Are you afraid of airplanes or afraid of flying?

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Are you afraid of airplanes or afraid of flying?

Today begins a new series of special deliveries, where the issue of aviation safety as a mode of transport will be discussed in a very simple way and why we should feel safe and calm when flying.

Check out the second installment.: The pilots.
Check out the third installment.: Turbulence and other factors.

Post written by: Captain Rudolph Star (with small contributions from Nicolás Larenas)
FAA Commercial Pilot
Twitter: @rodo_estrella

When traveling who are afraid of planes, First-timers or those who are nervous by nature encounter the discomfort of flying, the fear of being locked in a device several kilometers high causes a feeling of fear and uncertainty in the passenger who does not know how an airplane works, how safe it is to fly in one and why it is statistically the second safest method of transportation in the world (being the first elevator the elevator).

First of all, according to IATA (International Air Transport Association) in his study of the last years, in commercial flights there was a fatal accident every 3.1 million flights in 2015 and in 2016 each 3.2 million flights, which indicates that in addition to being extremely safe, safety rates have increased over the years.

why are we afraid?

Historically, fear in the human being in the face of any situation is formed as a result of ignorance, and it is the same in the subject of air transport, a passenger without much knowledge will obviously be afraid to use a means of transport that he does not know and that at first glance, looks dangerous. Speed, the altitude, noise, the sounds, the sensation of a pressurized cabin is a source of stress for many and it is time to demystify it.

We have all had or are afraid of something. There are people who are afraid of a spider or there are people who are terrified of standing on the top floor of a building regardless of its height.. If such simple fears exist in people, flying is not for less an activity that can generate more than one concern and stress in the traveler.

You must have heard this phrase a thousand times, "Flying is the safest means of transportation". so that you, Juanito you are part of a plane crash, you should fly by 3.000 years in a row to live something like this, so the odds are remote.

First delivery: The plane

The passenger's first concern, Is the plane capable of withstanding a flight without breaking down?? The answer is yes, the design of modern commercial aircraft takes into account the hostile environment they face during flight and they are capable of withstanding severe conditions and their structural design makes it possible for them to withstand up to twice what a normal flight would withstand in the most intense turbulence.

Many times, worried passengers look out the windows at the wings flapping during flight and are afraid they might break off however this is part of the aircraft design, from the tragic accidents of the Lockheed Electra in the years 50 it has been shown that a fully rigid wing tends to be structurally less strong than a flexible design wing.

Components such as carbon fiber are currently being used, whose flexibility, strength and structural integrity is superior to that of traditional metals and alloys used in aircraft construction, as well as, they have the great advantage of being lighter. These new materials are additionally used in the manufacture of other aircraft components..

I've seen people say: The plane I'm going to travel on has propellers! must be very old! It's a plane! And it is a false conception that we have, In reality, the turbine planes that we all consider modern are just one type of plane and in modern commercial aviation, planes with turboprop engines are also used, which are nothing more than jet engines that instead of activating a "fan" or ventilator that is the moving part that we see moving in front of a turbine drives a propeller.

Modern turboprop aircraft are popular with airlines for their benefits of low fuel consumption and efficient operation over short hauls and to destinations with short runways.. We will see them generally covering regional routes to smaller destinations where the presence of larger turbojet aircraft is not justified..

Turboprop aircraft are only aircraft with a different propulsion alternative to the jet that we commonly know and currently their construction and efficiency make them very safe and reliable and
no way, to be propelled by propellers, makes them worthy of the old label.

systems and navigation

When driving a car, we all see the road and know which way to go., but how do the pilots know in the sky where they are going?

From the most modest passenger aircraft to the most modern "Jumbo" they have navigation systems that allow pilots to know their location along the route, pilots plan their routes using the famous "airways" that are nothing more than predetermined "invisible paths" in the air where planes circulate to their destinations, air traffic control and the aeronautical jurisdiction of each area or country also determines the altitude at which aircraft can fly on these airways. The plane in which you are a passenger does not fly randomly in the sky, but uses strict rules applied to navigation routes and assigned altitudes that will take you to your destination in the most efficient and safe way.

Currently, The navigation systems on board the most modern aircraft present methods of displaying the route to be followed by pilots, which increases their situational awareness and reduces the risk of deviation from the route.. The industry works every day to improve navigation systems to make the pilot's job easier by providing additional safety..

Additional to navigation systems, modern airplanes have radar systems that allow the crew to visually see bad weather areas in advance to request route deviations, which reduces the possibility that the plane will enter a bad weather area inadvertently and passengers could being startled by strong turbulence.

Equally, airplanes have systems that prevent two or more airplanes from colliding in the air. This system called TCAS (Traffic Collision Avoidance System), allows pilots to act in a coordinated manner in the face of a possible approach with another aircraft in the air. This system automatically communicates between planes in a matter of thousandths of a second., determining which aircraft will climb and which will descend to avoid any approach below separation minima.

The pilot says there is a problem in flight with the plane.

An airplane is a mechanical device that, despite being very safe, can have faults. (Who hasn't had it happen to you that one day your car just won't turn on?, no matter how much regular maintenance you give it), these can be simple or catastrophic failures, it is the task of the crew to assess the risk and severity of an in-flight emergency, For this, the crews, in addition to having received training in handling each emergency, have procedures on board to follow to solve the various problems that may arise., el QRH (Quick Reference Handbook) For example, it is an on-board “book” where it presents pilots with a step-by-step guide to solve the most frequent problems of aircraft operation, which guarantees and standardizes emergency management., Additionally, modern aircraft have systems that present detailed information on the problems they present in flight and checklists to solve them..

Sometimes the problem is a pressurization issue., an internal pressure leak from a failure of the fuselage or pressurization equipment. Having several types of depressurization, the most serious being explosive depressurization (imagine a bomb in flight) the plane will lose its internal pressure immediately and will be exposed to external pressure. In this case, the oxygen masks will be deployed and the crew will carry out a very violent emergency descent., this can be a situation of extreme terror however it must play out that way, this is because the human body exposed to atmospheric pressure to cite an example 35.000 feet has a time of consciousness of 30 seconds to 1 minute before fainting from lack of oxygen or hypoxia, for this reason it is a priority to quickly bring the aircraft to a flight level where the oxygen concentration is sufficient for normal breathing of all occupants..

 

Additionally, the pilots make a call to air traffic control declaring an emergency, which generates a priority condition over other aircraft., control ensures proper separation from other aircraft, will support the crew with any requirement and provide the necessary ground support in the event of a return to the airport, activating emergency protocols on the ground
where medical and emergency teams are ready to handle any situation.

This is an extreme case of emergency, However, most of the time emergencies are solved by the crew without the need to provoke extreme maneuvers and almost always without
losses to mourn. That is why it is always advisable to pay attention to the safety demonstrations of the cabin crew to know how to act in an emergency..

Recent publications show that the 90% of passengers do not pay attention to the safety instructions, which reduces the possibility of survival of the passenger in the event of a serious accident, which is why it is highly necessary for passengers to be aware of the safety instructions of the cabin crew.

Finally I recommend personally, always remaining fastened with seat belts even when the crew has turned off the seat belt sign, there have been cases in recent years where severe unexpected turbulence has thrown some passengers out of their seats seriously injuring them.

Aviation and commercial flight is very safe, accidents though are very rare, they happen from time to time and are always chains of events that can be avoided, Based on experience, the industry works every day to improve safety rates and manufacturers also improve their planes to make them safer and more reliable, but in addition to the efforts made by the industry, it also depends on us as passengers to inform us about the issue in order to demystify it. and take away our fear, as well as contributing with our grain of sand so that our flights are much safer by following the instructions and collaborating with the crews whose job it is to take us safely to our destinations..

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