I'm an Airline Captain - Ask me anything!

[alexd112]

Hi all,

As the title says, I am a senior airline captain with 20 odd years of experience. Ask me anything!

Have you seen a UFO, a phenomenon you haven't been able to explain during a flight?

If you were to start again Mr OP how would you train to be a Pilot?

DS is 12 going into year 8 in September and choosing his options later in the term.

He has had a few helicopter lessons for fun but he knows it's a plane he wants to fly.

Ooh great thread
I am not a happy flyer but do it lots including long haul

My questions:

Have you ever had/done a tail strike

Why is the turbulence always so bad between US - UK

what could flip a plane? Turbulence? Turning too steeply

Is there actually oxygen carried on board? For all the passengers? Surely that's a big weight and a risk for explosions etc? I think those masks are a conspiracy!

I had to help look after a sick person on a long haul flight. We used up all the oxygen cylinders on board (there were only 3 and they were quite small). We had a stop for a couple of hours in the middle east and the person went straight to hospital there.
I suppose it has to be a compromise between what is likely to be needed and not carrying too much weight.

Hi all...
Lots of new questions! In between flights at the minute, but will reply to all of you this afternoon when I get back home.

Is there actually oxygen carried on board?
No
When you pull the mask, a chemical reaction is started, providing oxygen for 12 minutes (enough for the pilot to descend to below 10000 ft).

There were 3 small portable cylinders of oxygen on the plane I was on.
Maybe pulling an individual mask down affects the whole system?
The crew brought the cylinders to the sick person who had collapsed initially on the floor in the galley, then was moved to a seat in business class.

Nothing better to do than boast ?

Who is boasting?

How often does somebody die on board? I've heard it's fairly common.

I'm terrified of flying but going to NY is top of my bucket list. I've left a plane before take off once. So claustrophobic and I have panic attacks. Any advice?

endoftheline The portable cylinders are mainly there for the flight attendants. Normally, they would use the spare mask in each row (there is always an extra one for an infant sitting on a parent's lap), but this is not a great idea if there's a fire, for example. They are also used if only one person needs an oxygen mask.

How fast is the plane going at the point of take-off/ landing?

When you're taxiing around the airport, how fast are you driving at?

Do you have favourite and least-favourite airports for take-off and landing?

Having flown without problems till my late teens I developed a phobia and refused to fly again for 23 years. I read a lot of books, did online courses and had counselling to no avail. However I finally found a book that I clicked with - the Fear of Flying Workbook by David Carbonell which pretty much works off the principle that the OP mentioned earlier about accepting what it is you're trying to overcome.

The difference with this book is that it doesn't try and talk you out of your fear by bombarding you with safety stats and how things work, which is what other books seem to do. Instead it talks you through the psychological aspects of how and why we become afraid. He talks about genuine danger vs false alarms - what really resonated with me was:

"Most people who fear crashing tend to suppose that whatever flight they take, that's the one that will crash, and if they cancel their ticket , that flight goes back on the 'safe' list. That's a false alarm...Recognition that your fear doesn't discriminate between safety and danger, that it's not a useful warning sign, is terribly important. It means that it's ok to feel afraid, in the same way that it's ok to feel tired or upset. The fear won't lead to some terrible event. It's discomfort, not danger. The fear of flying doesn't offer you any useful signal of actual danger. It may be uncomfortable and inconvenient to feel afraid, but all that's at stake is how you feel, temporarily."

I got back on a plane 2 years ago and have done two more return journeys since then. I can't say I enjoyed the flights but each time has been better than the last. Definitely worth a read.

I've always wondered about having to switch all electrical items off during take off and landing - is that just to make sure we put them away so theyre not loose and able to smack us in the face if we hit turbulence?

And my biggest question - Why do we need to switch our phones off during the flight? If what we are told is true - that the phone signal interferes with the flight communications... then surely, it's too much of a risk to trust people to do this. There are probably hundreds of phones on each flight. If their phone signals could jam the aircraft's signals - then surely trusting them all to switch them off is a major safety risk, and if the risk was real there would be some system to force people to switch them off. But there isn't.... so is the risk real?

Back to answer as many Q's as I can, it's been a long day so excuse any typos! I'm shattered.

@Glitterkitten24
The brace position has nothing to do with breaking your neck or dental recordsIt is primarily to protect your head and the position you adopt is the position your body would flail into if there was an impact or sudden deceleration. Therefore, it increases your protection from flail injuries, as you are prepared for impact beforehand.

@slapmyassandcallmejudy
@ColoursOfRain

I've never experienced the feeling of sinking so I can't really comment on the situation. However, it is possible that what you're experiencing is a mismatch between your visual signals and your balance signals in the inner ear which can create a condition called the 'leans'. If you're near a window and you can see the horizon, that should help alleviate the feeling.

@SinglePringle
I can only speak for myself in this. I certainly don't have any snobbery about the size of any aircraft or the amount of passengers. Take for instance the Highland and Island pilots who fly around remote Scotland. They operate in particularly challenging situations and have to contend with situations far tricker than my average day.

@safariboot
My dream plane would be an MD-11. I don't think I'd be too thrilled about flying a very small aircraft on a windy day.

@Pinkyponkcustard
I am pretty confident that being pressurized and depressurized, scoffing your food, sitting in a chair all day, stretching to operate controls and buttons in a confined space, while breathing not the purest of air cannot be entirely good for you. As the years have gone by, my digestive system has struggled. Sleep patterns are obviously disturbed, and research shows that can have a negative impact.

@Ginorchoc
Nope - I wear glasses, always have done! You've just got to carry a second pair with you, incase the first pair goes missing.

@BonnieF
I get to fly it empty quite a bit due to training. However, that is always with brand new pilots so it definitely isn't the environment to be having funThe airplanes are capable of pretty amazing feats, but I think any sensible pilot stays well away from the extremes (or protections).

@FlybirdFly
Airplane food! My usually healthy co-pilots bring packed lunches.

@CurbsideProphet
Earphones, earbuds etc need to be out for takeoff and landing because that is the most dynamic and critical time of a flight. You would need to hear any emergency announcements.

@SarahBeeney
I would be the same as your brother, although I wouldn't mind a spin in his jet!

@RinkaIsAStrangeNameforADog
Lisbon, Faro, Barcelona, Milan Linate - that's all that springs to mind.

@AnonymousNovelist
Theoretically, yes. Practically or realistically, no. There is aerodynamic stability which naturally rights the aircraft. Also, airbus have bank limitations which you cannot exceed in normal law.

Thankfully I've never been fearful. I set clear bottom lines and would never risk myself, my crew or indeed the passengers.

I don't really think it's more dangerous being over the water. In fact, some parts of Canada for instance, have fewer airports within a certain range, than in the middle of the Atlantic. There are certification rules which twin engined airplanes must comply with so that they can divert to an alternate airport if there is a major malfunction. Again, you would be surprised with the level of redundancy in the aircraft systems.

@Floradoranora
I wish my mother and MIL took such an interest in my career (or me). My mother couldn't tell you what airplane I fly, not to mention what rank I have.

@HirplesWithHaggis
Certainly not going to get into a Brexit discussion - however, I think it would be naive to think it'll be all positives!

@PoppyPopTart
They will certainly help you and try to reassure you as much as they can, but you would have to tell them. You would be surprised how many people are genuinely scared of flying, so the cabin crew have seen it hundreds of times and know how to help the passenger get through it.

@Anonanonanonanon
Nothing in news because (to the pilots and airline) it was most likely a non-event. The pilot may have judged that he couldn't touch down at the appropriate point and decided to go around. The engines take a few seconds to react and so the aircraft will continue to descend for a very short while and in some cases, can briefly touch down. This is all accounted for in the structural design of the aircraft. Technically, this would be called a baulked landing.

Go arounds are very common. Heathrow probably had 5 or 6 today already. It can be as simple as an aircraft not vacating the runway quick enough, or weather conditions changing (eg wind going outside the limits of the aircraft or visibility reducing below the minimum required for landing).

@MozzchopsThirty

Thankfully no to the tail strike!

The jet streams can cause significant turbulence, particularly on the polar (north) side of the jet stream. The jet stream is a wind speed of greater than 80 knots. You can frequently have winds reaching 150-200 knots high over the Atlantic. Turbulence will not flip a plane. Turning too steeply would be a pilot error, but I've never ever heard of that happening and as mentioned, airbus have bank angle limitations built into the system.

@SnugglySnerd
In 20 years, no one has ever died on board one of my flights (thankfully). It has happened to a few of my colleagues, but it is very uncommon.

@fieryginger
Board last & mention it to the cabin crew that you're very nervous. If you think it would help, ask could you say hello to the flight crew. I have often met nervous passengers when they board and I try to reassure them. I'll give you an example. When you go to the bathroom and lock the door, are you claustrophobic in that small room? I would think probably not. Why? Because you can get out. Not being in control of your destiny is challenging for anyone. I have to deal with it myself as a passenger. However, I am lucky that I understand the incredible safety margins and professionalism and skill of everybody concerned in getting the plane up and, I suppose more importantly, getting it down safely again.

As for the bucket list, you have to want it more than you're afraid of it - having been to NYC loads of times, I can assure you, it's worth wanting it more than worrying about the flight. Good luck.

@NewName54321
At take off and landing, the speed is generally between 130-145 knots. (140-150 mph). Taxiing is done at about 25 mph.

@Apple23
My favorite airport for take off is Munich - the airport is brilliantly designed. My least favorite airport is Madeira - it's very challenging due to it's location and wind conditions.

@ACatsNoHelpWithThat
I'm aware of that author and his books - they seem to help a lot of people! He's very humorous.

@UnGoogleable
In all situations during flight, it's important that radio/electronic/VHF/UHF interference is kept to a minimum. Additionally, mobile phones when hunting for a signal have been known to create sparks which obviously isn't ideal when you're sitting close to tonnes of fuel. I'm sure there's at least one person on every flight that keeps their phone switched on so I can only presume it does not have a catastrophic affect. That said, rules are there for good reason, and I'm sure these decisions are made by highly qualified experts so it's best to just do as they say.

@bunchofdrapes
Never!!

@blackbunny

There are YouTube videos that could explain it better than I could! It is simple physics however, it's just harder to understand because you can't see the air.

OP Thanks so much for your answers, I am finding them hugely reassuring!