A shooting star (An artist ‘s impression) Image source – Star Gazers (https://tinyurl.com/2p96s7fn) Do pilots see anything during a night flight? As a pilot, I often get questions from passengers who, when gazing through the windows at night, see nothing but pitch-black darkness. They wonder how we navigate and fly the plane safely in such …
Cirrus Airframe Parachute System Image Source: NASA (https://tinyurl.com/3m2asxpp) Can we build an aircraft that is nearly crash-proof and stall-free? Many wonders if it’s possible to develop an aircraft that is entirely crash-proof and stall-free. Just like unsinkable ocean liners or uncrashable cars, the reality is that everything still carries some degree of risk. However, it …
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A China Southern Boeing 737-800 Xinjiang journey: Battling delays and tight security but leaving with cherished memories While some countries fret about flight delays in minutes, my recent journey to Urumqi tells a tale of hours! This narrative unfolds during my recent 11-day trip to Northern Xinjiang, when aboard a Chinese Airlines Boeing 737-800, the …
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An Airbus A330 Image source: 123RF Why are airlines seeing an increase in unruly passenger behavior? With the ongoing recovery of air travel from the pandemic, the aviation industry has been grappling with bad behaviors by some airline passengers. While these incidents have yet to reach an alarming scale, the social media and instantaneous information …
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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 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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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 …
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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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 …
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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Image: Bull Bosphorus A United Airlines Boeing 777 engine on Fire What is the best way for a pilot to deal with an engine fire? Engine fire is a very rare occurrence in modern planes today. Nevertheless, it did happen on a Boeing 777 in Denver last year. The best way for a pilot to …
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United Airlines history-making sustainability flight Concerned Flyer: Should I be worried about climate change? Careen wrote to me asking numerous questions about winds, heavy rain, extreme weather, tornadoes and clear air turbulence. She was baffled and wondered whether climate change could affect the safety of air travel. Firstly, climate change defines the increasing changes of …
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