Buzz
Airliners stand as one of the crowning achievements of our era: exquisitely crafted, technologically sophisticated, and remarkably intricate, yet accessible to all. Billions of people have soared through the skies at incredible speeds and heights, traveling to every corner of the globe, often without a second thought for the sheer scale of technology and engineering that supports them. Air travel has undoubtedly brought the world closer together like no other invention. We truly live in the jet age.
However, there are a few things that even the most seasoned travelers might not know about the aircraft they board—strange quirks and secrets of modern airliners that are largely unknown to the public. Until now, that is.
10. Explosive Charges Are Embedded In The Engines
Let’s momentarily overlook the fact that an entire wing is packed with highly flammable, hazardous fuel (yes, that’s where the fuel is stored). Each engine also contains one—or sometimes two—explosive charges, known as 'squibs.' Surprisingly, these are designed to fight engine fires. When triggered, the explosive ruptures the sealed container of a highly pressurized bottle, releasing a fire-retardant substance to rapidly cover the engine’s interior, in the hopes of extinguishing any lingering flames within the engine casing.
Most airplanes are equipped with two of these charges—the idea being that firing the first one should resolve the issue, but if it doesn’t, the second one buys the aircraft some precious seconds to find a safe place to land. The fire suppression systems in aircraft cargo holds operate on similar principles. It’s oddly reassuring, in a strange way.
9. Your Aircraft May Be In Worse Shape Than You Think
Every airline aims to keep its planes in the air as much as possible, with as many passengers as they can handle. When an aircraft isn’t flying, it’s not making money. Therefore, when something breaks, there’s immense pressure on the airline to get the plane back in the air as quickly as possible. While full repairs can take hours—or even days—there are situations where a malfunction might be considered minor, like a faulty coffee maker or a broken lightbulb. So, what determines whether a malfunction means the plane can't take off?
The MEL, or Minimum Equipment List, is a crucial document that provides guidelines for dealing with equipment failures. It helps determine whether a failure can be tolerated during a flight and outlines the procedures pilots must follow when a system is inoperative. While this system allows aircraft to fly even if some systems are down, it does create a risk, as a second failure could eliminate the backup system. The decision to continue with the flight ultimately rests with the captain, although the airline can assign a different captain who may be willing to accept the situation.
During peak summer seasons, when airlines are under pressure to keep planes flying and can't afford to ground an aircraft for repairs, maintenance often gets postponed. This lack of incentive to fix issues immediately means that many of the planes in operation today may have some form of defect.
8. The Cabin Air is Supplied by the Engines, Not the Outside Air
Cabin air is not the same as the outside air, especially at the high altitudes where commercial planes fly. While the composition is similar, with 20 percent oxygen, the outside air is too thin to breathe and survive. Engineers solved this by tapping into the engines, which already compress the air for their own use, to provide denser, breathable air for passengers. However, this air is not identical to ground-level air, as that would create dangerous pressure differences. Instead, it’s similar to the air you would find at 2,400 meters (8,000 feet) above sea level.
A major drawback of this system is that anything passing through the engine can also make its way into the cabin, including harmful smoke if the engine catches fire, fumes from de-icing fluids, or, as has been reported more frequently, dangerous substances from burning lubricating oils within the engine.
7. Emergency Decompression Is Far More Dangerous Than You Realize
When the cabin crew tells you to 'put your own mask on before assisting others,' they mean it. The air at high altitudes is so thin that, during a full decompression, your lungs would only provide enough oxygen to your brain for about 30–45 seconds, depending on your physical condition and the altitude of the aircraft. In this brief period, you'd first feel a sense of euphoria, followed by dizziness, and eventually, you'd lose the ability to make decisions before slipping into unconsciousness. Though one minute might seem like a long time, the consequences of oxygen deprivation (hypoxia) make it critical to get supplemental oxygen as quickly as possible.
To make things even worse, the air at high altitudes is extremely cold—temperatures can dip as low as -60 degrees Celsius (-76 °F). A decompression event is also likely to be accompanied by strong winds, flying debris, and often visible fog, which can overwhelm passengers with shock. If you ever find yourself in this kind of situation, make sure to follow the emergency instructions and put your own mask on first.
6. Oxygen Masks Don’t Last Long Either
The small, yellow masks that provide oxygen don't function in the way you might expect. Instead of delivering cool, pure oxygen as you’d find in a scuba tank or a hospital setting, they release oxygen generated by a chemical reaction. Each set of four or five masks is connected to a metal generator that ignites when any mask is pulled down. The burning process generates extra oxygen, but this oxygen is not pure—it’s hot, smoky, and often smells unpleasant.
The metal in the generator doesn’t burn indefinitely, and the oxygen supply only lasts for about 12 minutes—enough time for the pilots to descend to an altitude where you can breathe without assistance. Additionally, the mask is poorly designed, offering no protection from any smoke or fumes already present in the cabin. But don’t worry, your pilots have their own oxygen supply, and it lasts for roughly two hours.
5. Escape Slides Don’t Always Double As Life Rafts
It’s a common misconception that escape slides can be used to float safely on water after a plane crash. Take a closer look at the emergency card next time you're on a flight. If the illustrations show passengers floating beside the slide with one arm hanging over it instead of sitting on it, that’s because the slide will tip over if anyone tries to climb onto it in the water. This is because most planes, especially those that mostly fly over land, are only required by law to have slides for quick evacuations on solid ground.
The rationale behind this is that life raft slides are significantly heavier than regular slides, and since planes that operate near land don’t need to carry the extra weight, it’s considered inefficient. Even if a plane crashes close to the shore, rescue would likely be much closer than in open waters. Fortunately, there are no recorded cases of planes without raft-equipped slides crashing into the ocean.
4. Your Aircraft Was Certified Safe . . . Through Bribery
Following a tragic engine fire on the ground in Manchester, UK, that led to an unimaginable loss of life, safety experts and researchers set out to replicate emergency evacuations. Their goal was to understand why so many passengers lost their lives needlessly. However, they encountered a challenge—during their simulated evacuations, passengers remained remarkably calm and cooperative, and every evacuation went smoothly. This was a stark contrast to the panic and chaos that would likely unfold in a real-life emergency.
So, how did the researchers manage to recreate that sense of urgency? Simple: they offered a monetary incentive to the first few people to evacuate. It turns out, a mere £20 was enough to transform an average person into the frantic, desperate evacuee they needed for their simulations. With this data in hand, aircraft certification processes have followed a similar approach ever since.
3. 'Minimal Fuel' Isn’t As Terrible As You Might Think
Airlines like Ryanair and EasyJet often face criticism for carrying what is deemed 'minimal fuel,' with the assumption that they are barely making it to their destinations, running low on fuel. What passengers may not realize is that the vast majority of airlines adopt this practice because carrying excess fuel actually wastes more fuel—more weight means the engines have to work harder to transport it from point A to point B.
The good news for passengers is that 'minimal' fuel doesn’t just mean the exact amount needed to travel between your departure and destination airports. International aviation regulations require aircraft to carry the trip fuel (the fuel for the journey itself), a reserve of contingency fuel (covering between three and five percent of the trip), and additional alternate fuel (enough to reach another airport if your destination is unavailable). Moreover, aircraft are also required to carry a final reserve of fuel, equivalent to half an hour of flight time.
If all goes according to plan, the aircraft will only use the trip fuel, with enough remaining for at least 30 extra minutes of flight. Should an aircraft land with less than the final reserve fuel, both the crew and the airline will automatically face an investigation. And just to be clear, every statistic we have supports the fact that air travel is the safest form of transportation known to humankind.
Enjoy your flight!
2. ... But Pilots' Mobile Devices Have Been Responsible for Some Incidents
That’s not to say that mobile phones have never been involved in incidents with potentially deadly outcomes. As an aircraft nears its destination and descends toward an airport, the flight path becomes increasingly critical to safety. Unfortunately, as the aircraft approaches the ground, the likelihood increases that a pilot’s mobile phone will pick up a signal, causing it to vibrate, beep, or make other highly distracting noises at a critical point during the descent.
In one incident, a pilot's phone distracted him to the point that he forgot to lower the landing gear of a Jetstar A320 while preparing to land. Another hazard can occur during takeoff. In 2009, the FAA reported an incident where an airliner almost aborted its takeoff at the last moment due to an unknown 'warbling' sound coming from the First Officer’s mobile phone.
1. Portable Electronic Devices Do Not Affect Aircraft Systems
This is a well-accepted fact and is increasingly being embraced globally as aviation authorities relent and allow passengers to use PEDs (personal electronic devices) during most stages of flight. However, in certain conditions—such as poor visibility, thick clouds, or fog—aircraft rely on precise radio signals transmitted from the ground to navigate during the final stages of flight. The concern was that devices like mobile phones could interfere with these signals, potentially causing the aircraft to veer off course. These radio signals are highly sensitive, and during low-visibility maneuvers, other aircraft are kept at a greater distance from the runways to avoid disrupting the signal.
So, was the concern about interference from devices like mobile phones really justified? No evidence of such interference has ever been found, and the probability of it happening was always extremely low. What manufacturer would build a multi-million-dollar aircraft that could be brought down by a $10 mobile phone? As a brilliant radio comedy series once put it, 'If they had any effect, we wouldn’t let you have them.'
