Usually the most fearful part of flying comes with dealing with the TSA. But apparently there is a lot more going on behind-the-scenes that would probably be terrifying to most. Real life pilots share the unsettling secrets that they are more than glad are not common knowledge.
When’s the Last Time You Counted Your Jet’s Engines?
“The 747 is actually approved to dispatch with only 3 of the 4 engines available.” (Source)
What Really Happens in a Crash.
“It depends on the speed and angle of the crash, but basically, on a human body, a series of impact fractures (if you are bracing), broken vertebrae, limbs torn off and the unavoidable traumatic brain injury. IF you somehow survive any of that, there’s the fact that the bolts on the c-channel your seats are anchored to are only rated to keep the seat in place in a ‘moderate’ impact force, so unless you’re in the back of the cabin, everyone and everything is coming to join you up front at a high rate of speed.
And then there’s the smoke and fire. Unless you are somehow conscious and near on open section of fuselage, you’ll likely be dead from the smoke before the flames get to you. Aircraft cabins are built and tested to a very short burn curve. They figure that if you can’t get out in a few seconds, you’re already dead anyway. As a result, once the cabin gets to it’s ignition point, it burns hot and fast.” (Source)
Do You Know What Plane You’re Flying On?
“I recently flew on a Qantas A380 that experienced a pretty significant engine failure several years ago. The engine exploded, tearing holes in the wing and sent engine parts raining to the ground. Fortunately they landed without fatalities, but every A380 in production at that time was grounded while the event was investigated. WhIle boarding I recognized the name of the plane, Nancy Bird Walton. I asked the flight attendant whether this was the infamous plane and she very quietly assured me that it was indeed. I highly doubt the other passengers realized that they were sitting on s–t stains left from previous passengers.” (Source)
Sometimes the Pilot Has to Tell You What’s Going On.
“Once heard ‘we are landing at a different airport because we’re dangerously low on fuel.’ Packed flight suddenly got very, very quiet.” (Source)
Don’t Worry About That Hole in the Wing.
“Duct tape comes in 80mph tape and 100mph tape, and is perfectly good for putting the wing covering back together to fly it home.” (Source)
What Does a Holding Pattern Really Mean?
“My friend’s mom was on a plane one time to Miami. She was pregnant with my friend. Apparently when they were approaching the pilot told them that the traffic was busy so they were going into a holding pattern for a while. 3 hours later they finally land. Not until after they landed did they find out that the reason it wasn’t landing in the first place was because the landing gear wasn’t engaging. They were about to make an emergency landing when the landing gear decided to start working again so they landed properly. This is stuff I would prefer not to know as well.” (Source)
What That Seat Belt Warning Really Means.
“We try to find the safest and most comfortable ride for the passengers. When I’m flying, typically a general warning to the cabin is the seat belt sign being turned on an announcement that everyone should stay in their seats as there may be bumps. The second level of warning is to tell the flight attendants to sit down as well because of some weather up ahead. That’s it. Keep everything as vague as possible so people don’t have an anxiety attack. As a passenger, imagine if you heard this announcement, ‘uh ladies and gentlemen in 8 minutes we are going to fly into a small thunderstorm and the plane will potentially bank to the left and right and pitch abruptly up and down for two minutes.’ That cabin would go into complete chaos for the unseasoned flyer. There is nothing you can do as a passenger to fight turbulence other than stay buckled. 99.999999% of the time you do this, you won’t get hurt. As for us up front, it’s our job to know where the plane can go that’s safe and stay away from what’s unsafe. Cargo planes fly through the s–ttiest of weather and make it out just fine. The plane is strong. It’s not up to us though to fly the plane to its limits with passengers onboard. We’re there for comfort and safety. You want to s–t your pants every flight, ask the pilots to update everyone exactly what the nose of the plane is pointed at. Ignorance is bliss.” (Source)
Pose for the Selfie!
“That I spend more time on my phone than with my hands on the controls. How else can I get pictures like this?” (Source)
Just How Young Is Your Pilot, Anyway?
“In Denmark and most of Europe the age to drive a car is 18. The age limit to fly a glider with a licensed, adult co-pilot is 14. The age limit to fly a glider solo is 15. The age limit for flying a motorized single engine aircraft solo is 16. The age limit for flying commercially is 18]. The age limit for an Airline Transportation Pilot License is 21. We always assume that all pilots are ex-military pilots that understand everything and can control an aircraft to the point of ridiculousness. However some of those who freight your online purchases from country to country might not have a driver’s license yet. Some of your airline pilots may not be fully grown adult men, but boys/girls who start graduate school next year.” (Source)
Here’s Something Else They Left Out of the Safety Video.
“There’s a lot of interesting facts about aviation, enough for me to talk about them all week. You put the oxygen mask on yourself first because in a rapid decompression, the partial pressure of oxygen is so low that it makes your lungs work in reverse, and you essentially exhale oxygen. This gives you about 10 seconds of consciousness at high but still relatively common altitudes, that’s why you put the mask on yourself first. Also at that altitude you will instantly suffer from decompression sickness, what divers call ‘the bends,’ the nitrogen in your blood essentially boils and can be fatal.” (Source)
They Say Landing Is the Most Dangerous Part.
“Say I’m flying into a very busy airport. It has runways that run parallel to each other. The runway on the left is being used for landings and the runway on the right for take offs. Minimum separation between airplanes is three miles. Both planes are landing at 150 mph. This means 40 seconds are between each plane. Let’s say the lead plane is taking its time on the final approach and the number two plane is now 2 3/4 miles behind. The number 2 plane is going to probably have to do a go around if the first plane spends too much time clearing the runway. 3 miles out from landing, the tower tells plane number 2 they can side step over to the runway on the right side to avoid a traffic conflict. Approximately 1000′ above the ground the pilot flying aircraft 2 accepts this offer, clicks off the autopilot, and with minimal attention to the instruments, flies a raw visual approach maneuvering to a new runway maybe a half mile to the right. This happens every day and competent pilots perform this without incident. The Asiana 777 that crashed in San Fransisco was trying to land visually with minimal instrumentation reference. They weren’t switching runways at the last second or anything. Just a normal pretty day for flying. Basically they f–ked up because they ran out of talent. When you’re sitting in the back of the plane, you just assume the pilots up front won’t make those same mistakes.” (Source)
Tell Me Again Why I’m Turning Off My Cellphone?
“Everybody, the plane is cleared for takeoff. please turn off all mobile phones, aside from the pilot, because he’ll be browsing /r/mildlyinteresting.” (Source)
Just Don’t Run Into Each Other.
“Controllers make mistakes too. As long as we don’t run into each other then it’s not too bad.” (Source)
Stay Awake!
“Certain smaller regional airlines are paying their pilots pennies and forcing the pilots to sleep on the plane. I’d never feel comfortable having to trust my life with individuals subjected to such a stressful work environment.” (Source)
How Often Does Your Pilot Screw Up?
“Corporate pilot here. Former airline pilot. I’m glad that you have absolutely no idea what I’m doing. So when I screw up, you don’t know. And we do it all the time. Also, just cause a guy has grey hair, doesn’t mean he is any better than the young kid. One more thing, the guy next to you who watched a TV special about airplanes is wrong about everything.” (Source)
Control Tower? We Don’t Need No Control Tower.
“I’m based at a small tower-less airport and honestly feel more safe here than a lot of towered airports. I’ve dealt with some knucklehead controllers in my short time flying.” (Source)
How Well Protected Are You in a Plane?
“I’m a private pilot that flies a small 4 seater Cessna 172. Here are some things my passages are always amazed/freaked out by. How thin the airframe and flight control surfaces are. Also the complete lack of a tower at uncontrolled Echo airspaces. They often freak out when they realize it’s up to the pilots to not run into each other. How thin the firewall is between the engine and the cabin, basically inches between your feet and the engine. Also the reaction when I mention emergency transponder codes, they are always amazed that there’s a code to squawk for hijacking.” (Source)
The Story of the Gimli Glider.
“They calculated the fuel required in kilograms, and then loaded that number of pounds of fuel onto the aircraft, so that the aircraft had less than half the amount of fuel it would need to complete the journey. Other errors, such as inoperable fuel gauges, obscured this main issue. Both engines ended up losing power in midair about halfway through the journey and there was no section in the manuals or in the pilots’ training about how to fly with no operational engines. Fortunately, the Captain was an experienced glider pilot, so he glided the plane to land at Gimli, Manitoba. All passengers and crew evacuated safely.” (Source)
This May Be the Most Frightening Aspect of Flying.
“Those blankets never get washed. Ever.” (Source)