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 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 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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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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Image credit: Allec Joshua Ibay An Air India Express Boeing 737-800 Why does the plane suddenly go around? A go-around occurs when the pilot makes a decision not to continue a landing. It is also called a missed approach, wave-off, rejected or aborted landing. Whatever one chooses to call it, the captain is definitely not …
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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British Airways Boeing 747 flying into a volcanic ash cloud What does a pilot say when he thinks he is going to crash? On 24 June 1982, a British Airways Boeing 747, flying from Kuala Lumpur to Perth encountered volcanic ash from the eruption of Mount Galunggung in Indonesia. It caused all the 4 engines …
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