sets of remains, about 145 sets could not be evaluated for soot in the airway because the condition of the remains precluded an evaluation. Of the 137 remains sets that could be evaluated, soot was found in the airway of 20 sets, no evidence of soot was found in 41 sets, and no definitive observations could be made regarding soot in the airway for 76 sets (in many of these 76 cases, however, the traumatic injuries described would have precluded survival after the impact sequence). Information was not available for the final 15 sets of remains.
1.14 Fire
A fire erupted during the impact sequence and was sustained by the fuel on board the airplane; the last report of small remaining fires was about 0800. The Safety Board's investigation revealed no evidence of an in-flight fire.
1.15 Survival Aspects
1.15.1 General
The 747-300 cabin contained a total of 385 passenger seats and was divided into three sections: first class, prestige (business) class, and economy class. The airplane was configured with four rear-facing, double-occupancy flight attendant jumpseats and six rear-facing, single-occupancy flight attendant jumpseats, all of which were equipped with a four-point restraint system. The flight attendant seats were located at each of the four emergency exit doors located on the left and right side of the cabin.
Of the 237 passengers aboard flight 801, 3 were children between 2 and 12 years old, and 3 were children 24 months or younger. Thirty-one airplane occupants were found alive by rescue workers Two passengers died en route to area hospitals. The autopsy report for one of these two passengers did not identify a single cause of death (her remains showed evidence of multiple internal injuries but no burns or soot in her airway). The autopsy report, however, identified that she was alive when medical personnel arrived at the accident scene and that she was treated aggressively as a result of serious injuries. In addition, 3 passengers died of their injuries within 30 days after the accident, bringing the official total number of accident survivors to 26.
Of the 26 survivors of the accident, 7 passengers and 1 flight attendant were seated in the first class section, 1 flight attendant was seated in the prestige class section, 7 passengers were seated in the forward economy class section, and 9 passengers and 1 flight attendant were seated in the aft economy class section. Two of the surviving flight attendants and 13 of the surviving passengers were seated on the right side of the airplane; 6 of these 13 passengers were seated over the right wing. Figure 9 shows the 747-300 cabin configuration and the survivor seat locations.
