There are several trends that plane passengers partake in. Some are harmless, but others can be dangerous due to airplane turbulence. One such trend is passengers buckling their seat belts around their ankles instead of the normal position. This has been going on for a while, but experts are now weighing in on the dangerous airplane trend. 

It’s not safe for plane passengers to misuse seatbelts

According to Yahoo News, there is a growing TikTok trend where plane passengers buckle their seat belts around their ankles. They do this in order to have their feet in the seats and their knees up to their chest. The participants say that this way of buckling their seat belts on airplanes allows them to sit more comfortably. This is despite it going against safety protocols.

These plane passengers have caused alarm from crew members and various doctors. Dr Richard Dawood, who specializes in travel medicine, warns against the practice. He says, “This does not look at all safe. I’m not aware of any formal impact testing on passengers wearing lap straps around their ankles, well below their center of gravity, but with a frontal impact, the likely result would be to catapult the passenger forward, over the belt, and into the back of the seat in front.” 

He adds, “Another likely passenger injury in this position would be from a flexion force, driving their face or chin into their knee. Beyond protection from impact, the normal wearing of a lap strap also helps restrain the passenger in the event of a sudden loss of altitude that would otherwise force the passenger upwards.”

A professor of aviation management also issued a warning to plane passengers. They said, “Any assumption that wearing the seatbelt around the ankles with limbs tucked between the belt and the seat would be safe is flawed. The forces strong enough to forcibly eject a passenger from their seat would be capable of causing severe damage to limbs restrained in such a manner.”

Of course, airplane turbulence makes this TikTok trend dangerous for plane passengers. Even the smoothest plane rides can have turbulence. Sadly, it can be so rough that it can even cause serious injury to people with their seatbelts properly positioned. It’s important to note that instances of clean air turbulence were 55 percent higher in 2020 than in 1979. Because of this, people who travel by airplane should obey the rules of the airlines.