Questions tagged [safety]
Safety includes all aspects of protecting aircraft, passengers and crew from accidents, mistakes and other potentially dangerous situations.
3
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3answers
189 views
Why do aircraft stall warning systems use angle-of-attack vanes rather than detecting airflow separation directly?
Stall warning and protection systems on essentially all aircraft work by using several hinged vanes on the side of the fuselage (usually at least three, and preferably more), which align themselves ...
6
votes
2answers
368 views
Does the person directing the plane to parking not risk getting ingested by a jet engine?
According to answers in this post, a jet engine can suck a human into its engines, even on idle power. Aircraft use their engines post landing taxi and into their parking space, and I notice people ...
3
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1answer
132 views
Do aircraft engineers take into consideration engine placement to avoid ground strikes in a cross-wind landing?
On a multi-engine airplane with wing-mounted engines, do aircraft designers have a standard way of ensuring that the banked landings associated with cross-wind's do not cause a prop or engine-housing ...
5
votes
1answer
180 views
What safety issues led the FAA to ban Constellation flights into/out of the U.S.?
Although the Lockheed Constellation (like the other late, large piston airliners) was superseded in the 1960s and 1970s by newer jets (plus turboprops for shorter/lighter routes), it hung on into the ...
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0answers
68 views
I WANT TO BECAME A PILOT [duplicate]
I've finished form four last year in Tanzania, but my combinations PHYSICS,GEOGRAPHY and MATHEMATICS are not well balanced so as to JOIN ADVANCED LEVEL OF EDUCATION ,but I really likes to be a pilot[ ...
3
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0answers
55 views
Is it possible to selectively deactivate alarms? [duplicate]
My question is restricted to Airbus an Boeing's best sellers, namely the A320 and the B737. If relevant, answer can be extended to other types.
In those aircraft, there are multiple possible alarms (...
0
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0answers
37 views
Does anyone know of any Boeing 737 Max-8 MCAS usage statistics? [duplicate]
How often has the 737 MAX-8 MCAS stall-averting software been successfully activated? Is this a rarely used safety item? Or is it in play in many, even a majority, of take-offs?
33
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3answers
7k views
How long to clear the 'suck zone' of a turbofan after start is initiated?
I recently found this (IMO funny) picture. All funny and all. But let's make this a real situation.
Let's suppose I see my crush and his BF doing this, and I come with this 'genius' idea (alright, it'...
27
votes
3answers
7k views
Why are on-board computers allowed to change controls without notifying the pilots?
Recently we've had the 737-MAX debacle, where it increasingly appears that the MAX on-board MCAS system repeatedly would issue nose-down events, leading to the Lion Air crash, and possibly another
...
2
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0answers
93 views
Can 7 AKE containers adjacent to each other be securely locked in a 777-300ER's aft cargo bin?
Is it possible to securely lock 7 AKE (LD3) containers adjacent to each other in a Boeing 777-300ER's aft cargo bin from position 31 to 41 (41 included)?
According to my experience it's impossible to ...
5
votes
1answer
167 views
Why not separate out the two definitions of V-1 into two separate Vspeeds?
V1, officially the takeoff decision speed, has, somewhat infamously, two separate definitions:
It is defined as the minimum speed at which, if one engine fails, the pilots can press to liftoff and ...
4
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3answers
1k views
Is the Boeing 737 MAX 8 MCAS exceptional in operating when autopilot is off?
To the uneducated reader it seems strange the Boeing 737 MAX 8 MCAS system only operates when autopilot is off. I understand the reasoning behind why it was implemented to operate when autopilot is ...
4
votes
0answers
117 views
Has any jurisdiction mandated passenger training?
A chunk of pre-departure time for each flight is dedicated to a safety briefing for passengers that few passengers seem to pay attention to. In the aftermath of accidents, it has been revealed at ...
11
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0answers
320 views
Who decided that the Boeing 737 MAX planes that were airborne when the grounding was issued cannot enter and land in EU air space?
On March 12th, 2019, EASA grounded the Boeing 737 MAX series by publishing their Emergency Airworthiness Directive 2019-0051-E (AD):
Effective Date: 12 March 2019, 19:00 UTC
[...]
...
40
votes
3answers
18k views
How difficult is it to simply disable/disengage the MCAS on Boeing 737 Max 8 & 9 Aircraft?
With regard to the recent crashes involving the Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft, where according to preliminary reports, it appears to be related to the MCAS, which is a safety system that pushes the nose ...
15
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2answers
1k views
Why is not every airplane equipped with 3 angle-of-attack sensors?
For critical systems, redundancy is built into the system. It is common knowledge among designers/architects to have three different inputs so in case one is faulty, input from the remaining two can ...
1
vote
2answers
157 views
What is the longest period of time an aircraft type has been grounded due to safety concerns?
Obviously inspired by the current 737 Max situation, what is the longest period of time that any individual type of airliner has been grounded for safety concerns (excluding those that never returned ...
8
votes
4answers
412 views
Are pilot YouTubers breaking any rules?
Recently, I've been watching a few YouTubers (mostly FOs) who make great videos like this:
Then I realized... They must spend a lot of time setting up cameras, ...
2
votes
1answer
168 views
Why don't all pilots receive at least basic instrument training?
Given the frequency with which non-instrument-rated pilots get themselves killed attempting to continue VFR flights into instrument conditions, why don't all pilots receive at least basic instrument ...
1
vote
1answer
53 views
What is the most critical data to measure for a predictive maintenance model for a drone?
I'm looking at making a predictive maintenance model for a drone (quadcopter mainly but can include others)
I'm wondering what is the most common causes of failure due to "overflying". (not including ...
3
votes
1answer
252 views
What happens to an airborne plane when its type is grounded by an authority?
Many countries have (temporarily I think) banned 737 Max 8s from taking off or landing. What happened to the ones in the air? Do they get special permissions or are they forced to divert to a ...
0
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0answers
82 views
Could a kilometer of sand as wide as the runway,1 meter deep stop an Airbus A380 if it overshot the runway [duplicate]
An aircraft overshooting the runway could prove to be fatal. Assuming an Airbus A380 is fully loaded at near take off speed and pilots decide its would be best to abort take off, if they slammed the ...
2
votes
2answers
168 views
Is it possible to 'derate' a plane as a safety measure?
Assuming a type of plane has a technical issue that must be fixed related to its flight behavior, could the plane be derated to add safety margin (instead of banning it).
What I have in mind is ...
8
votes
1answer
282 views
Is it common for automated control systems to use non-redundant sensors?
While reading an article about the Lion Air Crash with a Boing 737 Max 8, I was very surprised by the following paragraph:
In designing the 737 Max, Boeing decided to feed M.C.A.S. with data
from ...
4
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9answers
821 views
How many serious airline accidents have been caused by design faults alone?
That is, in the chain of events that led to death or injuries in an airline accident, how often has a design fault been solely responsible?
By a design fault I mean a problem such that even if the ...
14
votes
3answers
2k views
Which situations would cause a company to ground or recall a aircraft series?
Which agencies or companies might decide to ground an aircraft series, and in which situations can this occurr?
0
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0answers
42 views
Why are airline seat belts lap-only? [duplicate]
On the flight that I was on today, one of the passengers near me asked this question. Why don’t airplanes use lap- and shoulder belts like cars do?
0
votes
1answer
156 views
Why does the DHC-6 have only one set of elevator cables?
Air Moorea Flight 1121 crashed because its up-elevator cable broke, allowing the elevator to blow to its faired position and thus be unavailable to counteract the pitch-down moment caused by the flaps ...
0
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0answers
59 views
Cessna 421b pressurization cycles
How many pressurization cycles can be expected in a Cessna 421b before it fails?
Is pressurization failure in a Cessna 421b likely to be catastrophic?
0
votes
0answers
53 views
Source and Impacts of cracks on window pane? [duplicate]
Today, I spotted cracks on the outer window panes, of my aircraft, VT-GWH, a 11 year old A320.
The cracks were present on every window pane that I could see. On simple observation, I found that the ...
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0answers
71 views
Marshall signals history
When airport marhall signals have been used for the first time? Wich is the history about these signals? Thank you
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3answers
232 views
What warning lights can one safely fly with? [closed]
Like many people, I often either ignore or reset warning lights in my car and continue to drive without issue for months or years (usually due to dodgy sensors giving a false-positive).
What warning ...
0
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2answers
121 views
What prevents the use of an EMAS along the sides of a runway?
The NTSB report about the crash of American Airlines Flight 1420 discusses whether an EMAS would have mitigated the severity of the accident, but concludes, based on testimony from a representative of ...
10
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2answers
4k views
Is there an audible warning on commercial aircraft if you try to land gear up?
In one of the comments on this question (under the accepted answer), someone remarks that
Aircraft can legally fly without a system to alert the crew when they are landing with gear up, etc.
Are ...
3
votes
2answers
316 views
Why was the 737 main rudder servo valve’s vulnerability to causing uncommanded reversals never discovered in testing?
As was discovered during the NTSB investigation into the crash of USAir Flight 427, the design of the servo valve inside the main rudder power control unit (PCU) formerly used on 737 Original- and ...
-1
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1answer
161 views
How safe are sail planes? [closed]
I think sailplanes have to be pretty safe. Because if it falls it will gain speed, which will be converted to lift.
So unless you do something stupid sailplanes can't just fall out of air. Am I ...
2
votes
1answer
152 views
Why didn’t the 757 have manual-reversion capability?
The Boeing 757 was the highest-capacity and latest-designed narrowbody Boeing ever produced (and, in the case of the 757-300, the highest-capacity narrowbody anyone ever produced); it was also the ...
6
votes
1answer
304 views
Why is the A330/A340's angle-of-attack protection disabled in alternate law, even if the AoA vanes are operating normally?
Reading about Air France Flight 447, to quote Wikipedia (emphasis added):
... A second consequence of the reconfiguration into alternate law was that stall protection no longer operated. Whereas in ...
4
votes
3answers
168 views
Are there statistics showing the relationship between safety and the age of aircraft?
Some people seem to believe that some airplanes are less safe to fly just because they are older than others. As a pilot myself who has learned that the safety of aircraft is nothing to do with their ...
13
votes
8answers
4k views
Why would all passengers be asked not to eat peanuts when there is one allergic person on board? [closed]
In this review of BA British Airways Club World London City flight there is one thing I don't understand:
... it was announced that a passenger onboard had a severe nut allergy, so they asked ...
1
vote
2answers
270 views
Why don't commercial aircraft have drag chutes for aborted takeoffs? [duplicate]
We were watching the program Air Crash Investigation and there was an episode where it was too late to abort the take-off and the pilots had to attempt to climb still but since an abort was not ...
26
votes
4answers
13k views
Why didn’t the Captain of Cathay Pacific flight 780 shut down engine 1 and land with a more reasonable speed?
In the approach phase, engine 1 of Cathay Pacific flight 780 got stuck at about 70% N1 and it forced the crew to do an overspeed landing (230knots).
Why didn't they shut it off by turning the fuel ...
3
votes
2answers
173 views
Do any aircraft automatically test that the pitot-static system is functioning properly before liftoff?
Given that a properly-functioning pitot-static system is absolutely essential for flight (a plane cannot be flown without valid airspeed data, or at least not for long), are there aircraft that ...
1
vote
0answers
67 views
Could I Legally Fly a Paramotor as a Commuter Method [duplicate]
I get permission from company security to fly into work using my paramotor (I don’t have one, but would like to get one).
We have six offices around the city. The city has two airports: one major ...
1
vote
2answers
187 views
How do aircraft stall warning systems handle (or not) asymmetric-stall situations?
Most, if not all, new airplanes are required to have stall warning systems to (as the name should make clear) provide the pilots with a warning when the airplane is about to stall. Most stall warning ...
1
vote
2answers
124 views
What margin of error should one reasonably allow regarding aircraft performance?
This question generated a lot of discussion around amateur pilots often making the mistake of calculating aircraft performance based on perfect conditions and not allowing for a 'safety factor' (i.e. ...
2
votes
2answers
279 views
Why aren't runway numbers painted in a higher aspect ratio?
I'm watching a lot of aviation youtube channels and it seems to me that when attempting a landing on a "normal" glide path, it must be quite hard to read the runway numbers until you're on short final,...
0
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0answers
37 views
Oversight responsibility in the delegated airspace
Who retains the oversight authority in the delegated airspace when an airspace of one State is delegated to another State fir the provision of Air traffic Services?
34
votes
6answers
13k views
Why do we say certain things *three times*, e.g., “Mayday. Mayday. Mayday”?
Repetition is a key characteristic of communication in the control tower, cockpit, and control room. Some phrases, like "Mayday" get repeated. The speaker says the same thing three times. We know ...
0
votes
1answer
207 views
Why do pilots typically start out in piston-engined aircraft, rather than jets or turboprops? [duplicate]
Essentially all pilots begin flying with propeller aircraft powered by piston engines, rather than in turboprops or light jets, even though:
Operating a piston engine requires adjusting the mixture ...
