A concept that redesigns airplanes to eject during emergency situations.

Russian aviation engineer Tatarenko Vladimir Nikolaevich unveiled a new design concept that has the potential to save the lives of thousands of airline passengers in the event of a plane crash. The notion involves redesigning planes with a detachable cabin that would eject during emergency situations to touch down on land or water safely.

Nikolaevich disclosed the new concept after three years of development and said his work was inspired by the idea that it is possible to make flying safer by evolving airplane design to offer optimal solutions in emergency events.

The proposed device would eject during a crisis and safely drop passengers by automatically deploying parachutes once the cabin detaches from the aircraft. In the prototype, the detachable cabin also included storage space for passengers’ luggage underneath to ensure valuable personal belongings are not lost.

Aside from the parachutes attached to the roof, the detachable cabin has large rubber tubes at the bottom that inflate to cushion the impact of the landing and help keep the cabin afloat on water.

“The existing technology of using of Kevlar and carbon composites for fuselage, wings, flaps, spoilers, ailerons, tail will be used during the design. It allows to partly compensate the weight of parachute system,” Nikolaevich explained.

While some viewers were impressed by the demo video, some critics pointed out that the design compromises the strength of the airframe by introducing joints between the cabin and the body of the plane. Instead of an entire fuselage that reinforces the strength of the airframe, this structure tends to be a bit weaker and more vulnerable to physical stress.

Others argued that the design is based on assumptions about landing a detachable cabin safely with parachutes during a crash. It’s possible that the cabin could crash into a building or mountainside. Some also noted that the design does not include an escape plan for pilots.

Apart from how some critics feel, statistics show that more than 2,000 people have died in plane crashes since 2012, which means the redesign could save thousands of lives if functioning properly.

This isn’t the first time a detachable cabin concept has been introduced; Airbus filed a patent for a similar idea in February 2013, but it was addressed to help streamline the passenger boarding process rather than focusing primarily on safety.

While it may seem a little far-fetched, airplane redesign with detachable cabins is seriously being considered.