Do planes fly in a straight line or follow the curvature of the Earth? Do planes fly in straight lines or follow the curvature of the Earth below? When I began to learn how to fly, during my first lesson, my instructor told me to maintain a ‘straight and level’ flight at 3000 feet. …
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A Malaysia Airline Boeing 737-800 It felt as if we were going to die! Recently, a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 737-800, similar to the China Eastern Airlines plane which crashed on 21 March 2022 in Wuzhou, China, encountered an unusual event that caused the aircraft to dive. The CAAM (Civil Aviation Authority Malaysia) press release attributed …
Can a plane window shatter in mid-flight? What happens if a plane window shatters mid-flight? Airplane windows are relatively strong. The main thing to know is that aircraft cabin windows are not made of glass but with stretched acrylic. You won’t be able to break an airplane’s window with your fist as it has …
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Photo: BobMil42 Airbus A340 Fuel Dumping in progress Why pilot dump fuel during an emergency? Prior to hanging up my uniform as a captain on the Boeing 777 in 2006, I encountered an emergency which potentially could have led to a depressurization if not properly handled. We could have ended up like the Helios Airways …
Photo: DavidCB N1819U McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 United Airlines What happens if the pilot loses complete control of the aircraft? This week’s question comes from Herbert Garrison. I assume he meant the total failure of the control wheel or control column, a device to physically fly the plane. On the modern Airbus, we refer to it …
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Source: Wikipedia Helios Airways Boeing 737 If both pilots were incapacitated, would the flight attendant know how to land the plane? Scott Richards asks the above interesting question. Well, AIRPORT 1975 was an attempt to portray such a possibility. In this movie, the captain of a small plane suffered a heart attack and crashes into …
Image: 123RF An upside-down plane? Can an airliner fly upside down? This is an interesting question from Lisa Anderson. Perhaps she may have seen the movie Flight where Academy Award winner Denzel Washington ‘skillfully’ maneuvered his plane during an uncontrolled dive. Miraculously he put it upside down before rolling the wings to right-side up for …
Boeing 787’s wings are incredibly strong Why a plane’s wings don’t break? When sitting by the window seat, one may notice the wing tips shaking up and down during turbulence. In aviation jargon, this is known as flexing of the wings. This may lead some nervous flyers to imagine that the bending motion may …
Image: 123RF An Air Transat Airbus A330 What are the chances of landing safely on some islands if both engines fail while flying over the ocean? To have two engines fail on a plane is extremely rare. Amongst others, there were 2 such incidents – one was caused by a flock of wild geese at …
Slithering snake on board Airbus A320 caused plane to divert In my last posting (see here), I mentioned that there is a check list for every emergency on board the plane. Now I must confess that there is none for ‘Snake on board cabin’! That was exactly what happened a few days ago day when …
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Loss of Braking memory action involves 8 steps What is the first thing to do in case of an emergency on a plane? I shall answer this Quora question from a pilot’s perspective. Pilots will follow this mantra, ‘AVIATE, NAVIGATE, COMMUNUICATE’ when encountering an emergency. They are taught to aviate, a pilot’s jargon to mean …
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Source: Starboard76 John Travolta flying his own Boeing 707 What is the largest plane you can fly with a private pilot license? A private pilot license (PPL) is basically the most basic of the 3 flying licenses and it restricts a pilot from operating any plane over 12,500 lbs. However, actor John Travolta was able …
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Can I sue the airlines for delays (passenger’s refusal to wear mask) in flight? Lately, (especially in the USA) we have seen multiple planes that are forced to turn around mid-flight due to unruly passengers (often mask related). Should other passengers on airplanes that are delayed by these unruly passengers sue for the delay …
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Image: Wikipedia Picture of a hurricane taken from a satellite How do airplanes fly in hurricanes? Gabriel Joseph from Quora is looking for an answer to the above question. I believe Gabriel is referring to commercial airliners rather than airplanes from ‘storm chasers’. For commercial pilots, it would be madness to fly in hurricanes because …
Image: Wikipedia A GOL Boeing 737-800 similar to the aircraft involved in the Brazilian mid-air collision What are the possibilities of 2 airplanes colliding and landing safely? Topher Barott from Quora asks the above question. Mid-air collisions on commercial airliners are extremely rare. I believe Topher Barott is referring to commercial planes instead of collision …
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Image: Wikipedia Earth rotating from West to East Does Earth’s rotation affect a plane in flight? The Earth is around 4.54 billion years old. It was formed when a cloud of gas collapsed due to gravity. As the cloud collapsed, it started to spin and continued to do so because there are no forces acting …
Photo: 123RF Lightning strikes on a plane What happens when lightning strikes a plane? Asmiati Utari from Quora asks, “Can thunder strike a plane?” I think the question should be rephrased by replacing the word ‘thunder’ with ‘lightning’. This is because, without lightning, there would be no thunder. Lightning is a discharge of electricity …
‘Depression 29’ with strong winds and rain over the Klang Valley in Malaysia. Is flying in the rain and wind safe? Emily G from Quora asks the above interesting question. Five days ago, ‘Depression 29’ brought heavy rain into the Klang Valley in Malaysia. It lasted for over 24 hours and recorded 363 millimeters of …
Photo: Travel 3Sixty Parachutes for air passengers? Why don’t airplanes have parachutes for passengers? Benjamin David from Quora asks the above question. Well, some people think that jumping off a plane with a parachute is a simple and easy task. In reality, this is impractical and fraught with difficulties. For a start, it is …
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Can this wasp cause a plane to crash? Can an insect cause a plane to crash? When Israel Saka from Quora asked me whether an inset can cause a plane to crash, it reminds me of Birgenair Flight 301. Yes, insects could indeed cause havoc if actions and precautions were not taken early enough. On …