1.
Even though flying makes a lot of us feel uncomfortable, the actual number of people that experience aerophobia is relatively low, and only 3 out of 100 people suffer from overwhelming fear of flights so much that they have to give up on the idea of flying. This is obviously unfortunate, since taking a plane is the only way to reach a lot of destinations in the world.
2.
Everyone has probably heard of a black box – a special device that records every second of the flight and every event that happens during the flight. However, the black box is neither a box, nor is it black. The device is shaped as a ball and is usually painted orange or fiery red, which makes it easier to detect the device in case of a plane crash.
3.
Contrary to popular belief, airplanes are, in fact, the safest means of transportation. The chance for an plane to crash is as little as 0,00001%. An individual is 3 times more likely to get killed while walking down the street than while traveling by plane.
4.
Most of the time of the flight modern planes are piloted by a robot pilot, which makes it possible for human pilots to watch the machines and have snacks or read a newspaper at the same time. Even though doing this is officially prohibited, most pilots prefer to combine controlling the flight and doing other activities.
5.
Planes are filled up with fuel before every flight. However, if you’re interested in aviation, you might know that in case of any kind of emergency pilots are required to land the plane in the nearest airport. This requirement is closely connected to the price of the fuel: aircraft fuel is so expensive that companies would suffer huge losses if any of it was wasted.
6.
Every day lightning strikes at least one plane. As terrifying as that may sound, nothing really happens afterwards. People who have witnessed lightning striking a plane say that you can see a bright flash of light accompanied by a sound of a thunder, but the plain is not affected by the lightning and keeps on flying. This happens due to a special device that protects the aircraft from this type of damage. The device was first introduced in the 1950s.
7.
In 1901 a few professors from the US proved that a plane is not able to take off simply because it’s far heavier than air. Their discovery made it possible for the Senate to completely cut off the financing of the research in the aircraft field. Just two years later the world famous Wright brothers designed their first airplane and provided a huge boost to further development of aircraft industry.
8.
One of the most well-known airplanes, Boeing 767, consists of over 3,100,000 details that are produced in all parts of the world: parts of the fuselage are manufactured in Japan, the central part of the wing comes from Southern California, and flaps are made in Italy.
9.
The largest number of passengers that traveled on a plane at once was 1087 people who fled from Ethiopia in 1991. However, the real number of passengers during that flight is believed to be larger, as small children could be easily disguised by their parents. Four seats with their armrests removed could fit in 6 people. It is notable that two women gave birth to babies while being on the plane.
10.
It is impossible to open the plane door during the flight. All planes are equipped with a special pressure sensor that blocks the doors once the plane has taken off. As soon as the plane lands and the pressure inside the plane matches the pressure outside, the doors are unblocked.
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