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"Hypothetical question"

I read somewhere recently (the Daily Mail, no less) that one of the reasons for assuming the "brace" position in an air crash is that it preserves the teeth better, allowing for a cheap form of identification if you crash and burn. This led to a long debate on the following question:

How do you know if the body you get back is the one you were meant to get?

A bit morbid perhaps, but the possibility exists after an event such as a plane crash, where the bodies will be in pieces and burnt, that you might not get back what you were expecting. The real question I suppose is "are there doctors that would knowingly give you back a body, where they weren't sure of the indentity to: a) give peace of mind to relatives, b) make it quick and easy for themselves?". A bit of a paranoid and cynical way to look at the world, but, in theory at least, it could happen - and it's not like doctor's take their oath and from then on do no wrong - Look at Harold shipman, one of Britain's most prolific serial killers.

The only positive way of identifying a body is either DNA, or dental records. So short of having your own medical lab, you have to take the doctor's word. Are you the sort of person that would question this? Is he Quincy, or a bit shifty, like Dr No? Would the doctor's word provide the peace of mind you need to be reassured that it's the body you want back? The only way I could think of this being disproved is if the victim had an artificial limb, or gold teeth, then had a cremation. But how many people look at the ashes after a cremation, or indeed at a body after a plane crash?

Sorry if this upsets anyone, but it's just hypothetical. The sad fact is that there are probably people in the medical profession that would do this sort of thing to save time and money.

People who are scared their plane will crash are pretty stupid

1. You are a LOT more likely to die in a car crash and I mean a lot
2. A plane crash is a really quick death... unlike being stuck in a metal cage thats on fire like a car crash.
3. Fight Club tells me you get high on the pure oxygen
4. Flying is fun

Nasty.

Well, the top of your head is pointing right at the seat in front of you. Imagine being in the back seat of a car with your head between you legs and the car going from 500mph+ to 0mph in the space of less than a second. That's how you'd break your neck.

How does that help break your neck?

The "Brace" position is when you're sitting in your seat and put your head between your legs. The Saggy One is right though - it is also so you die that bit quicker.

It would help me understand this a little more if I knew what the 'brace position' was.

But plane crashes are a big fear of mine, which is why I will probably never get on a plane.

Nice..

I will be really comfortable on my flight in two weeks' time then!

Oh well, I could think of worse ways of dying- like being buried alive *shudders*

They ask you to adopt the brace position to ensure that you break your neck when you crash, providing a quick and relativley clean death.

This also allows you to kiss your a** goodbye...

> Kyz22 wrote:
> In an air crash the whole thing would most likely explode and leave
> very little of anything left.

Upon impact with the ground, most large commercial aircraft break up before they explode, because the fuel tanks are in the wings, which are usually the first to detach, it doesn't always explode. There is usually a large fire though, and some times, if the plane had a enough fuel onboard at the time of impact, it will explode.

I find it hard to believe something involving air hijacking on such a large scale again, there is too much security for it now. Customs won't let you through with a toothpick because you might stab someone with it...