- 67 -
A question was also raised as to whether the occupant of the jump seat had his safety belt fastened. If he had not, there is a possibility that he might have been thrown forward so as to interfere in some way with the handling of the airplane controls. The jump seat was found in a badly damaged condition. A part of each side of the safety belt was found and the webbing of both had been broken or cut. Close examination of these parts does not indicate whether either was broken under heavy strain such as might be expected at the time of impact had the belt been fastened and therefore it is impossible to determine whether the belt was fastened at the time of impact.
It is unlikely that the person sitting in the jump seat would have been thrown forward because of up or down drafts such as might be expected in turbulent air conditions. The usual tendency is for one to be thrown straight upwards when the airplane strikes a severe downward gust of air. However, if the seat belt had not been fastened, the occupant of the jump seat might be thrown forward involuntarily into the pilots' compartment if the airplane were suddenly nosed down steeply so as to cause a pitching movement. Therefore, if the airplane suddenly went into a steep dive, the observer might have been thrown forward into the pilots' compartment and might have thereby interfered with any attempts the pilots could make to regain control.
