Of course precautions are taken only after having experienced the event and so my vintage #9 1 / 2 has experienced how hard the lab floor is! Fortunately, the body plane was not damaged: the only consequence was the cap lever breaking.
I had the idea for the problem solution from Nintendo Wii remote to wich I removed the safety loop and secured it in the slot created by the mouth regulating lever. In other block plane models it can also be secured directly around the front knob
It does not interfere with the planing action and avoid any danger of falling.