Why Parents Should Buy Seats for Infants During Flights? Expert Explains Risk of Placing Babies on Laps

Parents of kids under two years old are not required to buy infants a separate seat. However, experts believe buying one is better than keeping their child on their lap the entire flight.

Why Parents Should Buy Seats For Infants?

Following the explosion of a panel on an Alaska Airlines aircraft at 16,000 feet, experts are cautioning parents against carrying newborns on their laps during flights.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), if a baby had been seated on their parent's lap close to the window and it blew out, the baby would have been swept out of the aircraft.

In light of last week's "truly terrifying" occurrence, the agencies advise parents to buy a separate seat for their children even though guidelines allow youngsters under two to fly free.

"The safest place for a child under age two is an approved child-restraint system or device, not an adult's lap," according to the FAA.

Infants can be carried in their parents' laps without a separate seat. Still, the FAA and NTSB contend that the cost savings of keeping the child safe may exceed the additional expense of purchasing a seat.

A child being held would have been ripped from their parents' hands and sucked out of the aircraft if a passenger had been holding the child near the area where that panel blew off, according to Kwasi Adjekum, an assistant professor in the aviation department at the University of North Dakota. Practicing holding children on the lap is strongly discouraged, particularly during takeoffs and other critical flight parts.

Anthony Brickhouse, an aerospace safety professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, shared the same concern. He questioned why parents can carry their children on their laps on commercial flights, yet toddlers under a specific weight must ride in a car seat.

"That, to me, is just a gap in the system," he said. "And unfortunately, in safety, a lot of times, changes aren't made until there's a tragedy."

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What Happened During Alaska Airline Flight

A part of an Alaska Airlines airplane burst out in midair Friday night, forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing while flying from Portland, Oregon, to Ontario, California.

At 4:52 p.m., Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 took off from Portland International Airport. FlightAware, a public flight monitoring website, indicates that it is Pacific Standard Time. Just before 5:30 p.m., the plane made a safe return to Portland.

From a social media footage obtained by CBS News, one of the passenger window panels they had blown out. According to FlightAware, the aircraft descended to a height of roughly 16,000 feet after six minutes of flight.

Six crew members and 174 passengers were on board the aircraft. Flight No. 1282 "experienced an incident this evening soon after departure" and "landed safely back" in Portland, according to an Alaska Airlines statement.

After the incident, the pilot radioed the air traffic controller as soon as possible to report that the flight had depressurized. Two cell phones, a tray table, and a seat back were discovered on the ground in the Portland region after being sucked out of the enormous hole.

Following reports from United and Alaska Airlines that they discovered loose pieces in the door panels during Boeing 737 Max 9 inspections, federal investigators stated that a preliminary assessment indicated that loose bolts might be the cause.

Unexpected turbulence is the leading cause of pediatric aviation injuries, but the Alaska Airlines event raised additional worries about unsecured children at the forefront of aviation safety.

There were three infants on the Alaska Airlines flight, but none were seated along the aisle where the window broke.

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