on your ability to pay for an emergency exit seat or to reserve your seat online."