Uncover 40 Shocking Plane Secrets Airlines Don’t Want You to Know!
Ever wondered how something as seemingly random as a kitchen oven influenced the design of a helicopter’s tail rotor? Believe it or not, the tail rotor diameter of the Robinson R22 helicopter is precisely 3 feet 6 inches — because that was the widest that Frank Robinson’s kitchen oven could handle when he baked the very first rotor. Talk about flying with a dash of home-cooked ingenuity! Beyond quirky tidbits like this, the realm of airline secrets is packed with intriguing insights, surprising facts, and a glimpse into the complex world behind those friendly skies. Whether it’s unlocking airplane lavatories from the outside or knowing why cabin lights dim during nighttime landings, this article pulls back the curtain on the hidden truths of air travel that even seasoned passengers might not know. Ready to take off into a sky full of fascinating revelations? Buckle up, the inside scoop on planes and flying awaits! LEARN MORE
The tail rotor diameter of a Robinson R22 helicopter is 3′ 6″. This is because that was as wide as Frank Robinson’s kitchen oven would go, where he had to bake the first rotor. It hasn’t been changed.
You are able to unlock airplane lavatories from the outside. There is usually a lock mechanism concealed behind the no smoking badge on the door. Just lift the flap up and slide the bolt to unlock.
When a plane is landing at night, they dim the interior lights **incase you need to evacuate** upon landing… your eyes are already adjusted to the darkness so you’ll be able to see better once outside the plane.
My dad’s been an airline pilot for almost 20 years, and apparently planes get struck by lightning all the time. Also if a passenger is causing a scene in the jetway he can refuse to let them on and take off without them.
I used to be an Operations Control Center manager for a regional airline. (about 900 flights a day) Ultimately, I was the guy that decided if your flight was going to cancel. Most people don’t know I exist. When passengers hear “cancelled due to ATC or WX or MX”, its really just a small team of people deciding if your flight is going to make it and often its not even your plane or flight that has the problem.
In the case of ATC and weather, we will be allowed X number of arrivals and hour. We decide which ones are going and which ones will stay or re-position to another city. Passengers are usually one of the last items of consideration. Safety is always first, we won’t send it if there is reason to believe it is unsafe and if we can blame it on weather we will. It’s much cheaper for the airline if it is blamed on WX since they don’t have as many benefits for the customer, (food vouchers, hotels etc.) Next most important is which crews will time out, and how critical it is that they get to their next stop. The way crews are routed we often have to cancel something today to save 3 flights that would need to cancel tomorrow if the AC and crew don’t get to the right place by the right time.
Next is where the AC is routed since they are often carrying mx items that expire at a certain date and can only be fixed in specific bases.
After that is cargo and bags. Bags cost a LOT more to get re-routed than passengers. (the reason for this is that passengers can go on the next plane, but if their bags dont make it we deliver them to you. Not the airport that you were going to. Couriers can get expensive quick so its better business to have your bags waiting for you rather than the other way around, even if that means kicking you off the plane and taking your bags.)
Last is passengers, sometimes based on a “priority list” of VIPs and sometimes based on doing the most good for the largest number of people.
Ultimately, regional airlines only have one customer. The major airline they serve. They are paid based on a number of metrics to summarize their performance and there are tiers for “penalty” and “bonus”. The airline knows EXACTLY (to the minute) where they are in relation to these goals, and we will often sacrifice one for the other. Example: if we are near penalty for on-time departures within 0 min of scheduled departure time but have a good cushion on completion factor, we will cancel a flight just to make one go on time.
**TL;DR** I got a D in ethics, but I’m really good at math.
Some airlines don’t pay pilots or flight attendants for flights that cancel. Which doesn’t sound so bad until you start thinking about the safety implications of it.
A little short on the rent this month? Then I don’t see that hydraulic leak, I can’t afford to have the flight cancel.
Child needs to see the doctor? Maybe I don’t report the torn up carpet that you might trip on in an evacuation, because carpet takes too long to replace–so the flight would cancel.
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