7 Myths About Airplane Safety That Many Believe

Most people know that airplanes are statistically the safest form of transportation in existence. According to the sector’s regulatory bodies, an airplane accident happens every 1.2 million flights and the chance of dying in an air disaster is one in 11 million. By comparison, the chances of dying in a car or traffic accident are one in 5,000.

But for you to be even more relaxed on your next flight, the awesome.club collected 7 air safety myths that are just…myths!

Lightning strikes aircraft more often than you might think. Statistics show that every plane has a chance of being struck by lightning at least once a year, which means about 50 strikes a day worldwide. This information may scare you, but believe me: lightning really isn’t capable of bringing down a plane.

Nowadays, all planes are designed to withstand lightning safely. If lightning strikes the aircraft, the electricity is dissipated by its extremities, such as the tips of the wings. In addition, electronic systems are shielded against electrical charges. Finally, if lightning strikes a plane during a flight, after landing, the plane is checked to ensure that everything will be safe on the next takeoff. An extra layer of security.

There is a scene in some movies where the autopilot is hacked and the crew is no longer able to control the plane. However, this has nothing to do with reality. For obvious reasons, airplanes are designed with many levels of safety in each system, and that goes for autopilot as well.

In fact, all planes have at least two separate computers and each can fly the plane without the need for the other. Even if all the autopilots are out of order, the pilots are skilled enough to fly the plane without the aid of electronics.

Some films, such as “Premonition” (New Line Cinema, 2000), have speculated about this myth. But what we see in the movies is fiction.

Yes, it’s true that there is a significant difference between the air pressure outside and inside the plane, but not enough for a complete suction to cause passengers to be immediately sucked out. The truth is that an air current will be able to carry light objects, the cabin will cool down and, of course, the oxygen masks will fall off. But definitely, reality is very different from what appears in the movies.

This myth is very popular in Hollywood. If in a movie an airplane loses an engine, it probably leads to a fatal accident. However, the truth is that an aircraft with only one engine can easily get around the situation.

There are several cases of safe landings with a single engine. Most aircraft have 2 engines (some have 4), specifically to ensure safety in this type of eventuality. Airplanes are very well designed; therefore, if one turbine fails at the time of takeoff, the aircraft can continue to take off, fly around the runway and land again.

We must understand that turbulence occurs naturally when we fly. Earth’s atmosphere is not perfectly fluid, and turbulence is the result of millions of tiny variations in air velocity, caused by direction and density.

Because this is a natural occurrence and happens regularly, aircraft manufacturers test new models against all possible worst situations. Wings are tested to withstand up to 150% of the maximum level of motion a flight can experience, including turbulence. Finally, the planes have weather radar and, whenever possible, avoid turbulence zones. So nothing is as scary as the movies make it out to be.

About 70 years ago, this could happen because cabins weren’t pressurized well. Already on today’s planes, all ports, including emergency ones, are designed as plugs. All open by sliding or turning into the cab before opening out.

This means that the doors must be pulled open. Furthermore, according to industry experts, no passenger is physically strong enough to open an airplane emergency door. up in the air.

In movies, a plane crash is always fatal. However, there are real stories that prove otherwise. Like Aloha Airline Flight 243 between Hilo and Honolulu, Hawaii. On April 28, 1988, the plane suffered extensive damage after an explosive decompression mid-flight, but managed to make an emergency landing at Kahului Airport on Maui.

Another case happened in 2013, when Asiana Airlines Flight 214 crashed while trying to land on one of the runways at San Francisco International Airport. It seemed incredible that 304 people survived the 307 passengers on board. It’s actually not that surprising. Figures from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB, US flight safety agency) show that 95% of passengers who were involved in accidents with American planes between 1983 and 2000 survived.

Are you afraid of flying? Because?