Have you ever wondered why plane crew tell you to put your phone in airplane mode or turn it off altogether? Ever worried about whether turbulence can pose a threat? Or what transpires if an aircraft’s engine fails?

These are queries that might frequently cross your mind, particularly if you’re an anxious flyer, like myself. To find some answers, back in 2017 I spoke to Patrick Smith, a US-based airline pilot and the host of www.askthepilot.com. He is also the author of the New York Times bestseller Cockpit Confidential: Everything You Need to Know About Air Travel. Some of his responses are extracted from this book, which is available for purchase here.

1. Can turbulence ever be dangerous?

It’s extraordinarily uncommon for an airplane to sustain structural damage from rough air, Patrick said. However, severe turbulence encounters occasionally result in injuries. Almost always, though, this is due to passengers not fastening their seat belts when they should. It’s logical to assume that as climate change exacerbates certain weather patterns, we’ll witness an increase in unusually strong turbulence. While turbulence can be a nuisance and cause discomfort, it’s rarely dangerous.

From a pilot’s perspective, rough air is primarily a comfort and convenience issue. It’s bothersome, but it’s not going to turn the plane upside-down or lead to any of the disastrous scenarios that nervous flyers tend to envision.

The altitudes, speeds, and angles you perceive are often far from the actual thing. For instance, during turbulence, many people think that an airplane is dropping hundreds of feet at a time, when in fact, even in relatively severe turbulence, the displacement is rarely more than 20 feet a minor blip on the altimeter.

2. Why are passengers instructed to switch off their phones or put them in airplane mode?

Patrick says it’s considered highly unlikely that a mobile phone could cause issues in the cockpit, especially with modern aircraft designed to be shielded against such interference, but it’s not entirely out of the question. He estimates that at least half of all phones are left on during flights, either by accident or due to passengers not bothering to turn them off — that’s around a million phones every day just in the US.

If mobile phones were truly hazardous, we’d likely have more evidence by now, he says. However, mobile phones have been suspected in at least two major incidents, although it’s important to note the use of “may” here, as interference is notoriously difficult to confirm or rule out. Some have speculated that a mobile phone may have caused the mysterious crash of a regional aircraft in Switzerland in 2000 by disrupting the autopilot with errant signals. Similarly, interference was suggested as a potential factor in a deadly crash in New Zealand in 2003.

The issue with mobile phones on planes is arguably more about social etiquette than technology. The question is whether passengers want to endure listening to 200 people talking at once on a flight. Airlines might be using the small risk of technical problems as an excuse to sidestep the social chaos that would ensue if cellular conversations were permitted onboard. Once authorities declare phones safe for use on planes, there will inevitably be a clash between those who want to talk and those who don’t.

3. What would happen if the landing gear didn’t come down during a landing?

Landing gear issues are relatively low on the list of a pilot’s concerns, he says. If there’s going to be a problem with your aircraft, the landing gear is one of the least dangerous places for it to occur. The only exception might be the risk of tyre failure or fire following a high-speed aborted take-off, but generally, gear problems are manageable. The absolute worst-case scenario would be if the gear failed to deploy entirely, resulting in a more or less standard landing on the plane’s belly. There’s a slight risk of rupturing a fuel tank, but even this would be a relatively minor hazard with emergency services just a few feet away.

4. Could a passenger shatter an airplane window and would everyone be sucked out if that happened?

Airplane windows are much stronger than they appear. If a window were to break, either accidentally or intentionally, the plane would decompress rapidly. It’s possible, though unlikely, that someone could be sucked through the hole in the initial seconds afterward, but it wouldn’t be the Hollywood-style disaster that people tend to envision.

5. Is it safe to fly during a storm? What happens if the plane gets struck by lightning?

Pilots avoid thunderstorms in the same way ships steer clear of icebergs, says Patrick, using onboard radar and assistance from air traffic control and other flights. Despite these precautions, lightning strikes do occur occasionally, but planes are designed to handle them.

The energy doesn’t travel through the cabin electrocuting passengers; instead, it’s discharged overboard, often through discharge wicks along the wings and tail edges. In most cases, there’s little or no evidence of the strike.

However, damage can occur, typically to the plane’s electrical systems. A lightning-induced wing explosion on a Pan Am 707 in 1963 led to the FAA mandating several protective measures, including fuel tank modifications and the installation of discharge wicks.

That was over half a century ago, and he’s not aware of any other lightning-related disasters since then.

6. What’s the scariest thing that’s happened to you while flying?

When asked about the scariest thing that’s happened to him while flying, the pilot recalled a near midair collision when he was 21 and piloting a small private plane under “visual flight rules” in uncontrolled airspace. He emphasised that this incident, which occurred long ago and involved only a small plane in relatively primitive circumstances, should highlight the safety of commercial flying. He has been an airline pilot since 1990 and, considering that entire period, not a single frightening incident comes to mind.

7. What happens if the engine fails?

All commercial jets are designed to be able to fly even if one engine fails. They must also have the capability to accelerate and climb after takeoff, despite a complete engine failure. This safety measure is comprehensive, covering potential obstacles such as buildings, mountains, and TV antennae. Before every flight, data is calculated to ensure the aircraft can safely ascend and navigate clear of any obstructions.

Factors like airport elevation, runway length, and weather conditions are all considered. In certain situations, such as shorter runways, high temperatures, or mountainous areas, this may mean that the aircraft has to carry less weight.

8. How likely is a plane to crash?

Originally answering this in 2017, Patrick said the past decade had been the safest in commercial aviation history. In a more recent blog post in March 2024, he writes: “2023 goes down as one of the safest years in commercial aviation history. Not a single fatal accident was recorded involving a commercial jet. Not one. Combining jet and turboprop operations, IATA says there were 37 million commercial flights last year. Among those, the only deadly crash was that of an ATR turboprop in Nepal last January. If I’m counting right, this puts last year as the second-safest on record, bested only by 2017.”

For a point of comparison, go back and take a look at the year 1985, when, worldwide, 27 major aviation accidents killed almost 2,500 people. That included two of history’s ten deadliest disasters happening within two months of each other! The 60s, 70s and 80s were an era rife with horrific crashes, bombings, airport attacks and so on.

Large-scale disasters have become a lot less frequent. If it seems like more planes are crashing, that perception is largely the result of the media and its relentless fixation with even minor mishaps, compounded by the effects of social media. In decades past there was no 24/7 news machine to feed, spread across multiple platforms and starving for sensationalist fodder.

9. How does one become a pilot?

Traditionally, most airline pilots gained their wings and built experience in the military. However, these days, a majority of pilots (including Patrick) progress through civilian routes. It’s a lengthy and costly process involving the gradual accumulation of flight hours along with the necessary licenses and ratings. Once you’ve acquired the required experience, you’ll typically begin your airline career at one of the regional carriers. Very few pilots directly join a major carrier.

A rising trend sees more airlines adopting “ab-initio” training programs to nurture pilots from scratch, that is without any prior flying experience. These programs are not as common in North America but are finding favor in other regions.

Trainees undergo rigorous classroom and simulator sessions on specific aircraft before they proceed to fly with passengers onboard, closely supervised by a training captain.

10. How much does a computer fly a plane and how much do you fly a plane?

When talking about the balance between human control and computer automation in flight, Patrick says there’s a major misconception. Many people believe in the exaggerated capabilities of an autopilot system.

Although contemporary pilots do rely on a different set of skills compared to their predecessors, with less emphasis on instinctual ‘seat-of-the-pants’ flying, every flight still requires extensive crew input and readiness for numerous potential scenarios.

You may have heard claims such as pilots only spend “just three minutes actually piloting their plane over the course of the typical flight.” These statements, which are often made, can be quite misleading. What they’re implying is that in modern aviation, pilots spend a relatively short amount of time with their hands physically on the control column or stick.

However, this doesn’t mean pilots aren’t controlling the aircraft throughout the entire flight. Cockpit automation isn’t flying the plane. The pilots are flying the plane through the automation. The crew still needs to instruct it what to do, when to do it, and how to do it.

A comparison between flying and medicine might be the best one: modern technology assists a pilot in flying a plane just as it aids a surgeon in performing a surgery. A jetliner can no more “fly itself” than an operating room can remove a tumour or perform an organ transplant “by itself.”

Meanwhile, more than 99% of landings, and a full 100% of takeoffs are performed manually, hands-on, with either the captain or the first officer at the controls.

11. Why do all planes always fly at (or around) 35,000 feet?

Typical cruising altitudes for commercial flights range between 30,000 and 40,000 feet, although this can vary. The specific altitude at which a plane cruises is determined by air traffic control restrictions and the aircraft’s capabilities, as each type of plane has its own maximum allowable altitude.

Generally, flying higher equates to better fuel efficiency, but there are limits. Even if an aircraft can reach 39,000 feet, it won’t necessarily do so on every journey due to factors such as air traffic control decisions or the weight of the plane.

Pilots may employ a “step climb” strategy, ascending to more fuel-efficient altitudes as the aircraft burns off fuel.

12. Are bird strikes dangerous?

The plane in the Hudson River in New York after hitting a flock of geese
The plane in the Hudson River in New York after hitting a flock of geese (Image: Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

Bird strikes are a frequent occurrence and typically not harmful to the aircraft, though they are certainly unfortunate for the birds involved. However, it’s important to note that bird strikes can sometimes pose serious risks, as was the case with US Airways flight 1549, which famously made an emergency landing on the Hudson River after both engines were disabled by a flock of geese.

Modern turbofan engines are designed to be robust, yet they’re not invulnerable to the dangers of foreign object damage, especially when it involves birds striking the rotating blades at high velocities. While birds don’t exactly “clog” an engine, they can cause significant damage by bending or breaking the internal components, leading to a loss of power.

The risk increases with the size of the bird; for instance, a collision with an average-sized goose while flying at 250 knots the maximum speed allowed below 10,000 feet in the US where birds are commonly found can result in an impact force exceeding 50,000 pounds.

You might wonder why aircraft engines aren’t fitted with protective screens to prevent such incidents. The reason is twofold: not only would a screen obstruct the air intake, but it would also have to be exceptionally large and strong, likely taking on a cone-like shape.

If such a screen were to fail, it could potentially introduce both avian and metallic debris into the engine. Despite the occasional bird strike, the likelihood of losing multiple engines to such events is so low that the addition of a protective screen is deemed unnecessary.