For a forward seated passenger wearing only a lap belt , common recommendations for the brace position include : In the United Kingdom , the brace-for-impact position for forward-facing passengers was optimised following the Kegworth air disaster in 1989 . In that incident , the pilot announced " Prepare for crash landing " 10 seconds before impact , and the resulting injuries — from both those who did and did not adopt the brace position — would later be studied . The UK Civil Aviation Authority funded an engineering – medical joint research team , led by Nigel Rock of Hawtal Whiting Engineering Consultants and Prof. Angus Wallace of the Nottingham University Hospital and aided by Wing Commander David Anton of the Royal Air Force Institute of Aviation Medicine . Crash data was supplemented by medical information from the University of Nottingham and testing at the Institute of Aviation Medicine . The work used mathematical modelling derived from the automobile industry to analyse the human body under crash conditions . ( See " Further reading " below . ) This work led to the formation of the International Board for Research into Aircraft Crash Events ( '' ' IBRACE ' '' ) on 21 November 2016
Kegworth air disaster
Kegworth air disaster
Brace position