Is flying an airplane that only has lap belts — no shoulder harnesses — taking an unacceptable risk?
I’ve taken a number of people for airplane rides, most recently in a 1946 Piper J-3 Cub a friend lets me fly. Each flight has gone well. Both pilot and passenger enjoyed each flight.
Each time, I mitigated the risk as best I could. The days were all clear and calm, offering great visibility and a smooth ride.
My last flight was with 11-year-old Cole. His first “small airplane” ride. I wrote about it as well.
In response to that column, I received an email from Robert Hughes, Captain MC USN Ret., that has me thinking. I suppose that’s a good thing.
The following is from the email Robert sent to me, as well as copies of emails he sent to the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA):
For the past several years, I have been trying raise the appreciation of the inherent risks of flying aircraft, usually older versions, which are not fitted with shoulder restraint systems. Minor mishaps frequently turn into tragic events in terms of injuries and fatalities.
“Our notions of automoble safety have evolved dramatically since the 60’s. I don’t remember if my college-era cars were fitted with even rudimentary lap belts, but now I would not consider riding in a car, or airplane, without restraints including an effective shoulder harness. I look back on the thousand+ hours that I flew my Cub and Champ without any shoulder restraints, and from today’s vantage point, I can only wonder ‘what were we thinking?’ As pilots, we put passengers at unnecessary risk in those old days.
“Many years ago, shortly after I sold my beautiful J-3 to a flight school in Florida, it was involved in a low velocity accident with an instructor and student. They sustained serious injuries due to the lack of shoulder harness restraint, and could have easily been killed. Before and after photos of that mishap are attached (see below). In that less enlightened time, many older general aviation planes had not been retrofitted with shoulder restraints, but we should certainly know better now.
“Please take a thoughtful look at the risks of flying without a harness. You would not want your kids to ride in a car without restraints. Why is a plane any different?”
I’ll be honest, Robert’s email caught me off guard.
I’ve flown each of my children and the children of many friends in the Cub. And each were restrained with only lap belts.
Looking back, I soloed an ultralight when I was 13. It had lap and shoulder harnesses. (I remember thinking the shoulder straps were there because there was no enclosure around the seat). On my 16th birthday, I soloed our 1946 Piper J-3 Cub…restrained only by a lap belt. We (my instructor and I) mitigated the risk of that flight by flying from Thun Field (KPLU) with its wider and longer runway with clearer approaches than the shorter and narrower runway at our residential airpark home in Shady Acres.
Interestingly, maybe ironically, two days after Robert’s email came in, I received an email from Method Seven Glasses.
“Earlier this year, Eric Tucker landed his J3 Piper Cub on an ambulance moving at 60 mph,” read the first sentence.
With Robert’s email rattling around my head, I clicked on the link. Smartly, Eric (who also happens to be airshow legend Sean D. Tucker’s son) had outfitted his J-3 with shoulder restraints. Good for him. Although, I might add, he’s taking on a bit more risk than the typical J-3 flight. See for yourself in the following video.
Shoulder harnesses can improve — I suppose — the odds of minimizing injury from an accident. But looking at the accident picture Robert sent, my questions revolve more around “what were they doing?”
Discussion over the last several years has evolved from making aviation safe toward mitigating risk. I won’t be landing any airplane atop a moving vehicle regardless of the number of restraints holding me in. Likewise, Eric and his team worked hard to mitigate the risks of his flight as well.
My take? Acceptable levels of risk are personal to pilot and aircraft.
What do you think? Am I off base?
Hi Ben,
I always appreciate the way you handle potentially controversial issues in a calm and non-confrontational manner. It sets a nice tone which allows everyone to give their perspective.
Regarding shoulder harnesses, when we operate as pilot in command we owe our passengers the highest degree of safety we can reasonably achieve. A brochure produced by the FAA entitled Seat Belts and Shoulder Harnesses states that,
“studies of serious accidents have shown that the proper use of shoulder harnesses, in addition to the safety belt, would reduce major injuries by 88 percent and reduce fatalities by 20 percent.”
That is an incredible benefit created by adding just two nylon straps. I’m not a big fan of major injuries or death for me or my passengers. A reduction of major injuries by 88 percent by adding shoulder harnesses is something I can live with.
Well said Steve, and thank you for the kind words. I’ll make sure the owner of the Cub I have access to sees this post. I’m also not a big fan or injuries or death…
I’m recovering my 1941 Piper J-5A. I did some 337’s to submit to the FAA and my IA signed them off but when I talked to the FAA rep at Seattle FSDO he said it wouldn’t be approved because it involved welding a cross tube in to bays overhead to attach the shoulder harness to.
I found the letter the FAA published saying that they would lossen up on instillation of shoulder harnesses, but they really haven’t. 43-13 does have a chapter on installing them but it requires a 337 for anything that involves welding or drilling of holes in the airframe. I’m going to install them but with attachments that don’t involve welding or drilling. I will have to do something like large Adell clamps to mount the attachment points and may even use tubing and fitting I can bolt on to the frame to carry the load to a stronger point. That can be done with just an IA approval and a logbook write up. It’s not as if anyone is going to get a STC for an airplane that is over 75 years old and in limited numbers.
There’s a shoulder harnesses STC for my 72 year old Ercoupe. I just had a set installed. Are there not enough J5s still flying to justify an STC?
So if the shoulder harness is so all fired important for passengers, why don’t the airlines at least install them for their 1st class pax to make them feel extra-special?
In the case of GA aircraft, it apparently depends upon the aircraft being flown and how the pax area is set up that determines if they need shoulder harnesses. In six place aircraft I’ve flown, only the Pilot and Co-Pilot positions have shoulder harnesses.
Most airline pax are not going to do a face plant on anything really solid, like a dashboard/panel, control yoke, or put their head through the windscreen. But, rear seat car pax have shoulder belts. Why not rear seat GA pax?
some have actually….
In my day job flying a Citation, one old pilot never wears his shoulder straps (though required and installed) but I have had them in my 7AC Champ for 30 years. The recent Falcon crash in Raleigh both pilots died in a slow speed overrun (their shoulder harnesses not attached). To me pretty obviously safety wins this cost/benefit analysis.
I think you are a bit of a fool for not using all of the safety gear that is provided in the aircraft!
Thanks for the article. Respectfully, I think you missed one of the key points when considering what is an acceptable risk by not mentioning costs and/or abilities to mitigate that risk. I don’t know the specific costs for outfitting a Cub with shoulder harnesses, but I don’t get the sense that in the grand scheme of aircraft ownership its a prohibitively expensive endeavor.
In addition to the bodily injury issues, it is always helpful to consider the legal ramifications. Although I’ve generally only defended aircraft owners and operators, what safety equipment and, in addition, what warnings you give to your passengers are often key factors in determining liability and damages after an aircraft accident and injuries.
Unlike the auto industry, where car owners didn’t have much of an opportunity to retrofit cars with should belts until it was mandated by the government, aircraft owners can retrofit their aircraft. Respectfully, I would suggest that flying with only a lap belt (and taking children in the aircraft no less) is an unacceptable level of risk. To me it is equivalent to riding a motor bike without a helmet. In some jurisdictions, an adult rider can choose to not wear a helmet, but I believe (and I stand to be corrected), in almost every state it is mandatory for children to wear a helmet.
I hate to be politically incorrect and not agree with the overwhelming response here, but the question is whether acceptance of risk is personal or universal. I don’t think anything should be universal. If everyone set the bar I am hearing here and made everything as safe as is humanly possible there would be no air races or air shows, no stunt men, no auto racing or motorcycle racing events, no one could ever ride a horse or leave the ground or take a picture of a thunderstorm. The majority of Olympic athletes would not compete for fear of injury, no new equipment or aircraft could be developed. Individuals have to assess risk, minimize it and take a chance that the first flight of the home built will not be fatal, that the parachute will open, and that the skis will be able to stop on that icy patch. I have flown since 1966, worked my way through college as a rodeo cowboy and on a football scholarship, still race motorcycles and ski. Most people I know would not accept the level of risk that I do and I certainly understand the fear of pain or death. They sit at home and watch others take those “unacceptable” risks on TV. But it still is my choice, and that is wonderful. I resent mandated seat belts, helmet laws and other intrusions into my ability to determine my destiny. I have had 6 concussions, 19 broken bones and countless soft tissue injuries. I don’t regret a moment of the trauma and, instead, revel in the memory of the adventure and living life to the absolute fullest. Please don’t tell me what level of risk I should take, and if you are my passenger you can trust that I’ve examined the risks of my acts a lot more closely than most and am able to assess and minimize it more acutely than those that are never on the edge. Make your own decision about getting in with me. (Children excepted) BTW, I’m okay with the possibility that I die in a fiery crash in a rush of adrenaline rather than in a rest home not knowing who my visitors are. Oops, didn’t mean to turn into a rant, please excuse an old daredevil.
Upon rebuilding my Cub, shoulder harnesses were the one non-negotiable item that went in. Other items could be discussed but shoulder harnesses were getting installed come hell or high water. That said, I did fly the airplane for a bit without them after I bought it…but I did eye up that instrument panel and front seat frame every time.
It can be difficult to install them in a Cub with the fabric on. If you’re planning on recovering the airplane relatively soon, install them then. Otherwise, others have figured out how to install them so it’s possible. Inertial reelvariants are available if you dislike fixed harnesses (they don’t work well from the back seat of a J3).
I can’t say I wouldn’t fly in something with only a lap belt but I’d be thinking about it until I was stopped on the ground.
When I started flying in the 1950s [as a baby] and thru the 1960s [as a kid] ‘seat belts’ were the norm in all but military aircraft.
But in the 1950s and 1960s… most general aviation seat belts were NOT even secured with a ‘2-peice metal buckle-type’… tab-end (a) into a locking latch end (b). MANY of the older seat belts relied on a rough-woven seat belt material fed-thru a metal friction gripper-buckle… that lifted-up for the belt-tip insertion… which was pull-thru to ‘tight’ by the passenger… then the belt ‘gripper’ was ratcheted down … with rough teeth that pinched the belt tight… to lock the seat-belt.
Wow… I wonder how many of those old-style seat belt latches failed due to ‘slippage’ or otherwise due-to being inadvertently released in a crash. NOTE: After many years of wear-tear on the belt fabric, most were actually barely safe for restraining people due to flight loads, much-less crash loads.
Those old-style seat belt ‘gripper-latches’ were made illegal in the late 1960s… and had to be replaced with positive-locking metal buckle-belts.
NOTE. Later-on, these belts were often modified by adding a shoulder harness with a ‘loop on the end’, that would allow the male seat belt end [blade-end] to pass thru it… then the buckle would be snapped into the female latch-end. in general this was a pretty-cheesy way to ‘cobble together’ a single strap shoulder belt to the seat belt.
NOTE. Seat belt latches went thru further refinement, when the ‘lift end of the latch release tab’ was BENT DOWN… as opposed-to UP… to prevent inadvertent latch release due to anything brushing the bent-up end…
I agree with shoulder straps, but
I wonder when will airbags be used?
AmSafe seat belt airbags are available for most legacy aircraft.
Never thought much about shoulder harnesses, but that changed when an engine failure at low altitude was followed by a hard belly landing. That provided me with skull fracture, a concussion, jaw fracture and a few broken teeth – all due to the fact that the missing shoulder shoulder harness allowed my head and upper body to come in sudden contact with various parts of the aircraft.
41 years later I still get daily reminders in the form of pain. If you don’t have shoulder harnesses – get them!
Had a member or our flying club die in an accident while wearing only a lap belt. His head hit a part of the framing tubing. We were told at the time a shoulder restraint would have prevented it.
It made an impact on me. I installed shoulder harnesses in my Aeronca Chief. I absolutely will not fly in any GA plane that doesn’t have them.
20 years ago when I bought my now 50 yr old cherokee, the first upgrade was shoulder harnesses for both front seats. I’m astonished at some folks around here with similar-age aircraft who think nothing of adding speed mods, new paint, new interior but are convince I’m clueless when I suggest shoulder harnesses.
When I first joined EAA in 1985 I had to sign a statement that I agreed to install shoulder restraints in any plane I might build. I think this was based on some Navy data and was indicative of some pretty progressive thinking on EAA’s part. When did this focus fade away?
From at article in by Tony Bingelis in the EAA Experimenter magazine March 1998:
The critical need for the installation and use of pilot and passenger restraint systems in sport aircraft has been recognized and supported by EAA for more than 40 years. EAA membership applications long contained the Shoulder Harness Pledge — “I hereby promise to install and wear shoulder harness and safety belts in my private-built aircraft to protect myself, passenger and the good name of the association. Air Force and Navy tests have proven that a 20-G harness will eliminate 90 percent of aircraft accident injuries.”
https://www.eaa.org/en/eaa/aviation-communities-and-interests/homebuilt-aircraft-and-homebuilt-aircraft-kits/resources/building-articles/cockpit-and-cabin-interior/importance-of-the-shoulder-harness
The FAA has even gone to the extraordinary step of removing many of their regulatory barriers to allow almost any reasonable installation of restraints to happen without costing a small fortune. As one who’s life has been saved by wearing a 5 point restraint system, I personally think it is nuts to fly (or drive) without proper restraints. In my younger years, I flew a lot of hours in Champs, Cubs, Stinsons, etc with only lap belts. When I built my own planes, they all got full restraint systems. I’ve known a lot of people that have had to have facial reconstruction for lack of shoulder restraints. Think about which one you would rather have? Or better yet, would you rather see your son or grandson have facial reconstruction, or would you rather spend a couple of hundred $$ to install a shoulder harness?
If YOU think a lap belt only is an acceptable risk–fine. But your trusting passengers should not be forced to accept YOUR level of risk.
A set of three points can be had for about $800.
I just had a set installed in my Ercoupe. I never allowed anyone to fly with me because I could not properly restrain them. Now I can.
Having spent the last 40 years as a firefighter, I have seen some pretty nasty auto, motorcycle and airplane crashes. Restrained people had a much higher rate of survival. I have seen what looked like a survivable crash turn out to be a fatal incident due to lack of restraint. I have seen many a maimed face and/or body for lack of upper body restraints.
So based on my anecdotal evidence, I am 100% in favor of upper body restraints. Three point styles as a minimum and preferably 4 or 5 point. Of course any restraint must be properly installed and 100% functional. That means that the 50 year old belts in your plane may need to be replaced.