A British Airways Concorde in 1985 Photo Credit: Eduard Marmet (https://tinyurl.com/t626sac7) Is it safe for planes to take off with blown tires? This really depends on the type of aircraft, the speed when the blowout occurs and the consequential damages. While such incidents are rare, cases of planes successfully taking off and landing after blown …
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A Germanwings Airbus A320 Photo Credit: SEBASTIEN MORTIER (https://tinyurl.com/496nyy8r) Do pilots have to undergo any sort of mental check before flying? Yes, long before proceeding to fly any commercial planes, pilots indeed undergo mental health checks. A study of 809 Brazilian pilots generally revealed that between 6.7% and 12% had a common mental disorder. Just …
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A Cathay Pacific Boeing 777-300 Photo Credit: Aero Icarus What happens to passengers’ belongings when left in an aircraft after an emergency evacuation? This is an interesting question, and I hope the following answer will ease the minds of many passengers who are unfortunate enough to be involved in an emergency evacuation. The Federal Aviation …
An Aeroflot Airbus A310 Photo Credit: Yevgeny Pashnin Do pilots ever allow friends or family members to sit in the cockpit during take-off or landing? This practice was permitted in the past, prior to the tragic events of the September 11 attacks in New York in 2001. It was possible for passengers, friends and family …
An Australian GAF Nomad Photo credit: Bidgee Why is it crucial for pilots to know the weight and balance of a loaded plane before take-off? Ensuring that an aircraft stays within its weight and balance limits is of utmost importance for pilots before commencing a flight. If there is too much weight towards the back …
An Asiana Airbus A321 from Seoul Incheon. Photo credit: N509FZ Can you open an emergency door mid-flight? If not, why not? This is a common question from air travelers. The simple answer is no, you certainly cannot open the door at mid-flight. However, there have been rare instances where doors were opened at lower altitudes. …
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An US Airways Airbus A320 Photo: 123RF What happens if a plane runs out of fuel during take-off or cruising at high altitude? It is highly unlikely for a plane to “run out” of fuel during take-off. This response is focused on commercial airplanes where their operations are tightly regulated. Before take-off, airliners carry a …
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A Malindo Air ATR 72-600 Turboprop plane Photo Credit: Teerawut Wongdee What happened to passenger planes with propeller engines? Are they all gone now? Many people believe that propeller planes are obsolete but the truth is that they are still very much alive and operating in many airlines around the world. They are generally flown …
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Photo credit: BobMil42 An Airbus Fuel Dumping in progress Have you ever wondered why pilots sometimes take longer to land even when there’s a technical problem? Recently, an unhappy passenger on an Airbus A320 flight from Guangzhou to Kuala Lumpur was left frustrated when the captain decided to fly for about three hours before …
Miracle on Qantas A380 Flight 32 Photo: Ramani What are some common parts that may fall off a plane and cause it to crash? Aircraft parts such as fasteners, hatch covers, cargo doors or engines falling off planes are very rare. On July 25, 2000, a metal strip did fall off from a Continental DC-10 …
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Mayday call of Qantas flight after an engine failure Photo: 123RF Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! What does this actually mean? ‘Mayday!’ when repeated 3 times with details and broadcasted over the radio is a cry for help in a life-threatening situation. In days gone by, radio communications could be bad and any distress call must …
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Bombardier Q400 operated by Colgan Air Photo Credit: Hawaiian717. How often do airline pilots fly the plane manually, rather than relying on autopilot and computers? This question seems to express concerns that some airline pilots are relying too much on automation such that a few have forgotten how to fly. Indeed, this has resulted in …
The last three British Airways Concordes in 2003. Credit: BAA Why did the Concorde stop flying, and is there any chance that it might return one day? There were many reasons that killed the Concorde. This plane was the most powerful commercial pure jet flying from 1976 to 2003. It flew faster than …
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My last London flight, completing 25,500 hours without experiencing an engine failure If an engine fails on take-off, will the pilot abort the take-off or continue? When an engine fails on take-off, a pilot’s decision to go or not, would depend on the speed it has attained. From day one, a pilot is reminded that, …
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Plane came within seconds of disaster when a pilot mistake sent it plunging towards the ocean. Photo: 123RF On 10 January 2023, a Qatar Airways Boeing 787 flight from Doha to Copenhagen nosedived and narrowly avoided striking the Arabian Gulf shortly after take-off from the Hamad International Airport. According to Flightradar24, a Swedish internet-based service …
Yeti Airlines ATR 72-500 Source: TMLN 123 What is the cause of an airplane stall during landing and how can it be prevented? A stall in a plane is unlike a car – the engine does not stop. It is a condition when the airspeed becomes too low and the plane just drops off the …
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A Delta Airline plane loading for departure A major air disaster at JFK Airport avoided by the captain on Friday the 13! There are many emergency-drills a pilot practices in the flight simulator in anticipation of a real one in his flying career one day. Indeed, on Friday the 13, January 2023, the captain of …
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How Some Unruly Passengers Behave in Flight… On a recent flight from New York to Delhi, an unruly male passenger urinated on a woman in the plane. This person appeared to be drunk on the flight. The victim demanded for the immediate arrest of the culprit upon landing but against her wishes, the crew brought …
Photo: Benny Zheng Scoot’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner What if unruly air passengers refuse to buckle up? Recently, it was reported that a group of unruly passengers on a Scoot flight refused to fasten their seat belts as the plane was making a descent to land. Well, the captain is ultimately called upon by the purser …
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Photo: 123RF An Airbus A350 Can an airplane complete a full flight on auto pilot? There is some confusion on what constitutes a full flight. If we define it as from the departure gate, say from Kuala Lumpur to the London Heathrow arrival gate, then we cannot say that the auto pilot is capable of …
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