Aircraft Safety

Hi. Have you ever wondered how the airlines make sure we get to our destination safely? This questions comes to my mind all the time especially when we have trips riding a plane. What do they do?

I drive or don't need to go......

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Originally Posted by SmartShabby

Hi. Have you ever wondered how the airlines make sure we get to our destination safely? This questions comes to my mind all the time especially when we have trips riding a plane. What do they do?

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they do this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtMzngYdx4s

i always pay attention to their demo. i love watching how each flight attendant add their own flare to the safety demo. it's so fun! i once watched an attendant do the snorkle and backstroke to demonstrate a water landing. :)

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Originally Posted by SmartShabby

Hi. Have you ever wondered how the airlines make sure we get to our destination safely?

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Pre-flight safety checks. Air traffic control.
Just a few things that popped into my mind.
I never had any issues flying but I avoid it as much as possible currently because I dislike the airport and having to get there 2 hours ahead of time and how expensive it has gotten.

Honestly, you're more endanger from poor company policies and even worse trained staff. The planes and the pilots themselves are usually fine. Still won't fly if I can get there with a reasonable drive though. Not going to pay several hundred dollars to be stressed, scrutinized, and harassed just for the "convenience" of getting someplace faster.

This was back in the day when smoking was allowed during flights and I travelled a lot.

One hot summer day a flight from DFW to NJ the plane would not budge from the gate even though the plane was loaded. A/C does not come on until airborne.

We sat there sweating for an hour until a workman appears with a big red rag in his back pocket. He heads straight to the rear of the plane.

I hear the rear door slam shut and the workman leaves.

The stewardess came and sat down in the jump seat in front of me. She leaned over and told me that the rear door would not close. The workman took his rag out of his pocket and wiped the inside of the door jams. The door then shut.

The problem: There was so much nicotine built up on the door jam it prevented the door from closing!!!:O

"There was so much nicotine built up on the door jam it prevented the door from closing!!!"

...just...wow.

Thanks for all your replies. Maybe I should stop watching air crash investigation documentation. LOL. Honestly, I think I became more anxious of flying.

I know how much safer it is to travel by air compared to other means, not to mention the advancement of the airline industry when it comes to tools such as aviation management software, personnel training and others.

I got a minor in college in Airline management when I was in college - I enjoy flying smaller aircraft and wanted to keep my hand in. The FAA are the ones that set regulations for airlines and airline pilots. Training to be a pilot is pretty stringent and is actually based on training for the military. Not as physical, of course, though most are expected to stay in shape (and a lot of them are ex-airforce/navy). It takes years, thousands of hours of flying time, and thousands of dollars to reach the point where you are qualified to pilot a multi-engine jet, and then you're bottom of the barrel and have to work your way up the chain.

As far as the airplanes themselves, a lot of them are aging. They're very expensive to manage, even more so when they don't fill up (which speaks to cost of flying). Not a lot of companies are buying large numbers of new jets because it simply doesn't make sense economically. That doesn't mean they're in bad shape. Again, the FAA has a lot of rules around them, and they are TOUGH. They're meant to withstand a lot of beating, and wear and tear.

Sadly, most crashes are due to the human element. Even with all the tech in the world, when there's fog or a steep updraft or downdraft, the pilot simply can't compensate for that. These types of instances are very rare though - and if there's a chance, most controllers will call the plane off once it gets too close to the ground.

In the class I took, we listened to recordings of pilots that were killed in crashes - most of them never even knew it or saw it coming. Their voices were perfectly stable right up until the moment the radio went out. They were all freak occurrences where one thing led to one thing led to one thing, led to a whole bunch of other things - and basically the cards fell just freakishly right for the plane to crash.

I guess what I'm trying to say is: there are measures upon measures upon measures to makes sure that a crash doesn't happen. When they do happen, it's typically because MULTIPLE things went wrong, not just one. And those events are so, so rare. The only reason we always know about them is because they're usually spectacular news that can kill hundreds of people, not just one or two.