Why aren’t car-like 3 point seatbelts used in planes?
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1. Car crashes are often unexpected. Airplane crashes are not.
2. The three point belt is designed to stop the rapid acceleration and deceleration caused by a sudden and unexpected crash.
3. The brace position in an aircraft is more likely to save your neck than a three point belt, reducing the chance of whiplash.
There is extensive research on maximizing survival rates and minimizing injury rates among passengers. Unless the aircraft is completely demolished or turns into a fireball there is a good chance you’re going to survive and a correctly assumed brace position will maximize your chances of doing that with minimal injuries.
You’re free to search for the papers on such accidents (like the Hudson river miracle or Scandinavian flight 751).
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