Aircraft rarely have accidents. Aircraft are thoroughly inspected before each flight. The rules governing the quality of the aircraft and the condition of the pilots are more stringent than any other. We are aware of all this. And all those thoughts give way to animal fear when watching videos of planes crashing and dozens of people dying all at once. The main thing after each tragedy is to remind ourselves and others that it was a terrible, but accidental, accident. And in general modern airplanes are made as reliably as possible.
The reasons are purely economic: any tragedy causes huge financial and image losses. A company whose plane goes down becomes for a time a symbol of terrible tragedies and deaths. No one is willing to let that happen.
Collision Warnings
If a collision occurs, it is always a mistake. Most likely, pilot error. Because all modern airliners are equipped with special warning systems.
The main one is GPWS (EGPWS), designed to prevent ground collisions. In fact, it is a digital database of the terrain in the region of the flight. All terrain features, dangerous buildings and other details that may occur in the path of the aircraft. Information about their proximity is displayed on navigation displays in the cockpit. GPWS has been around for more than 40 years and has saved thousands of lives.
Independently of this system, the Traffic alert and Collision Avoidance System, (TCAS), a technology that reduces the risk of aircraft collisions, also works. In fact, it’s a system of beacons, signals from which are exchanged between planes in flight. And if there is a risk of collision, the system notifies the pilots of both aircraft. The system is autonomous and does not depend on whether the aircraft is flying, standing or rolling on the runway.
Weather control
Adverse weather conditions are a major obstacle and problem for flights. It is because of weather conditions that flights are often rescheduled or cancelled.
If the plane did take off, it means that the weather was fine and the crew was prepared for the flight. According to the plan, there should be no force majeure weather changes.
However, there are special scanners to monitor weather conditions and provide pilots with a continuously updated picture of the weather and terrain. If there is a zone of turbulence or a thunderstorm ahead, the crew prepares for it in advance.
“What happens when lightning strikes an airplane,” is one of the most popular searches on flight safety.
Lightning strikes airplanes far more often than most people think. This strike is usually at the extreme edge of the wing or nose, and then travels through the entire hull to come out of the tail. “On average, one typical passenger airliner is struck by lightning about once every two years. Sometimes it causes damage to the hull or even the aircraft’s electrical systems. But it’s minimal damage that often isn’t even noticed,” writes pilot Patrick Smith in his book Cockpit Confidential.
Passengers do not notice lightning strikes because modern airplanes are usually made of a lightweight carbon composite coated with a thin layer of copper. This turns the airliner into a space inside the metal, so passengers are insulated from lightning. Separately, protection from lightning of fuel tanks is provided: for this they are placed at a safe distance from the edge of the wing, additionally protected and designed so that even the wing fire does not automatically entail the ignition of fuel.
Despite all safety measures lightning strikes from time to time cause accidents, and more often – a sharp change of flight route. But here it is correct to talk not so much about the role of lightning as about the reaction of the aircraft crew to what happened.
Each aircraft manufacturer has its own instructions for each aircraft type. But they all boil down to approximately the same thing: the quickest possible landing and evacuation.
Safety rules
The problem with most tragedies in transportation, especially aviation, is the human element. At the moment when robots and automatics malfunction or fail, humans have to control everything. And every decision can save or take dozens of lives.
During an evacuation, the flight attendants shout at the top of their lungs: leave everything and go there. Every year they are trained and forced to yell in the truest sense of the word. The rest is up to the passenger.
On passenger flights there is a “90 second rule” whereby people are given a minute and a half to evacuate. It is believed that outside this limit, the chances of rescuing everyone are significantly reduced. This rule has been in effect since 1967, but all this time one of the main problems with its observance has been the behavior of panicked crowds. It’s not just a matter of trying to get all your stuff. Many fall into a stupor, some start filming what is happening on their phones. In 2018, the Royal Aeronautical Society of Great Britain included passenger behavior in its list of key factors influencing the outcome of a disaster evacuation.