tag:theconversation.com,2011:/es/topics/airplanes-54624/articlesAirplanes – The Conversation2024-03-18T12:30:59Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2228472024-03-18T12:30:59Z2024-03-18T12:30:59ZHow do airplanes fly? An aerospace engineer explains the physics of flight<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578175/original/file-20240227-28-cejldv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C7668%2C4449&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">U.S. airlines carry more than 800 million passengers per year.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/airplane-isolated-on-sky-3d-rendering-royalty-free-image/1147868750?phrase=airplanes">Lasha Kilasonia/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span></figcaption></figure><figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/curious-kids-us-74795">Curious Kids</a> is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to <a href="mailto:curiouskidsus@theconversation.com">curiouskidsus@theconversation.com</a>.</em></p>
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<p><strong>How do airplanes fly? – Benson, age 10, Rockford, Michigan</strong></p>
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<p>Airplane flight is one of the most significant technological achievements of the 20th century. The <a href="https://airandspace.si.edu/explore/stories/wright-brothers">invention of the airplane</a> allows people to travel from one side of the planet to the other in less than a day, compared with weeks of travel by boat and train.</p>
<p>Understanding precisely why airplanes fly is an ongoing challenge for <a href="https://www.clarkson.edu/people/craig-merrett">aerospace engineers, like me</a>, who study and design airplanes, rockets, satellites, helicopters and space capsules. </p>
<p>Our job is to make sure that flying through the air or in space is safe and reliable, by using tools and ideas from science and mathematics, like computer simulations and experiments. </p>
<p>Because of that work, flying in an airplane is <a href="https://usafacts.org/articles/is-flying-safer-than-driving/">the safest way to travel</a> – safer than cars, buses, trains or boats. But although aerospace engineers design aircraft that are stunningly sophisticated, you might be surprised to learn there are still some details about the physics of flight that we don’t fully understand.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577439/original/file-20240222-28-v3tjb4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A diagram of an airplane that shows the four forces of flight." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577439/original/file-20240222-28-v3tjb4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577439/original/file-20240222-28-v3tjb4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577439/original/file-20240222-28-v3tjb4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577439/original/file-20240222-28-v3tjb4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577439/original/file-20240222-28-v3tjb4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577439/original/file-20240222-28-v3tjb4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/577439/original/file-20240222-28-v3tjb4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The forces of weight, thrust, drag and lift act on a plane to keep it aloft and moving.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www1.grc.nasa.gov/beginners-guide-to-aeronautics/airplane-cruise-balanced-forces/">NASA</a></span>
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<h2>May the force(s) be with you</h2>
<p>There are <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/stem-content/four-forces-of-flight/#:%7E">four forces</a> that aerospace engineers consider when designing an airplane: weight, thrust, drag and lift. Engineers use these forces to help design the shape of the airplane, the size of the wings, and figure out how many passengers the airplane can carry. </p>
<p>For example, when an airplane takes off, the thrust must be greater than the drag, and the lift must be greater than the weight. If you watch an airplane take off, you’ll see the wings change shape using flaps from the back of the wings. The flaps help make more lift, but they also make more drag, so a powerful engine is necessary to create more thrust. </p>
<p>When the airplane is high enough and is cruising to your destination, lift needs to balance the weight, and the thrust needs to balance the drag. So the pilot pulls the flaps in and can set the engine to produce less power.</p>
<p>That said, let’s define what force means. According to <a href="https://ca.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/4079abf0-7a4b-4f49-80ad-c69cd06a80f9/newtons-second-law-of-motion/">Newton’s Second Law</a>, a force is a mass multiplied by an acceleration, or F = ma. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579678/original/file-20240304-22-jrh9mr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A black and white historical photograph of the first flight of the Wright brothers." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579678/original/file-20240304-22-jrh9mr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579678/original/file-20240304-22-jrh9mr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579678/original/file-20240304-22-jrh9mr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579678/original/file-20240304-22-jrh9mr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579678/original/file-20240304-22-jrh9mr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579678/original/file-20240304-22-jrh9mr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579678/original/file-20240304-22-jrh9mr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">On Dec. 17, 1903, the Wright brothers made their first flight at Kitty Hawk, N.C. Orville Wright is at the controls, while Wilbur looks on.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/the-flyer-takes-off-from-kill-devil-hill-with-orville-news-photo/517389284?adppopup=true">Bettmann via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>A force that everyone encounters every day is <a href="https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/what-is-gravity/en/#:%7E">the force of gravity</a>, which keeps us on the ground. When you get weighed at the doctor’s office, they’re actually measuring the amount of force that your body applies to the scale. When your weight is given in pounds, that is a measure of force. </p>
<p>While an airplane is flying, gravity is pulling the airplane down. That force is the weight of the airplane. </p>
<p>But its engines push the airplane forward because they create <a href="https://www1.grc.nasa.gov/beginners-guide-to-aeronautics/what-is-thrust/">a force called thrust</a>. The engines pull in air, which has mass, and quickly push that air out of the back of the engine – so there’s a mass multiplied by an acceleration. </p>
<p>According to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-wh3fJRdjo">Newton’s Third Law</a>, for every action there’s an equal and opposite reaction. When the air rushes out the back of the engines, there is a reaction force that pushes the airplane forward – that’s called thrust.</p>
<p>As the airplane flies through the air, the shape of the airplane pushes air out of the way. Again, by Newton’s Third Law, this air pushes back, <a href="https://www1.grc.nasa.gov/beginners-guide-to-aeronautics/what-is-drag/#:%7E">which leads to drag</a>. </p>
<p>You can experience something similar to drag when swimming. Paddle through a pool, and your arms and feet provide thrust. Stop paddling, and you will keep moving forward because you have mass, but you will slow down. The reason that you slow down is that the water is pushing back on you – that’s drag. </p>
<h2>Understanding lift</h2>
<p><a href="https://www1.grc.nasa.gov/beginners-guide-to-aeronautics/what-is-lift/">Lift</a> is more complicated than the other forces of weight, thrust and drag. It’s created by the wings of an airplane, and the shape of the wing is critical; that shape is <a href="https://howthingsfly.si.edu/media/airfoil#:%7E">known as an airfoil</a>. Basically it means the top and bottom of the wing are curved, although the shapes of the curves can be different from each other. </p>
<p>As air flows around the airfoil, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UO75jDwGCdQ">it creates pressure</a> – a force spread out over a large area. Lower pressure is created on the top of the airfoil compared to the pressure on the bottom. Or to look at it another way, air travels faster over the top of the airfoil than beneath. </p>
<p>Understanding why the pressure and speeds are different on the top and the bottom is <a href="https://airandspace.si.edu/multimedia-gallery/lift-and-copjpg">critical to understand lift</a>. By improving our understanding of lift, engineers can design more fuel-efficient airplanes and give passengers more comfortable flights.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579698/original/file-20240304-24-6df49v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A diagram that shows how the airfoil of a plane works." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579698/original/file-20240304-24-6df49v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579698/original/file-20240304-24-6df49v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579698/original/file-20240304-24-6df49v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579698/original/file-20240304-24-6df49v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579698/original/file-20240304-24-6df49v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579698/original/file-20240304-24-6df49v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579698/original/file-20240304-24-6df49v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Note the airfoil, which is a specific wing shape that helps keep a plane in the air.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/illustration/how-airplanes-fly-royalty-free-illustration/1401215523?phrase=airfoil+diagram&adppopup=true">Dimitrios Karamitros/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span>
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<h2>The conundrum</h2>
<p>The reason why air moves at different speeds around an airfoil remains mysterious, and <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/video/no-one-can-explain-why-planes-stay-in-the-air/">scientists are still investigating</a> this question. </p>
<p>Aerospace engineers have measured these pressures on a wing in both wind tunnel experiments and during flight. We can create models of different wings to predict if they will fly well. We can also change lift by changing a wing’s shape to create airplanes that fly for long distances or fly very fast. </p>
<p>Even though we still don’t fully know why lift happens, aerospace engineers work with mathematical equations that recreate the different speeds on the top and bottom of the airfoil. Those equations describe a process <a href="https://howthingsfly.si.edu/media/circulation-theory-lift">known as circulation</a>. </p>
<p>Circulation provides aerospace engineers with a way to model what happens around a wing even if we do not completely understand why it happens. In other words, through the use of math and science, we are able to build airplanes that are safe and efficient, even if we don’t completely understand the process behind why it works.</p>
<p>Ultimately, if aerospace engineers can figure out why the air flows at different speeds depending on which side of the wing it’s on, we can design airplanes that use less fuel and pollute less.</p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Craig Merrett receives funding from the Office of Naval Research and L3Harris. He is affiliated with the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics, and is a licensed professional engineering in Ontario, Canada. Dr. Merrett is an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Clarkson University, Potsdam, NY. </span></em></p>People have been flying airplanes for well over a century. Engineers know how to balance all the forces at play, but still aren’t exactly sure how some of the physics of flight actually works.Craig Merrett, Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Clarkson UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2256522024-03-17T12:53:32Z2024-03-17T12:53:32ZWhat the Boeing whistleblower’s death reveals about exposing corporate wrongdoing in North America<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582057/original/file-20240314-30-19fe3a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C22%2C4950%2C3277&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">In 2019, a number of current and former Boeing employees went public with concerns about the company's manufacturing and safety processes.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A former Boeing employee who raised concerns about the company’s safety and production standards <a href="https://www.counton2.com/news/national-news/boeing-whistleblower-who-raised-production-concerns-found-dead-at-62//">was found dead on March 9 before he could provide his final deposition</a> in an ongoing lawsuit against Boeing. John Barnett died from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/10353532/boeing-whistleblower-dead-john-barnett-lawsuit/">according to police</a>. </p>
<p>For more than three decades, Barnett worked at Boeing, including as a quality manager at a <a href="https://www.live5news.com/2024/03/12/brave-honest-man-boeing-whistleblowers-attorneys-release-statement-his-death/">North Charleston, S.C. plant</a>, which manufactures the 787 Dreamliner. In 2019, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/20/business/boeing-dreamliner-production-problems.html">Barnett and a dozen other workers blew the whistle on Boeing in a <em>New York Times</em></a> story, claiming its manufacturing processes prioritized speed over public safety. </p>
<p>While <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/former-boeing-whistleblower-found-dead-from-apparent-self-inflicted-gunshot-wound-1.6805965">Boeing denied the claims of unsafe work practices</a>, recent audits have confirmed that quality control issues exist. The Federal Aviation Administration released the <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/03/12/us-news/faa-audit-of-boeings-737-production-found-mechanics-using-hotel-card-and-dish-soap-as-makeshift-tools-report/">results of a recent investigation showing numerous non-compliance issues</a>. </p>
<p>Boeing’s planes have recently caught media attention for a series of technical problems. These incidents include a <a href="https://theconversation.com/boeing-needs-to-get-real-the-737-max-should-probably-be-scrapped-221023">door blowing off a plane soon after takeoff from Portland on Jan. 5</a>, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/passenger-video-shows-flames-shoot-united-airlines-engine-midflight-rcna142217">planes making emergency landings</a> due to mechanical issues, and, on March 11, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/50-people-injured-strong-movement-boeing-flight-new-zealand-rcna142405">50 passengers sustaining injuries</a> on a Boeing plane due to a sudden loss of elevation.</p>
<h2>The costs of whistleblowing</h2>
<p>Barnett’s death sadly appears to <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/03/20/death-of-a-whistleblower-suicide-pentagon-office-inspector-general/">fit into an established pattern</a>. Whistleblowers face intense public scrutiny, and, frequently, retaliation after going public. According to a recent study, <a href="https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2023-89">82 per cent of whistleblowers face some level of retaliation from their employer after leaking information</a>, including harassment or dismissal.</p>
<p>Aside from retaliation, whistleblowers also frequently lose their sense of community after coming forward. </p>
<p>Corporate work culture makes choosing between duty and loyalty emotionally complicated. For many people, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/a0024166">work largely informs their identity</a>. Their workplace is their community and their work ethic often merges personal achievement with professional values. They become emotionally invested in the culture, structure and daily dramas of their workplace. </p>
<p>When whistleblowers go public, they make an overt choice to separate from this community. More to the point, they represent that community — or a portion of it — as unethical or criminal. As such, former colleagues whose identity is wrapped up in their work <a href="https://psic-ispc.gc.ca/en/resources/corporate-publications/sound-silence">may feel betrayed by the whistleblower</a>.</p>
<p>Even members of the public may critique whistleblowers as disloyal and attention-seeking. But this is not a fair characterization.</p>
<h2>Duty versus loyalty: A false dichotomy</h2>
<p>Even after coming forward and facing public attention and resentment, research indicates <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0170840619880565">many whistleblowers continue to define themselves through their work community</a>, relying on it for their sense of identity and belonging.</p>
<p>Many whistleblowers speak out because they are particularly invested in their work community’s ideals and their profession’s standards. This suggests the choice between public duty and professional loyalty is a false dichotomy. For whistleblowers, their duty to the public and their loyalty to their professional standards are one and the same. </p>
<p>For Barnett, this seems to have been particularly true; his public duty and professional loyalty were not at odds. Seeking to protect the public, Barnett demonstrated a commitment to a better future for his colleagues and the firm he worked at for 32 years.</p>
<p>In the wake of Barnett’s passing, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/boeing-whistleblowers-case-go-posthumously-attorney-says-rcna143001">his lawyers said</a>: </p>
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<p>“John was a brave, honest man of the highest integrity. He cared dearly about his family, his friends, the Boeing company, his Boeing co-workers, and the pilots and people who flew on Boeing aircraft. We have rarely met someone with a more sincere and forthright character.”</p>
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<h2>Whistleblowers in the public eye</h2>
<p>As public figures, whistleblowers not only face retaliation from their employers, but also ire from the public. They often find themselves caught in a tangled web of cultural, social and professional values. </p>
<p>Public discussion pits duty against loyalty, presenting whistleblowers as martyrs or snitches. Many <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kellypope/2018/12/26/the-truth-about-whistle-blowers/?sh=422782db6a9b">see whistleblowers as “tattle tales” or “rats”</a> that betray their employers to seek status, financial reward or validation.</p>
<p>A recent whistleblower award in the United States saw an anonymous informant receive <a href="https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2023-89">US$279 million dollars</a> — the largest award ever granted by the Securities and Exchange Commission. This fell under the <a href="https://www.sec.gov/files/dodd-frank-sec-922.pdf">Dodd-Frank Act</a>, which guarantees would-be whistleblowers a bounty equalling 10 to 30 per cent of monetary sanctions collected.</p>
<p>The policy provides an incentive for whistleblowers to speak up, as well as confidentiality protection for vulnerable employees. However, monetary reward and secrecy, particularly in the context of enforcement, serves as <a href="https://www.integrityline.com/expertise/blog/ethics-behind-whistleblower-rewards/">fruitful ground for public speculation</a> on whistleblowers’ motives.</p>
<p>At the other end of the spectrum are those who see whistleblowers as heroes that put themselves at risk to call out unethical practices and protect others from harm. In films like <em><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8236336/">The Report</a></em>, <em><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6294822">The Post</a></em> and <em><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9071322">Dark Waters</a></em>, Hollywood depicts whistleblowers as impassioned heroes standing up to clearly villainous conspiracies. In real life, of course, the experience is much murkier. </p>
<p>Consider <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2445276799">Kathe Swanson</a>, the town clerk in Dixon, Ill., who blew the whistle on comptroller Rita Crundwell. <a href="https://wgntv.com/news/wgn-investigates/rita-crundwell-stole-54-million-then-returned-to-the-scene-of-the-crime/">Crundwell embezzled US$54 million over more than 20 years</a> to finance her extravagant lifestyle. Accounting professor Kelly Richmond Pope positions Swanson’s actions as heroic, arguing <a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/kelly_richmond_pope_how_whistle_blowers_shape_history?language=en">Swanson went public not for fame or financial reward, but because she felt it was the right thing to do</a>.</p>
<h2>Holding power to account</h2>
<p>Our culture ultimately relies on whistleblowers to hold powerful organizations and individuals accountable. </p>
<p>The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners’ <a href="https://legacy.acfe.com/report-to-the-nations/2022/">2022 Report to the Nation</a> found that a significant number of fraud cases reported in North America — 42 per cent — were detected as a result of whistleblower tips. More than half of those tips were made by an organization’s own employees.</p>
<p>Whistleblowers play a crucial role in upholding accountability and integrity within our society. We do not, however, make it easy for them. </p>
<p>By supporting the efforts of whistleblowers and recognizing the personal and professional risks they take, we may begin to foster a culture that values transparency, ethical conduct and accountability, strengthening our institutions as a whole.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225652/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Whistleblowers play a crucial role in upholding accountability and integrity within our society. We do not, however, make it easy for them.Thomas Stuart, Lecturer in Communications, Gustavson School of Business, University of VictoriaDouglas A. Stuart, Assistant Teaching Professor, Gustavson School of Business, University of VictoriaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2256752024-03-14T05:47:43Z2024-03-14T05:47:43ZShould you be concerned about flying on Boeing planes?<p>The American aerospace giant Boeing has been synonymous with safe air travel for decades. Since the 1990s, Boeing and its European competitor Airbus have dominated the market for large passenger jets. </p>
<p>But this year, Boeing has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. In January, an emergency door plug <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/business/boeing-aerospace/alaska-airlines-let-boeing-max-fly-despite-warning-signals">blew off a Boeing 737 MAX</a> in mid flight, triggering an investigation from United States federal regulators. </p>
<p>More recently, we have seen a Boeing plane lose a tyre while taking off, another flight turned back as the plane was leaking fluid, an apparent engine fire, a landing gear collapse, a stuck rudder pedal, and a plane “dropping” in flight and <a href="https://theconversation.com/latam-flight-800-just-dropped-in-mid-flight-injuring-dozens-an-expert-explores-what-happened-and-how-to-keep-yourself-safe-225554">injuring dozens of passengers</a>. A Boeing engineer who had raised concerns regarding quality control during the manufacturing process on the company’s 787 and 737 MAX planes also <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-68534703">died earlier this week</a>, apparently of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. </p>
<p>As members of the travelling public, should we be concerned? Well, yes and no.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/boeing-door-plug-blowout-highlights-a-possible-crisis-of-competence-an-aircraft-safety-expert-explains-221069">Boeing door plug blowout highlights a possible crisis of competence − an aircraft safety expert explains</a>
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<h2>Many problems, but not all can be blamed on Boeing</h2>
<p>The recent parade of events has certainly been dramatic – but not all of them can be blamed on Boeing. Five incidents occurred on aircraft owned and operated by United Airlines and were related to factors outside the manufacturer’s control, like maintenance issues, potential foreign object debris, and possible human error. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/united-airlines-plane-tire-blowout-boeing-b2509241.html">United Airlines 777</a> flying from San Francisco to Japan lost a tyre on takeoff, a maintenance issue not related to Boeing. The aircraft landed safely in Los Angeles. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1767636549288824990"}"></div></p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/03/12/united-airlines-reports-fifth-flight-incident-in-a-week-as-jet-turns-back-due-to-maintenance-issue/">United Airlines flight from Sydney</a> to Los Angeles had to return to Sydney due to a “maintenance issue” after a fluid was seen leaking from the aircraft on departure. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/passenger-video-shows-flames-shoot-united-airlines-engine-midflight-rcna142217">United Airlines 737-900</a> flying from Texas to Florida ended up with some plastic bubble wrap in the engine, causing a suspected <a href="https://skybrary.aero/articles/compressor-stall#:%7E:text=Compressor%20stalls%20cause%20the%20air,dirty%20or%20contaminated%20compressor%20components">compressor stall</a>. This is a disruption of air flow to an operating engine, making it “backfire” and emit flames. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://simpleflying.com/united-boeing-737-max-houston-runway-incident/">United Airlines 737 Max</a> flying from Tennessee to Texas suffered a gear collapse after a normal landing. The pilot continued to the end of the runway before exiting onto a taxiway – possibly at too high a speed – and the aircraft ended up in the grass and the left main landing gear collapsed. </p>
<p>The fifth event occurred on a <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/another-boeing-max-mishap-ntsb-probes-stuck-rudder-pedals-united-airli-rcna142286">United Airlines 737-8</a> flight from the Bahamas to New Jersey. The pilots reported that the rudder pedals, which control the left and right movement of the aircraft in flight, were stuck in the neutral position during landing.</p>
<h2>Manufacturing quality concerns</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/business/boeing-aerospace/alaska-airlines-let-boeing-max-fly-despite-warning-signals">exit door plug failure in January</a> occurred on an Alaska Airlines flight. US regulators are currently investigating Boeing’s <a href="https://www.vox.com/money/24052245/boeing-corporate-culture-737-airplane-safety-door-plug">manufacturing quality assurance</a> as a result. </p>
<p>The door plug was installed by a Boeing subcontractor called Spirit AeroSystem. The door plug bolts were not properly secured and the plug door fell off in flight. The same aircraft had a series of pressurisation alarms on two previous flights, and was scheduled for a maintenance inspection at the completion of the flight. </p>
<p>Spirit got its start after Boeing shut down its own manufacturing operations in Kansas and Oklahoma, and Boeing is now in the process of <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/01/spirit-aerosystems-boeing.html">buying the company</a> to improve quality oversight. Spirit currently works with Airbus, as well, though that may change.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-did-alaska-airlines-flight-1282-have-a-sealed-off-emergency-exit-in-the-first-place-the-answer-comes-down-to-money-221263">Why did Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 have a sealed-off emergency exit in the first place? The answer comes down to money</a>
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<h2>What changed at Boeing</h2>
<p>Critics say the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/03/12/boeing-whistleblower-death-plane-issues/">culture at Boeing has changed</a> since Airbus became a major competitor in the early 2000s. The company has been accused of shifting its focus to profit at the expense of quality engineering. </p>
<p>Former staff have raised concerns over tight production schedules, which increased the pressure on employees to finish the aircraft. This caused many engineers to question the process, and the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to fine Boeing for lapses in quality oversight after tools and debris were found on aircraft being inspected. </p>
<p>Several employees have testified before US Congress on the production issues regarding quality control. Based on the congressional findings, the FAA began to inspect Boeing’s processes more closely.</p>
<p>Several Boeing employees noted there was a high staff turnover rate during the COVID pandemic. This is not unique to Boeing, as all manufacturing processes and airline maintenance facilities around the globe were also hit with high turnover. </p>
<p>As a result, there is an acute shortage of qualified maintenance engineers, as well as pilots. These shortages have created several issues with the airline industry successfully returning to the <a href="https://www.aviationbusinessnews.com/mro/critical-shortage-of-engineers-means-looming-crisis-for-aviation-warns-aeroprofessional/">pre-pandemic levels</a> of 2019. Airlines and maintenance training centres around the globe are working hard to train replacements, but this takes time as one cannot become a qualified engineer or airline pilot overnight.</p>
<p>So, is it still safe to fly on Boeing planes? Yes it is. Despite dramatic incidents in the news and social media posts <a href="https://twitter.com/DaveMcNamee3000/status/1767636549288824990">poking fun at the company</a>, air travel is still extremely safe, and that includes Boeing.</p>
<p>We can expect these issues with Boeing planes now will be corrected. The financial impact has been significant – so even a profit-driven company will demand change.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225675/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Doug Drury does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The American aerospace company Boeing has been synonymous with safe air travel for decades, but recent weeks have seen it plagued by a series of issues.Doug Drury, Professor/Head of Aviation, CQUniversity AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2210692024-01-19T13:41:11Z2024-01-19T13:41:11ZBoeing door plug blowout highlights a possible crisis of competence − an aircraft safety expert explains<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569659/original/file-20240116-21-w7tewc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=24%2C24%2C5439%2C3612&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">An investigator examines the frame of a Boeing aircraft whose door plug blew out in flight.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/BoeingEmergencyLanding/390bb7248d0f4069b1b987492afbc254/photo">National Transportation Safety Board via AP</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>In the wake of the <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/08/us/what-happened-alaska-airlines-flight-1282/index.html">in-flight blowout of the side of a Boeing 737 Max 9</a>, federal regulators have grounded planes and are stepping up scrutiny of Boeing’s manufacturing process.</em></p>
<p><em>The Jan. 5, 2024, explosive decompression after takeoff was related to a component called a “door plug” being ejected from the fuselage of the aircraft. This was after <a href="https://apnews.com/article/alaska-airlines-portland-oregon-emergency-landing-aab8ee1e594369ab48fa3ce60f3acdc6">three prior flights of that plane</a> had registered warning signals about cabin pressurization. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating that incident.</em></p>
<p><em>In addition, the Federal Aviation Administration has launched an investigation into Boeing’s manufacturing process. Other incidents have raised concerns about other 737 Max aircraft – not just <a href="https://theconversation.com/heres-how-airplane-crash-investigations-work-according-to-an-aviation-safety-expert-113602">fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019</a>, but more recent examples of <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-67919436">bolts or other fittings or fasteners</a> not being up to standards.</em></p>
<p><em>The Conversation U.S. asked <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=I0IMxAkAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">Daniel Kwasi Adjekum</a>, an aviation safety expert and professor of aviation at the University of North Dakota, to explain the significance of the incident, the government’s response and what it all means for the flying public.</em></p>
<h2>Why is Boeing – not the airline – responsible for the door plug being secure?</h2>
<p>Under U.S. federal requirements, the number of occupants in an aircraft and the seating arrangements determine the <a href="https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-14/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-25/subpart-D/subject-group-ECFR88992669bab3b52/section-25.807">number and placements of emergency exit doors</a>. Airplane manufacturers build fuselages with enough openings to accommodate all the doors that might be needed. If airlines choose to use the highest-density seating arrangements, they need to use all of the openings for actual exit doors. But not all airlines pack the seats in that tightly; on those planes, some emergency doors are not needed. Those spaces are filled by door plugs.</p>
<p>In the case of the Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft, the door plugs are fitted by Spirit AeroSystems in Wichita, Kansas, which is the supplier of the airframe to Boeing. The final assembly of the aircraft is carried out at the Boeing plant in Renton, Washington. Quality control checks are done at Spirit AeroSystems, and then another round of quality checks is done by Boeing. These include a high-pressure test to ensure that the cabin can be pressurized safely and to ensure the integrity of the fuselage and pressure bulkheads.</p>
<p>Normally, the plugs are not removed during those tests at the Boeing facility, though they are checked to ensure they are correctly aligned with the rest of the fuselage. Overall, it is Boeing’s responsibility, as the original equipment manufacturer, to ensure the components conform to the FAA’s design, manufacturing, installation and performance requirements. </p>
<h2>Do the airlines have any reason to inspect the bolts that fasten the plugs in place?</h2>
<p>Under normal circumstances, once they are delivered and initially inspected, door plugs and their components are not adjusted by the airline maintenance team, though their integrity is checked as part of stipulated maintenance checks. Records from Alaska Airlines suggest that on previous flights before this incident, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/alaska-airlines-portland-oregon-emergency-landing-aab8ee1e594369ab48fa3ce60f3acdc6">pilots had received cockpit alerts</a> indicating a failure of the aircraft’s cabin auto-pressurization system.</p>
<p>In a situation like that, where there are suspected cabin pressurization issues, it may be possible for airline maintenance crews to check all cabin doors, windows, seals and potentially door plugs as part of a thorough troubleshooting process, but they would be subject to Boeing’s procedures for inspecting a door plug.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569658/original/file-20240116-23-6pkv4l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Airline seats sit next to an opening in the side of an aircraft." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569658/original/file-20240116-23-6pkv4l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569658/original/file-20240116-23-6pkv4l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569658/original/file-20240116-23-6pkv4l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569658/original/file-20240116-23-6pkv4l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569658/original/file-20240116-23-6pkv4l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569658/original/file-20240116-23-6pkv4l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569658/original/file-20240116-23-6pkv4l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">A view of the opening in the side of a Boeing aircraft that lost a door plug in midflight.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/BoeingEmergencyLanding/d6bae2b392f74ac88efa0f8f7ffbb5af/photo">NTSB via AP</a></span>
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<h2>What do FAA investigations involve?</h2>
<p>The design, testing, certification and approval process for any new aeronautical product is supposed to be in compliance with strict <a href="https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-14/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-25?toc=1">legal and FAA regulatory standards</a>.</p>
<p>As part of the investigations in this case, the FAA will <a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/01/12/1224444590/boeing-faa-737-max-9-alaska-airlines-door-plug">review the engineering and manufacturing processes</a> for the Boeing 737 Max 9, including the processes for vendors and suppliers, to determine if those standards were met. The <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/business/boeing-aerospace/faa-reviews-data-from-preliminary-inspections-of-boeing-737-max-9/">FAA will review documentation</a> on quality control and assurance processes and analyze components. </p>
<p>The FAA has said it is <a href="https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/faa-increasing-oversight-boeing-production-and-manufacturing">considering bringing in a third party</a> to conduct an audit of the engineering and manufacturing processes for the Boeing 737 Max 9. The findings and recommendations from the <a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/01/08/1223427243/boeing-flight-door-plug-alaska-airlines">National Transportation Safety Board incident investigation</a> may also provide valuable information.</p>
<h2>How do airlines deal with having so many airplanes that are now out of service pending their various inspections?</h2>
<p>With all these aircraft grounded, you need hangars and parking places for temporary storage. And it costs. In the U.S. alone we’re talking about <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/list-airlines-boeing-max-9-1858436">171 airplanes</a> on the ground. </p>
<p>That is a huge financial loss to airlines, which are otherwise benefiting from a <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2024/01/12/business/alaska-and-united-flights-canceled-737-max/index.html">surge in air service demand and increased passenger interest</a>.</p>
<p>Airlines’ fleet plans – entailing which aircraft they send on which routes and in what sequence – will be disrupted. Some high-traffic routes normally served by these aircraft will have to be done by other aircraft with limited seat and load capacities. That can reduce expected revenue.</p>
<p>The current scenario will also affect flight crew scheduling. Some crew members may have their work hours reduced or eliminated, at least for a period of time.</p>
<p>Once investigators have determined what went wrong, and how to fix whatever it was, that corrective action will also take a lot of maintenance work, in addition to the normal maintenance work for keeping the rest of the planes fit for flying.</p>
<p>It also appears that the <a href="https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/updates-grounding-boeing-737-max-9-aircraft">FAA may want to inspect each plane</a> after it is fixed before certifying it to return to service. That will require significant amounts of inspection time.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569660/original/file-20240116-21-b90elk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two planes sit parked on the tarmac at an airport." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569660/original/file-20240116-21-b90elk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569660/original/file-20240116-21-b90elk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569660/original/file-20240116-21-b90elk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569660/original/file-20240116-21-b90elk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569660/original/file-20240116-21-b90elk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569660/original/file-20240116-21-b90elk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569660/original/file-20240116-21-b90elk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Two Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft sit on the ground at an Oregon airport on Jan. 9, 2024, awaiting approval to take to the skies once again.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/alaska-airlines-boeing-737-max-9-aircrafts-n705al-and-news-photo/1913163434">Mathieu Lewis-Rolland/Getty Images</a></span>
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</figure>
<h2>How does an airliner manufacturer regain public confidence? Have other companies dealt with this before?</h2>
<p>In the 1970s, McDonnell Douglas had airworthiness issues with the DC-10 aircraft. Its <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/air-space-magazine/book-excerpt-flight-981-disaster-180967121">cargo door sometimes opened midflight</a>, resulting in injuries and <a href="https://mitpressbookstore.mit.edu/book/9781588345608">fatalities</a>.</p>
<p>The incidents were a big public relations problem for McDonnell Douglas, but using recommendations from the accident investigations, the company managed to redesign the door. </p>
<p>In the 1990s, ATR had its own issues with the <a href="https://www.faa.gov/lessons_learned/transport_airplane/accidents/N401AM">ATR 72’s de-icing system</a>. The company completely redesigned the system and gradually came back into the market.</p>
<p>Airbus has also faced similar challenges: Some <a href="https://simpleflying.com/a320neo-engine-troubles/">Airbus A320neos using Pratt and Whitney 1100G engines</a> had vibration problems that required review with engine manufacturers and regulators.</p>
<p>Most aircraft manufacturers are aware technical issues can surface after deploying a product into the market. That is why it’s important for them to get continuous feedback from operators on reliability and safety. </p>
<p>Boeing’s situation is difficult in part because of previous problems with other 737 Max models, including fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019. In my view, the company will need a lot of transparency and leadership to address these hits to its reputation.</p>
<p>To me, the company’s best chance for surviving this crisis would be to take full responsibility for what has happened and avoid blaming its suppliers. Boeing could involve airline executives, pilots, engineers, cabin crew, media and others in a wide-ranging discussion of quality and safety. If Boeing could win the confidence of these key stakeholders who operate its aircraft, that could help reestablish credibility for its brand with the traveling public.</p>
<p>In early 2023, Boeing was planning to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/boeing-add-737-max-line-it-boosts-production-2023-01-30/">ramp up production of the 737 Max line</a>. My suggestion would be that the company make product safety and quality an immediate priority and worry later about maximizing production goals and profits, after Boeing’s reputation is restored.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221069/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Daniel Kwasi Adjekum has previously received funding from the National Academies of Sciences Gulf Research Program. </span></em></p>Boeing is under increased public and government scrutiny in the wake of dangerous events that have people worried about the safety of air travel.Daniel Kwasi Adjekum, Assistant Professor of Aviation, University of North DakotaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2189962023-12-07T21:52:07Z2023-12-07T21:52:07ZThe sky’s the limit: A brief history of in-flight entertainment<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563048/original/file-20231201-21-2dzmmo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=9%2C4%2C3105%2C2069&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The in-flight entertainment and connectivity market grew to US$5.9 billion in 2019.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/the-skys-the-limit-a-brief-history-of-in-flight-entertainment" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>As the winter holidays draw near, many of us are already booking flights to see friends and family or vacation in warmer climates. Nowadays, air travel is synonymous with some form of in-flight entertainment, encompassing everything from the reception offered by the aircrew to the food choices and digital content.</p>
<p>These services all add value to flying for customers. Passengers are now so familiar with in-flight entertainment that to travel without it is unthinkable.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2023/10/19/2762903/0/en/In-Flight-Entertainment-Connectivity-Market-to-Worth-21-03-Bn-by-2030-Exhibiting-With-a-15-9-CAGR.html">The in-flight entertainment and connectivity market grew to US$5.9 billion as of 2019</a>, a testament to its economic impact on both the airlines and the GDP of countries with airline carriers.</p>
<p>In-flight entertainment is so ubiquitous that, even if all other airline services were offered, <a href="https://travel.stackexchange.com/questions/19427/will-airlines-compensate-me-if-my-entertainment-system-is-not-working">the airline ensures a refund is made to the passenger affected</a> if television content cannot be accessed.</p>
<h2>A brief history</h2>
<p>In-flight entertainment has evolved significantly over the years. Before in-flight entertainment media was introduced, passengers entertained themselves by reading books or with food and drink services.</p>
<p>The original aim of bringing in-flight entertainment into cabins was to attract more customers, drawing inspiration from a variety of sources, including the theatrical and domestic media environments. It was not initially for the comfort and ease of travelling, as it is today. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.academia.edu/5023683/A_History_of_INFLIGHT_ENTERTAINMENT">Inflight entertainment began as an experiment</a> in 1921, when 11 Aeromarine Airways passengers were shown the film <em>Howdy Chicago!</em> on a screen hung in the cabin during the flight. Four years later, another experiment was carried out in 1925 when 12 passengers on board an Imperial Airlines flight from London were shown the film <em>The Lost World</em>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Black-and-white photo of a group of men watching a movie projection from behind" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564039/original/file-20231206-29-iwrx4l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564039/original/file-20231206-29-iwrx4l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=459&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564039/original/file-20231206-29-iwrx4l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=459&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564039/original/file-20231206-29-iwrx4l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=459&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564039/original/file-20231206-29-iwrx4l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=577&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564039/original/file-20231206-29-iwrx4l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=577&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564039/original/file-20231206-29-iwrx4l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=577&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The first in-flight movie was shown on board an Aeromarine Airways plane that flew at the Chicago Pageant of Progress in 1921.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Motion Picture News)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/air-space-magazine/when-did-inflight-movies-become-standard-on-airlines-180955566/">It wasn’t until the 1960s</a> that in-flight movies became mainstream for airlines. Trans World Airlines became the first carrier to regularly offer feature films during flights, using a unique film system developed by <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1962/06/02/inflight">David Flexer, then-president of Inflight Motion Pictures</a>.</p>
<p>Starting in 1964, in-flight entertainment evolved to include various media types like 16-mm film, closed-circuit television, live television broadcasts and magnetic tape. In the 1970s, for example, airplanes might feature a large screen with a 16-mm projector in one part of the plane, while small screens hung overhead in another section.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.smh.com.au/traveller/reviews-and-advice/when-did-airlines-install-seatback-entertainment-20190711-h1g51b.html">Seatback screens were introduced in 1988</a> when Airvision installed 6.9-centimetre screens on the backs of airline seats for Northwest Airlines. They have since morphed into the larger screens we are familiar with today, which are found on nearly every airline.</p>
<h2>In-flight entertainment today</h2>
<p>Most airlines nowadays have personal televisions for every passenger on long-haul flights. On-demand streaming and internet access are also now the norm. Despite initial concerns about speed and cost, in-flight services are becoming faster and more affordable.</p>
<p>In-flight entertainment now includes movies, music, radio talk shows, TV talk shows, documentaries, magazines, stand-up comedy, culinary shows, sports shows and kids’ shows.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/inflight-wi-fi-highlights-challenges-of-satellite-broadband-delivery-on-land-and-in-the-sky-75381">Inflight Wi-Fi highlights challenges of satellite broadband delivery on land and in the sky</a>
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<p>However, the rise of personal devices, like tablets and smartphones, <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/comment/the-weird-and-wonderful-history-of-in-flight-entertainment/">could spell the end for seatback screens</a>. A number of U.S. airlines, including American Airlines, United Airlines and Alaska Air, have <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-10-09/airline-seatback-screens-may-soon-become-an-endangered-species">removed seatback screens from their domestic planes</a>.</p>
<p>This decline is par for the course. To arrive at the complex system used by aircraft today, in-flight entertainment went through a number of different stages, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-0641-1_10">as identified by aviation scholar D.A. Reed</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A person, seen from behind, looking at a screen mounted on the back of an airplane seat" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563044/original/file-20231201-25-a14lv8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/563044/original/file-20231201-25-a14lv8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563044/original/file-20231201-25-a14lv8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563044/original/file-20231201-25-a14lv8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563044/original/file-20231201-25-a14lv8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563044/original/file-20231201-25-a14lv8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/563044/original/file-20231201-25-a14lv8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">With the widespread usage of personal electronic devices, seatback screens are on the decline.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It started with an idea phase, which saw the conception of the idea, followed by an arms race phase where most airlines adopted some form of it. Currently, airlines are facing challenges in the final — and current — phase of evolution, and are dealing with failures linked to business concept flaws or low revenue.</p>
<p>Now that most air travellers carry electronic devices, fewer airlines are installing seatback screens. From an economic standpoint, this makes sense for airlines: removing seatback screens <a href="https://mobile.nytimes.com/2018/01/01/business/airlines-travel-entertainment.html">improves fuel costs</a> and allows airlines to <a href="https://www.flightglobal.com/systems-and-interiors/united-ups-757-density-with-new-slimline-seats/126574.article">install slimmer seats</a>, allowing for more passengers.</p>
<h2>More than entertainment</h2>
<p>At some point in the evolution of in-flight entertainment, it started to serve as more than just a form of entertainment or comfort. Now, it’s also a competitive tool for airline advertisements, and a form of cultural production.</p>
<p>In-flight entertainment has become an economic platform for investors, business people, manufacturers and entertainment providers, especially Hollywood. It also plays a key role in promoting the national culture of destination countries.</p>
<p>However, the evolution of in-flight entertainment hasn’t been without its challenges. As a form of cultural production, it often reflects the interests of advertisers, governments and business entities. It also follows that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-0641-1_10">certain ideas, products and cultures are sold to passengers</a> via in-flight entertainment. </p>
<p>The lucrative practice of capturing and selling passengers’ attention to advertisers was not limited to screens, either. In-flight magazines have always been packed with advertisements, and by the late 1980s, these advertisements had spread to napkins and the audio channels.</p>
<p>Despite its shortcomings and precarious future, in-flight entertainment still offers passengers a sense of comfort, alleviating concerns about being suspended over 30,000 feet above sea level. If you end up flying during the holidays, remember your comfort is partly thanks to this innovation.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218996/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Olusola Adewumi John does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In-flight entertainment has evolved significantly over the years, from a one-off experiment to the on-demand streaming services many of us are now used to.Olusola Adewumi John, Visiting Researcher, Centre for Socially Engaged Theatre, University of ReginaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2169502023-11-10T13:25:12Z2023-11-10T13:25:12ZSpecialized training programs using sensory augmentation devices could prevent astronauts from getting disoriented in space<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/558127/original/file-20231107-15-nnyzbl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C5%2C1941%2C1075&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Astronauts prepare to leave the International Space Station.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/SpaceStation/ab2eaca4b8b84b04a961488995ab42f4/photo?Query=space%20flight&mediaType=photo&sortBy=&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=570&currentItemNo=NaN&vs=true&vs=true">NASA via AP</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When landing on the surface of the Moon, astronauts can become spatially disoriented, which is when they lose sense of their orientation – they might not be able to tell which way is up. This disorientation can lead to fatal accidents. </p>
<p>Even on Earth, <a href="https://doi.org/10.3357/ASEM.3971.2014">between 1993 and 2013</a>, spatial disorientation led to the loss of 65 aircraft, US$2.32 billion of damages and 101 deaths in the U.S.</p>
<p>Could wearable technology augment the senses of astronauts, allowing them to overcome the limitations of their biological sensors? And what type of training could build a deeper bond between the astronaut and the wearable technology, so that astronauts would be able to rely on the technology when they can’t trust their own senses?</p>
<p><a href="https://sites.google.com/view/vivekanandpandeyvimal/research_2/introduction">I am a research scientist</a> in the <a href="https://www.brandeis.edu/graybiel/">Ashton Graybiel Spatial Orientation Lab</a> at <a href="https://www.brandeis.edu/">Brandeis University</a>. With my collaborators, <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=YmkwkIEAAAAJ&hl=en">Alexander Panic</a>, <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=B1INHVwAAAAJ&hl=en">James Lackner</a> and <a href="https://scholarworks.brandeis.edu/esploro/profile/paul_dizio/overview">Paul DiZio</a>, I study sensory augmentation and spatial disorientation, which is when astronauts and pilots lose the sense of which way they are oriented. </p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4uTpHzZdDeE?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Spatial disorientation research may help astronauts in the future, and it can have applications for other fields, like vestibular disorders.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2023.1249962">In a paper</a> published in November 2023 in Frontiers in Physiology, we determined whether vibrotactors – small vibrating devices placed on the skin – could enhance the performance of participants put in a disorienting condition that mimicked spaceflight. We also studied what type of training could enhance the connection between the human and the device. </p>
<p>Vibrotactors communicate information through the touch receptors of the somatosensory system instead of the visual system. They have previously helped pilots <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/154193120004400148">flying helicopters</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1109/51.827409">airplanes</a>.</p>
<p>When pilots are disoriented, their visual system often gets <a href="https://doi.org/10.3357/ASEM.3048.2011">overwhelmed with information</a>. Vibrotactors can help because they send touch signals rather than visual signals.</p>
<h2>Creating a spaceflight analog condition</h2>
<p>For our first experiment, we wanted to figure out whether using vibrotactors would improve a particpant’s ability to stabilize themselves in a disorienting spaceflight condition. </p>
<p>We strapped participants into a multi-axis rotation device, which is a machine containing a chair that’s programmed to behave like an inverted pendulum. Like a pencil falling left or right as you try to balance it on your fingertip, the multi-axis rotation device tilts to the left or right. Participants used a joystick to try to balance themselves and keep the chair upright. </p>
<p>We blindfolded the participants, because spatial disorientation often occurs when pilots can’t see – like when they <a href="https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/citations/ADP013844">fly at night or through clouds</a>. </p>
<p>On Earth, tiny organs in the inner ears <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK10792/">called otoliths</a> help people keep their balance by sensing how far the body is tilted away from an upright position, also called the gravitational vertical. In space and especially during gravitational transitions, such as while landing on a planet or the Moon, the gravitational information detected by the otoliths is very different than on Earth. This can cause disorientation. </p>
<p>Additionally, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1152/jn.00476.2019">long-duration spaceflight</a> will change how the brain interprets the signals coming from the otoliths. This can also lead to disorientation when landing. </p>
<p>In our Earth analog condition, which was meant as a control to compare against the spaceflight condition we tested, participants sat in the multi-axis rotation device and used a joystick to stabilize themselves around the balance point. The balance point was at an upright position, or the gravitational vertical. </p>
<p>Because the otoliths can sense tilt from the gravitational vertical, participants always had a good sense of their orientation and the location of the balance point. We called this the Earth analog condition because they could use gravitational cues to do the task. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-017-5068-3">Every participant learned and improved</a> their performance on this over time. </p>
<p>Then, in the spaceflight analog condition, we had the multi-axis rotation device pitch the participants back by 90 degrees. The balance point was still in the center, and the multi-axis rotation device was programmed to tilt to either the left or right while participants were on their back. </p>
<p>In the Earth condition, the balance point was lined up with the upright, so it was easy to use the otoliths to determine how much one was tilted. However, in the spaceflight condition, participants no longer tilted relative to the gravitational vertical, because they were always on their back. So even though the balance point they were trying to find was the same, they could no longer use gravity to determine how much they were tilted from the balance point.</p>
<p>Similarly, astronauts have minimal gravitational cues when initially landing. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-017-5068-3">In our spaceflight condition</a>, the participants showed very poor performance and had high rates of losing control.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557559/original/file-20231103-23-l58q3k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two photos, the left labeled 'Vertical roll plane' shows a participant strapped into a chair that's tilted with his head to the right and feet to the left, but oriented upright. The right, lableled 'horizontal roll plane' shows the participant tilted back" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557559/original/file-20231103-23-l58q3k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/557559/original/file-20231103-23-l58q3k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=275&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557559/original/file-20231103-23-l58q3k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=275&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557559/original/file-20231103-23-l58q3k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=275&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557559/original/file-20231103-23-l58q3k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=346&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557559/original/file-20231103-23-l58q3k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=346&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/557559/original/file-20231103-23-l58q3k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=346&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In the Earth analog condition, participants balance in the upright vertical plane, while in the spaceflight analog condition, participants are tilted back and they balance in the horizontal plane. There, they can no longer use gravitational information to figure out where they are.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ashton Graybiel Spatial Orientation Lab</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For each of the 13 participants in the experimental group, we attached four vibrotactors on each arm. The farther a participant titled from the balance point, the more vibrotactors vibrated on the same side. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2023.1249962">We found</a> that vibrotactile feedback helped performance in the disorienting spaceflight condition. But it also led to a feeling of conflict between a participant’s incorrect perception of their orientation and their actual orientation, as indicated by the vibrotactors. </p>
<p>Because of this conflict, the participants’ performance in the spaceflight condition <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2023.1249962">was not as good</a> as it was in the Earth condition.</p>
<p>Surprisingly, even knowing that they were disoriented and reporting high levels of trust in the vibrotactors was not enough to allow people to continue learning and improving their performance. This suggests that cognitive trust, or their self-reported level of trust, may differ than their gut-level trust – and cognitive trust alone <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2023.1249962">does not ensure</a> people will be able to rely on the vibrotactors when disoriented.</p>
<h2>Building a human-device bond</h2>
<p>Previous <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2003.10.013">research in sensory substitution</a> has found that allowing participants to freely explore and play around with the device during training builds a bond between the human and the device.</p>
<p>In our first experiment, we provided participants with time to explore how the device works. We gave them 40 minutes to explore the vibrotactile feedback in the Earth condition the day before they were tested in the spaceflight condition. While this helped participants perform better than those who did not have vibrotactors, <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2023.1249962">their improvements were modest</a>, and these participants did not show any further improvement in performance after being given 40 minutes in the spaceflight condition. </p>
<p>So, why was this free exploration not enough for our test condition but sufficient for other experiments? One reason could be that the majority of prior studies on sensory augmentation have had the training and testing occur in the same environment. However, astronauts will most likely receive their training on Earth before being in space, where their sensory information will be very different. </p>
<p>To determine whether specialized training could lead to better results, we ran another group of participants <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-019-05631-x">through a training program</a>. </p>
<p>Participants spent the first day in the Earth analog condition, where they had to stabilize themselves while searching for hidden balance points that were different than the upright, or gravitational vertical. In order to find the hidden balance point, they had to disengage from their desire to align with the upright while focusing on the vibrotactors, which indicated the location of the balance point.</p>
<p>When this group was tested on Day 2 in the spaceflight analog condition, they <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2023.1249962">performed significantly better</a> than the group that had the vibrotactors but hadn’t received the training program. Our findings suggest that simple exposure to sensory augmentation devices will be not be enough training for astronauts to rely on the device when they cannot rely upon their own senses. </p>
<p>Also, cognitive trust in the device may not be enough to ensure reliance. Instead, astronauts will need specialized training that requires disengaging from one sense while focusing on feedback from the device.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216950/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Vivekanand Vimal receives funding from NASA’s Human Research Program under grant 80NSSC22K0758</span></em></p>When you’re an astronaut landing on the Moon, you can’t rely on the same gravitational cues we have on Earth. But regimented training with sensory devices could one day prevent spatial disorientation.Vivekanand Pandey Vimal, Research Scientist, Brandeis UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2071862023-09-25T12:20:49Z2023-09-25T12:20:49ZWhy does a plane look and feel like it’s moving more slowly than it actually is?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537863/original/file-20230717-230575-4lcw35.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=157%2C431%2C2434%2C1432&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Without a point of reference, it can be hard to tell just how fast an airplane is traveling.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/an-aircraft-flies-through-london-skies-leaving-a-vapour-news-photo/73179201?adppopup=true">Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images News via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/curious-kids-us-74795">Curious Kids</a> is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to <a href="mailto:curiouskidsus@theconversation.com">curiouskidsus@theconversation.com</a>.</em></p>
<hr>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>Why does a plane look and feel like it’s moving more slowly than it actually is? – Finn F., age 8, Concord, Massachusetts</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p><a href="https://www.flyingmag.com/guides/how-fast-do-commerical-planes-fly/">A passenger jet flies</a> at about 575 mph once it’s at cruising altitude. That’s nearly nine times faster than a car might typically be cruising on the highway. So why does a plane in flight look like it’s just inching across the sky?</p>
<p><a href="https://www.engineering.iastate.edu/people/profile/sdnelson/">I am an aerospace educator</a> who relies on the laws of physics when teaching about aircraft. These same principles of physics help explain why looks can be deceiving when it comes to how fast an object is moving.</p>
<h2>Moving against a featureless background</h2>
<p>If you watch a plane accelerating toward takeoff, it appears to be moving very quickly. It’s not until the plane is in the air and has reached cruising altitude that it appears to be moving very slowly. That’s because there is often no independent reference point when the plane is in the sky.</p>
<p>A reference point is a way to measure the speed of the airplane. If there are no <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/contrails_k-12.pdf">contrails</a> or clouds surrounding it, the plane is moving against a completely uniform blue sky. This can make it very hard to perceive just how fast a plane is moving. </p>
<p>And because the plane is far away, it takes longer for it to move across your field of vision compared to an object that is close to you. This further creates the illusion that it is moving more slowly than it actually is.</p>
<p>These factors explain why a plane looks like it’s going more slowly than it is. But why does it feel that way, too?</p>
<h2>A passenger’s perception on the plane</h2>
<p>A plane feels like it’s traveling more slowly than it is because, just like when you look up at a plane in the sky, as a passenger on a plane, you have no independent reference point. You and the plane are moving at the same speed, which can make it difficult to perceive your rate of motion relative to the ground beneath you. This is the same reason why it can be hard to tell that you are driving quickly on a highway that is surrounded only by empty fields with no trees.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Perspective from a plane window of the plane's shadow against a brown field with the plane's white wing visible on the left side." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537920/original/file-20230717-228467-6a2tmx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537920/original/file-20230717-228467-6a2tmx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537920/original/file-20230717-228467-6a2tmx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537920/original/file-20230717-228467-6a2tmx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537920/original/file-20230717-228467-6a2tmx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537920/original/file-20230717-228467-6a2tmx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537920/original/file-20230717-228467-6a2tmx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Watching the speed of a plane’s shadow can help you assess how quickly a plane is moving.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/the-shadow-of-us-secretary-of-state-antony-blinkens-news-photo/1232956715?adppopup=true">Saul Loeb/AFP via GettyImages</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>However, there are a couple of ways you might be able to understand just how fast you are moving.</p>
<p>Can you <a href="https://www.istockphoto.com/video/silhouette-of-airplane-flying-over-fields-shadow-of-plane-is-landing-over-golden-gm1194290281-340013766">see the plane’s shadow</a> on the ground? It can give you perspective on how fast the plane is moving relative to the ground. If you are lucky enough to spot it, you will be amazed at how fast the plane’s shadow passes over buildings and roads. You can get a real sense of the 575 mph average speed of a cruising passenger plane. </p>
<p>Another way to understand how fast you are moving is to note how fast thin, spotty cloud cover moves over the wing. This reference point gives you another way to “see” or perceive your speed. Remember though, that <a href="https://www.coolkidfacts.com/how-fast-do-clouds-move/">clouds aren’t typically stationary</a>; they’re just moving very slow relative to the plane. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xN4gFboXjtc?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">An airplane passes over thin, spotty cloud cover.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Although it can be difficult to discern just how fast a plane is actually moving, using reference points to gain perspective can help tremendously.</p>
<p>Has your interest in aviation been sparked? If so, there are a lot of great career opportunities <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/topics/aeronautics/index.html">in aeronautics</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Hello, curious kids! Do you have a question you’d like an expert to answer? Ask an adult to send your question to <a href="mailto:curiouskidsus@theconversation.com">CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com</a>. Please tell us your name, age and the city where you live.</em></p>
<p><em>And since curiosity has no age limit – adults, let us know what you’re wondering, too. We won’t be able to answer every question, but we will do our best.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207186/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sara Nelson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>An aerospace engineer explains why it’s so hard to tell just how fast an airplane is really moving.Sara Nelson, Director of the NASA Iowa Space Grant Consortium, Iowa State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2118212023-08-31T03:41:34Z2023-08-31T03:41:34ZHow can I get better sleep on long-haul flights?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545666/original/file-20230831-16733-lxnmp2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=784%2C95%2C1212%2C901&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/vladivostok-russia-september-08-2013-passengers-312891566">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>For most of us, the prospect of a long-haul flight is exciting, mixed with a few nerves. We’re off somewhere different – perhaps a holiday, maybe to catch up with friends or family. Even work can be more interesting when you’re in a new location.</p>
<p>Of course, you want to arrive fully rested and ready to go. But by its very definition, a long-haul flight involves travelling for a long period of time, often more than 12 hours. If you’re on a flight from New York to Singapore, it can be close to 19 hours.</p>
<p>All that time you’re confined in a seat that’s <em>supposed</em> to recline but feels like it hardly moves, while the seat in front seems to recline ten times lower than yours.</p>
<p>So, what can you do to get a a decent rest?</p>
<h2>Accept the situation</h2>
<p>The first tip for sleep in this setting is to relax your expectations a little.</p>
<p>Humans are just not well designed to sleep in an almost upright position. Unless you’re lucky to fly in a class with a lie-flat seat, you’re very unlikely to step off a long-haul flight having had a solid eight hours of sleep.</p>
<p>Research by colleagues and myself <a href="https://academic.oup.com/sleep/article/36/1/109/2656896">has shown</a> pilots – who get a bunk to sleep in during their in-flight rest breaks – have light and fragmented sleep. Despite not having great quality sleep, you can be assured <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jsr.12071?casa_token=S_3bRlU31x8AAAAA:BDeXhWwlMUXfDvtz59M0eSRGfXiK2jm45Tsr5uzMM02t3hktXfEEzU9OjSdGwbVZ_YuCIoUvnpDaKO0">our research</a> <a href="https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/asma/asem/2014/00000085/00000012/art00007">also shows</a> pilots remain very good at their job throughout a long-haul flight. This, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.3109/07420528.2012.719957?casa_token=zoFj2qt5RPMAAAAA%3ANeXdd1ALMMv9zxRJF3GhpoCS3u3eT8Q_kmNqFpsWh7oz1dLyVJgDpU3vo547iGotvX5d9CCiTfi62g">plus findings</a> from <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780444537027000099">many other lab-based studies</a>, tells us that even a short amount of light sleep has benefits.</p>
<p>So, even if you can’t get your usual eight hours during the flight, <em>any</em> sleep you do get will help you feel and function better at your destination.</p>
<p>Also, we’re not great at judging how much sleep we’ve had, particularly if our sleep is light and broken. So you’re likely to have slept more than you think.</p>
<h2>Time your sleep and drinks</h2>
<p>The timing of your flight, and consumption of alcohol and caffeine will directly impact your ability to sleep on an aircraft.</p>
<p>Assuming you’re adjusted to the time zone the flight departs from, daytime flights will make sleep on board much harder, whereas nighttime flights make sleep easier.</p>
<p>All humans have a circadian (24-hour) time-keeping system, which programs us for sleep at night and wakefulness during the day. Sleeping (or waking) against this biological time-keeping system poses significant challenges.</p>
<p>We do have a natural decrease of alertness in the middle of the afternoon, which makes this a good time to try for sleep on a daytime flight. On nighttime flights it will be easier to sleep once the dinner service is finished, otherwise you will be battling noise, light and the movement of people around you.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-can-you-pay-off-your-sleep-debt-11618">Explainer: can you pay off your 'sleep debt'?</a>
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</em>
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<p>As a stimulant, caffeine helps us stay alert. Even if you’re a regular coffee drinker and can fall asleep after drinking caffeine, your sleep will be lighter and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2016.01.006">you’ll be more easily woken</a>.</p>
<p>On the other hand, alcohol makes us feel sleepy, but it interferes with our brains’ ability to have REM sleep (also known as dreaming sleep). Although you may fall asleep more easily after consuming alcohol, your sleep will be more disturbed once your body metabolises the alcohol and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5821259/">attempts to catch up</a> on the REM sleep it’s missed out on.</p>
<h2>What about taking melatonin or other drugs?</h2>
<p>Some people find taking a sleeping tablet or melatonin can help on a plane. This is a very personal choice.</p>
<p>Before taking sleeping medication or melatonin you should see your doctor, and only take what’s prescribed for you. Many sleeping medications <a href="https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/ben/cnsnddt/2023/00000022/00000002/art00006">do not allow perfectly normal sleep to occur</a> and can make you feel <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3657033">groggy and drowsy</a> after waking.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/i-cant-sleep-what-drugs-can-i-safely-take-102343">I can't sleep. What drugs can I (safely) take?</a>
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<p>Importantly, melatonin is a hormone our brains use to tell us it’s nighttime. Melatonin can assist with sleep, but depending on when and how much you take, it can also shift your circadian clock. This could shift you further away from being aligned with the destination time zone.</p>
<p>Taking melatonin in your biological afternoon and evening will shift your circadian time-keeping system east (or earlier) and taking it toward the end of your biological night and in your biological morning will shift the circadian time-keeping system west (or later). It gets complicated very quickly!</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545470/original/file-20230830-23-xaf21i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman with long hair folded over on an airplane" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545470/original/file-20230830-23-xaf21i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545470/original/file-20230830-23-xaf21i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545470/original/file-20230830-23-xaf21i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545470/original/file-20230830-23-xaf21i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545470/original/file-20230830-23-xaf21i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545470/original/file-20230830-23-xaf21i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545470/original/file-20230830-23-xaf21i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Our muscles naturally relax when we’re asleep, making it difficult to keep the head supported.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/nanjing-china-june-19-2018-people-1130883641">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Prepare your clothes and accessories</h2>
<p>Be prepared so you can create the best possible sleep situation within the constraints of an aircraft seat.</p>
<p>Wear comfy layers, so you can take things off if you get too hot or put things on when you cool down, and hang on to that blanket instead of losing it under your seat.</p>
<p>Light and noise disturb sleep, so pack eye shades and earplugs (or a noise cancelling headset) to block these out. Practice with eye shades and earplugs at home, as it can take a few sleeps to get used to them.</p>
<p>A normal and necessary part of the falling asleep process is relaxation, including our neck muscles. When sitting up, this means our heavy heads will no longer be well supported, resulting in that horrible head-dropping experience most of us have had. Try supporting your head with a neck pillow or, if you have a window seat, against the aircraft wall. (Unless you know the person in the next seat well, they are probably not a good option to prop you up.)</p>
<h2>Don’t try to force it</h2>
<p>Finally, if you wake up and are struggling to go back to sleep, don’t fight it. </p>
<p>Take advantage of the in-flight entertainment. This is one of the few times sleep scientists will tell you it’s okay to turn on the technology – watch a movie, binge-watch a TV series, or if you prefer, listen to music or read a good book.</p>
<p>When you feel sleepy, you can try going back to sleep, but don’t get stressed or worried about getting enough sleep. Our brains are very good at sleeping – trust that your body will catch you up when it can.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/jetlag-hits-differently-depending-on-your-travel-direction-here-are-6-tips-to-get-over-it-196730">Jetlag hits differently depending on your travel direction. Here are 6 tips to get over it</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/211821/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Leigh Signal, or the research team she is a member of, have received funding from Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Royal Society of New Zealand, South African Airways, Air New Zealand, Delta Air Lines, Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore and the United States Air Force Office of Scientific Research.</span></em></p>A sleep scientist explains how to maximise your chances of getting decent rest while trapped on a plane.Leigh Signal, Professor in Fatigue Management and Sleep Health/Associate Dean, Research, Massey UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2105912023-08-29T12:25:03Z2023-08-29T12:25:03ZMachines can’t always take the heat − two engineers explain the physics behind how heat waves threaten everything from cars to computers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/544645/original/file-20230824-17-rzbu1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=85%2C54%2C5090%2C3391&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Extreme heat can affect how well machines function, and the fact that many machines give off their own heat doesn't help. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/MoroccoRenaultSandero/b86810360f694e719364ff6cfb327f27/photo?Query=manufacturing&mediaType=photo&sortBy=&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=317&currentItemNo=NaN&vs=true">AP Photo/Abdeljalil Bounhar</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Not only people need to stay cool, especially in a summer of <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/weather/2023/07/18/us-temperature-records-summer-heat-wave/70425231007/">record-breaking heat waves</a>. Many machines, including cellphones, data centers, cars and airplanes, become less efficient and degrade more quickly in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1049/iet-est.2015.0050">extreme heat</a>. Machines generate their own heat, too, which can make hot temperatures around them even hotter. </p>
<p>We are <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=_C33NmEAAAAJ&hl=en">engineering researchers</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=q0jrPekAAAAJ&hl=en">who study</a> how machines manage heat and ways to effectively recover and reuse heat that is otherwise wasted. There are several ways extreme heat affects machines.</p>
<p>No machine is perfectly efficient – all machines face some internal friction during operation. This friction causes machines to dissipate some heat, so the hotter it is outside, the hotter the machine will be. </p>
<p><a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201678">Cellphones</a> and similar devices with <a href="http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy13osti/58145.pdf">lithium ion batteries</a> stop working as well when operating in climates above 95 degrees Farenheit (35 degrees Celsius) – this is to avoid overheating and increased stress on the electronics.</p>
<p>Cooling designs that use innovative <a href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/6188826">phase-changing fluids</a> can help keep machines cool, but in most cases heat is still ultimately dissipated into the air. So, the hotter the air, the harder it is to keep a machine cool enough to function efficiently. </p>
<p>Plus, the closer together machines are, the more dissipated heat there will be in the surrounding area. </p>
<h2>Deforming materials</h2>
<p>Higher temperatures, either from the weather or the excess heat radiated from machinery, can cause materials in machinery to deform. To understand this, consider what temperature means at the molecular level. </p>
<p>At <a href="https://chem.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/General_Chemistry/CLUE%3A_Chemistry_Life_the_Universe_and_Everything/05%3A_Systems_Thinking/5.1%3A_Temperature">the molecular scale</a>, temperature is a measure of how much molecules are vibrating. So the hotter it is, the more the molecules that make up everything from the air to the ground to materials in machinery vibrate.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sNvMfuOvHwg?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">When metal is heated, the molecules in it vibrate faster and the space between them moves farther apart. This leads the metal to expand.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As the temperature increases and the molecules vibrate more, the average space between them grows, causing most materials to expand as they heat up. Roads are one place to see this – hot concrete expands, gets constricted and <a href="https://www.heraldnet.com/news/heat-wave-melted-county-roads-buckled-sidewalks/">eventually cracks</a>. This phenomenon can happen to machinery, too, and thermal stresses are just the beginning of the problem.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/544793/original/file-20230825-17-s9qfkc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A close-up of a street with several cracks running through the asphalt and a white paint stripe." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/544793/original/file-20230825-17-s9qfkc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/544793/original/file-20230825-17-s9qfkc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544793/original/file-20230825-17-s9qfkc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544793/original/file-20230825-17-s9qfkc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544793/original/file-20230825-17-s9qfkc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544793/original/file-20230825-17-s9qfkc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/544793/original/file-20230825-17-s9qfkc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Streets crack under heat because higher temperatures create more space between vibrating molecules, causing the material to expand and deform.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/cracked-asphalt-royalty-free-image/1266178787?phrase=broken+street+hot&adppopup=true">Priscila Zambotto/Moment via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Travel delays and safety risks</h2>
<p>High temperatures can also change the way oils in your car’s engine behave, leading to potential engine failures. For example, if a heat wave makes it 30 degrees F (16.7 degrees C) hotter than normal, the viscosity – or thickness – of typical car engine oils can change <a href="https://wiki.anton-paar.com/kr-en/engine-oil/">by a factor of three</a>. </p>
<p>Fluids like engine oils become thinner as they heat up, so if it gets too hot, the oil may not be thick enough to properly lubricate and protect engine parts from increased wear and tear.</p>
<p>Additionally, a hot day will cause the air inside your tires to expand and increases the tire pressure, which could <a href="https://www.athensreview.com/news/impact-of-excessive-heat-on-tires/article_31542372-3169-11ee-a135-3711984fefc6.html">increase wear and the risk of skidding</a>. </p>
<p>Airplanes are also not designed to take off at extreme temperatures. As it gets hotter outside, air starts to expand and takes up more space than before, making it thinner or less dense. This <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/08/01/climate-change-extreme-heat-is-making-air-travel-worse/51ae039c-3077-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html">reduction in air density</a> decreases the amount of weight the plane can support during flight, which can cause significant <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/airline-news/2023/07/14/extreme-heat-airplane-flight-delay-cancellation/70415739007/">travel delays</a> or flight cancellations. </p>
<h2>Battery degradation</h2>
<p>In general, the electronics contained in devices like cellphones, personal computers and data centers consist of many kinds of materials that all respond differently to temperature changes. These materials are all located next to each other in tight spaces. So as the temperature increases, different kinds of materials deform differently, potentially leading to <a href="https://www.pcmag.com/news/asus-confirms-thermal-stress-is-killing-the-rog-ally-sd-card-reader">premature wear and failure</a>.</p>
<p>Lithium ion batteries in cars and general electronics degrade faster at higher operating temperatures. This is because higher temperatures <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2013.05.040">increase the rate of reactions</a> within the battery, including corrosion reactions that deplete the lithium in the battery. This process wears down its storage capacity. Recent research shows that electric vehicles <a href="https://www.recurrentauto.com/research/what-a-c-does-to-your-range">can lose about 20% of their range</a> when exposed to sustained 90-degree Farenheit weather.</p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/the-factories-of-the-past-are-turning-into-the-data-centers-of-the-future-70033">Data centers</a>, which are buildings full of servers that store data, dissipate significant amounts of heat to keep their components cool. On very hot days, fans must work harder to ensure chips do not overheat. In some cases, powerful fans are not enough to cool the electronics. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545073/original/file-20230828-94298-qbkjjs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A white room filled with large black data servers, which look like lockers." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545073/original/file-20230828-94298-qbkjjs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545073/original/file-20230828-94298-qbkjjs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545073/original/file-20230828-94298-qbkjjs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545073/original/file-20230828-94298-qbkjjs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545073/original/file-20230828-94298-qbkjjs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545073/original/file-20230828-94298-qbkjjs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/545073/original/file-20230828-94298-qbkjjs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Data centers, which store large quantities of data, can overheat and require large-scale cooling − which adds to their environmental footprint.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/DataCenterEnergyEfficiency/1f66b88d245a4f64ac6048bb84627ef2/photo?Query=data%20center&mediaType=photo&sortBy=&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=185&currentItemNo=1&vs=true">AP Photo/Julie Carr Smyth</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>To keep the centers cool, incoming dry air from the outside is often first sent through a moist pad. The water from the pad evaporates into the air and absorbs heat, which cools the air. This technique, called evaporative cooling, is usually an <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/01457632.2018.1436418">economical and effective way</a> to keep chips at a reasonable operating temperature. </p>
<p>However, evaporative cooling can require a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abfba1">significant amount of water</a>. This issue is problematic in regions where water is scarce. Water for cooling can add to the already <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-generative-ai-bad-for-the-environment-a-computer-scientist-explains-the-carbon-footprint-of-chatgpt-and-its-cousins-204096">intense resource footprint</a> associated with data centers. </p>
<h2>Struggling air conditioners</h2>
<p>Air conditioners struggle to perform effectively as it gets hotter outside – just when they’re needed the most. On hot days, air conditioner compressors have to work harder to <a href="https://home.howstuffworks.com/ac.htm">send the heat from homes</a> outside, which in turn disproportionally increases electricity consumption and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2021EF002434">overall electricity demand</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/543804/original/file-20230821-19-xxe1t5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=12%2C0%2C8527%2C4263&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="An apartment building wall with closed windows, an AC unit in each." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/543804/original/file-20230821-19-xxe1t5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=12%2C0%2C8527%2C4263&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/543804/original/file-20230821-19-xxe1t5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=305&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543804/original/file-20230821-19-xxe1t5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=305&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543804/original/file-20230821-19-xxe1t5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=305&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543804/original/file-20230821-19-xxe1t5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543804/original/file-20230821-19-xxe1t5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/543804/original/file-20230821-19-xxe1t5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Heat waves can stress air conditioners, which are already working hard to dissipate heat.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/SpainHeatwave/7d830b0761634881b61119751a1aa911/photo?Query=air%20conditioner&mediaType=photo&sortBy=&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=253&currentItemNo=28&vs=true">AP Photo/Paul White</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For example, in Texas, every increase of 1.8 degrees F (1 degree C) creates a rise of <a href="https://www.iea.org/commentaries/keeping-cool-in-a-hotter-world-is-using-more-energy-making-efficiency-more-important-than-ever">about 4% in electricity demand</a>. </p>
<p>Heat leads to a staggering 50% increase in electricity demand during the summer in hotter countries, posing serious threats of <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2022/07/11/texas-record-heat-ercot-power-grid/">electricity shortages</a> or blackouts, coupled with higher greenhouse gas emissions.</p>
<h2>How to prevent heat damage</h2>
<p>Heat waves and warming temperatures around the globe pose significant short- and long-term problems for people and machines alike. Fortunately, there are things you can do to minimize the damage. </p>
<p>First, ensure that your machines are kept in an air-conditioned, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e16102">well-insulated space</a> or out of direct sunlight. </p>
<p>Second, consider using high-energy devices like air conditioners or charging your electric vehicle during off-peak hours when fewer people are using electricity. This can help avoid local electricity shortages.</p>
<h2>Reusing heat</h2>
<p>Scientists and engineers are developing ways to use and recycle the vast amounts of heat dissipated from machines. One simple example is using the waste heat from data centers <a href="https://www.euronews.com/green/2023/03/16/from-heating-swimming-pools-to-vertical-farms-data-centres-are-proving-useful-but-is-it-en">to heat water</a>.</p>
<p>Waste heat could also drive other kinds of air-conditioning systems, such as <a href="https://www.energy.gov/eere/amo/articles/absorption-chillers-chp-systems-doe-chp-technology-fact-sheet-series-fact-sheet">absorption chillers</a>, which can actually use heat as energy to support coolers through a series of chemical- and heat-transferring processes.</p>
<p>In either case, the energy needed to heat or cool something comes from heat that is otherwise wasted. In fact, waste heat from power plants could hypothetically support 27% of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2011.07.047">residential air-conditioning needs</a>, which would reduce overall energy consumption and carbon emissions.</p>
<p>Extreme heat can affect every aspect of modern life, and heat waves aren’t going away in the coming years. However, there are opportunities to harness extreme heat and make it work for us.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210591/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>People aren’t the only ones harmed by heat waves. The hotter it gets, the harder it is for machines to keep their cool.Srinivas Garimella, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of TechnologyMatthew T. Hughes, Postdoctoral Associate, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2107782023-08-09T12:55:43Z2023-08-09T12:55:43ZAir travel is in a rut – is there any hope of recapturing the romance of flying?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/540440/original/file-20230801-15-96mm6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=6%2C0%2C4019%2C2685&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The high-risk adventure of air travel has been subdued, yet today's long flights can paradoxically feel torturous.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Christopher Schaberg</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Amelia Earhart broke a transcontinental speed record 90 years ago, in July 1933, by flying <a href="https://airandspace.si.edu/multimedia-gallery/web11183-2009640jpg">her signature red Lockheed Vega</a> from Los Angeles to New Jersey in just 17 hours, seven and a half minutes. Earlier that year, Earhart had flown as an observer on a Northwest Airways winter flight across the U.S., testing the possibilities of a “Northern Transcontinental” route. </p>
<p>Because those early airplanes couldn’t reach high altitudes, they weaved through dangerous peaks and the erratic weather patterns that mountain ranges helped create. One co-pilot <a href="https://www.deltamuseum.org/about-us/blog/from-the-hangars/2019/07/24/delta-stories-amelia-earhart">remembers the journey</a> as “seat-of-the-pants flying across the Dakota and Montana plains and through, over and around the Western mountain ranges.” </p>
<p>How does air travel today compare? </p>
<p>I’ve studied <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/02/engine-failure/552959/">airplane technology</a>, <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/09/a-forgettable-passage-to-flight/279346/">airport design</a> and <a href="https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/grounded">cultural attitudes</a> toward air travel, and I’ve noticed how aspects of flying seem to have calcified over time. </p>
<p>Long-distance flight <a href="https://theconversation.com/longing-for-the-golden-age-of-air-travel-be-careful-what-you-wish-for-34177">advanced rapidly between the 1930s and the early 1960s</a>, shaving off the number of hours in the sky by half. But over the past 60 years, the duration of such flights has remained roughly the same. Meanwhile, the ecosystem of air travel has grown more elaborate, often leaving passengers squirming in their seats on the tarmac before or after flight. </p>
<p>Coast-to-coast air travel is in a rut – but there are still efforts to improve this mode of transit.</p>
<h2>Just another ordinary miracle</h2>
<p>Transcontinental air journeys are clearly different 90 years after Earhart’s record-breaking exploratory flights: Travelers now take such trips for granted, and often find them to be pure drudgery. </p>
<p>In 2018, <a href="https://thepointsguy.com/reviews/united-757-200-first-class-ewr-sea/">travel blogger Ravi Ghelani reviewed in minute detail</a> a United Airlines flight from Newark, New Jersey, to Seattle – roughly the same northern route that Earhart explored in 1933. </p>
<p>But for Ghelani, seated in first class, it wasn’t the terrain or frigid temperatures that were the most cumbersome part of his adventure. It was a cheap complimentary blanket, which “barely qualified as one – it was very thin, very scratchy.” </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541779/original/file-20230808-21-f9i0u2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Black and white photo of woman smiling and waving in front of an airplane." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541779/original/file-20230808-21-f9i0u2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541779/original/file-20230808-21-f9i0u2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=807&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541779/original/file-20230808-21-f9i0u2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=807&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541779/original/file-20230808-21-f9i0u2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=807&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541779/original/file-20230808-21-f9i0u2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1015&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541779/original/file-20230808-21-f9i0u2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1015&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541779/original/file-20230808-21-f9i0u2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1015&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Amelia Earhart grins in Newark, N.J., after completing her first nonstop flight across the U.S. in 1932.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/newark-new-jersey-a-wide-grin-covers-the-face-of-amelia-news-photo/104404070?adppopup=true">Keystone-France/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The dreaded blanket reappears in Ghelani’s summary of his trip: “My main qualm with this flight was the lack of a decent blanket – the tiny, scratchy blanket that was provided wasn’t cutting it for the six-hour flight.” </p>
<p>I can imagine Earhart rolling in <a href="https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/legend-amelia-earharts-disappearance">her watery grave</a>: “You zip across the continent in six hours and you complain about a scratchy blanket?”</p>
<p>Yet Ghelani’s account of a mundane cross-country flight reveals a truth: Commercial air travel just isn’t the adventure it was back in Earhart’s time.</p>
<p>As one captain of a major U.S. airline who regularly flies long routes told me, “Today jetliners fly across the country from Los Angeles to New York, or Boston to Seattle, full of passengers oblivious to the commonplace practice it has become.” </p>
<p>This pilot compared coast-to-coast flights to “iPhones, microwaves or automobiles” – just one more ordinary miracle of modern life. </p>
<h2>Little indignities multiply</h2>
<p>The high-risk adventure of air travel has been subdued, yet long flights today can paradoxically feel torturous. </p>
<p>As philosopher Michael Marder puts it in his 2022 book “<a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262543712/philosophy-for-passengers/">Philosophy for Passengers</a>”: “When crew members wish passengers a ‘pleasant journey,’ I hear a dash of cruel irony in their words. How pleasant can the passenger experience be when you are crammed in your seat, with little fresh air, too hot or miserably cold, and sleep deprived?” </p>
<p>I asked my colleague and <a href="http://airplanereading.org/story/55/frequent-flight">frequent flier</a> Ian Bogost about his experience of coast-to-coast trips, and his reply was illuminating: “The same trip seems to get longer every year, and less comfortable. There are reasons – consolidation, reduced routes, pilot and air-traffic labor shortages, decaying technical infrastructure – but it still feels like moving backwards.” In spite of widespread attempts to update aircraft and modernize terminals, the vast system of air travel can seem cumbersome and outdated. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Glum-looking people in an airport terminal stand in a line that snakes out of the frame." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541783/original/file-20230808-19-5kb2r6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541783/original/file-20230808-19-5kb2r6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541783/original/file-20230808-19-5kb2r6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541783/original/file-20230808-19-5kb2r6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541783/original/file-20230808-19-5kb2r6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541783/original/file-20230808-19-5kb2r6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541783/original/file-20230808-19-5kb2r6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Passengers wait in line amid a series of cancellations at Newark (N.J.) International Airport in June 2023.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/people-queue-for-their-flight-reschedule-inside-of-the-news-photo/1259132586?adppopup=true">Kena Betancur/Getty Images</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>Recently at The Atlantic, reporter <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2023/07/clear-airport-security-lines-tsa-infrastructure/674809/">Amanda Mull wrote about</a> the biometric screening company Clear, describing this firm’s high-tech service to skip the ubiquitous toil of identity checks before flight, at the cost of surrendering some privacy and personal information. Mull concludes the reason more travelers will likely enroll in this service is that “traversing American airport security is simply that grim.” </p>
<p>For Mull, the adventure of contemporary air travel isn’t the destination, or even the journey itself – it’s what you must do to get through the airport. </p>
<p>Still, it’s worth noting that the majority of the human population has never boarded an airplane; flying cross-country remains <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/air-space-magazine/how-much-worlds-population-has-flown-airplane-180957719/">a relatively exclusive experience</a>. For most people, the closest they’ll get to a coast-to-coast flight is seeing a small white scratch across the sky, as another airliner makes its arc at 35,000 feet. </p>
<h2>2 futures of cross-country flight</h2>
<p>Coast-to-coast travel is no longer about breakneck speed or defying elemental odds, and Earhart’s quests to push the limits of aviation couldn’t be further from the bland routines of contemporary air travel. Nor does it involve people dressing to the hilt to step aboard a jetliner for the first time, with passengers stowing their fancy hats in spacious overhead bins. </p>
<p>Where are the new frontiers for transcontinental flight today? </p>
<p>One area of innovation is in a greener form of flight. Solar Impulse, a completely solar-powered plane, took two months to fly coast-to-coast in 2013. It averages a plodding 45 mph at cruising altitude. As <a href="https://apnews.com/ded34ccc19f24aeea67ba3da130a2be0">The Associated Press reported</a>: “Solar Impulse’s creators view themselves as green pioneers – promoting lighter materials, solar-powered batteries, and conservation as sexy and adventurous. Theirs is the high-flying equivalent of the Tesla electric sports car.” Solar Impulse was more recently <a href="https://aviationweek.com/aerospace/aircraft-propulsion/solar-powered-skydweller-completes-first-autonomous-flights?check_logged_in=1">reconfigured as a remotely piloted aircraft</a>, with new experiments in long-distance solar flight underway. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Futuristic looking plane with long wingspan flies over bay and city." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541781/original/file-20230808-16-r1r69n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/541781/original/file-20230808-16-r1r69n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541781/original/file-20230808-16-r1r69n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541781/original/file-20230808-16-r1r69n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541781/original/file-20230808-16-r1r69n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541781/original/file-20230808-16-r1r69n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/541781/original/file-20230808-16-r1r69n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Solar Impulse 2 flies over the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco in 2016.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/solar-impulse-2-a-solar-powered-plane-piloted-by-swiss-news-photo/523604684?adppopup=true">Jean Revillard/Getty Images</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>The comparison of Solar Impulse to a Tesla is handy because a different extreme can be found in Elon Musk’s company SpaceX. As part of the relentless development of its biggest vehicle, “Starship,” SpaceX has advertised the possibility of “<a href="https://www.spacex.com/human-spaceflight/earth/">point-to-point</a>” travel on Earth: for example, flying on a commercial rocket from Los Angeles to New York in 25 minutes. Never mind the physical tolls of a normal <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-would-anyone-want-to-sit-on-a-plane-for-over-18-hours-an-economist-takes-the-worlds-longest-flight-122433">19-hour flight</a>; it’s hard to imagine what such a brief yet fast trip would feel like, not to mention what sort of class divisions and bleak industrial launch sites such jaunts would rely on.</p>
<p>Get there as fast as possible, using as much fuel as necessary; or glide lazily along, powered by the sun, saving the planet. These are two starkly different visions of coast-to-coast flight, one a dystopian nightmare and the other a utopian dream. </p>
<p>In the middle, there’s what most flying mortals do: wait in lines, board unceremoniously and be relieved if you get to your destination without too much discomfort or delay.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210778/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christopher Schaberg does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Over the past 60 years, the duration of flights has remained roughly the same, while passengers have been subjected to more indignities, longer waits and more cancellations.Christopher Schaberg, Director of Public Scholarship, Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. LouisLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2079262023-06-22T20:06:58Z2023-06-22T20:06:58ZWhy can’t I use my phone or take photos on the airport tarmac? Is it against the law?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533331/original/file-20230622-27-61n5mz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C8%2C5392%2C3581&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/london-may-27-2018-people-by-1111827515">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Mobile phones are not allowed to be used while on a plane because they can interfere with the aeroplane’s navigation instruments and <a href="https://theconversation.com/heres-the-real-reason-to-turn-on-aeroplane-mode-when-you-fly-188585">cause various safety and social issues</a>.</p>
<p>As soon as the plane lands, we’re permitted to turn off flight mode, but at some airports we can’t get much of a signal. That’s because airports are known as mobile signal “<a href="https://thepointsguy.com/news/slow-connection-airport-tarmacs/">dead zones</a>” due to a lack of mobile towers – they can’t be placed at the airport itself due to height restrictions.</p>
<p>Any nearby mobile towers would be located away from the airport’s runway systems to avoid interfering with the aeroplane’s flight path, especially take-off and landing direction. Most airports put up indoor repeater antennas within the airport terminal; these help increase the mobile signal strength coming from the nearest mobile tower somewhere near the airport.</p>
<p>But you won’t be allowed to make calls while walking away from the plane, anyway.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/heres-the-real-reason-to-turn-on-aeroplane-mode-when-you-fly-188585">Here's the real reason to turn on aeroplane mode when you fly</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Why can’t I use my phone on the tarmac?</h2>
<p>As we are taxiing in, the <a href="https://www.qantas.com/au/en/qantas-experience/onboard/communication.html">cabin crew</a> remind us not to smoke outside of designated areas at the terminal and not to use our mobile phones until we are inside the terminal building.</p>
<p>If you exit the plane down the rear stairs, why aren’t you allowed to use your phone once away from the aeroplane, if you can get a signal? Surely it won’t affect navigation.</p>
<p>The answer is manifold, and regulations aren’t the same across the world.</p>
<p>In Australia, a <a href="https://www.casa.gov.au/operations-safety-and-travel/travel-and-passengers/onboard-safety-and-behaviour/using-your-electronic-devices-flights">government regulation</a> prohibits the use of mobile phones on the tarmac – the aeroplane movement and parking area of the airport.</p>
<p>You won’t be fined if you whip your phone out while walking to the terminal, but the airline may admonish you for not following the rules. However, if you decide to (<a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/victoria/woman-arrested-after-running-onto-tarmac-at-melbourne-airport-20151125-gl7bkq.html">run around on the tarmac</a>, you could get arrested by federal police.</p>
<p>The airport tarmac is very busy not just with aircraft, but also baggage carts, catering trucks, aeroplane waste removal trucks, and fuel trucks. Getting passengers off the tarmac and into the terminal building quickly and safely is a priority for the staff.</p>
<p>If you are distracted while walking to the terminal building because you’re talking on your phone, it can be <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jan/25/alabama-airport-worker-killed-jet-engine-safety-warnings">highly dangerous and even deadly</a> if you end up too close to an operating plane. An operating jet engine is extremely hot and has a strong exhaust. Additionally, the front of the engine has a low-pressure area called an <a href="https://www.ukfrs.com/guidance/search/aircraft-systems-and-construction">ingestion zone</a> that can suck in a person. Ground staff are trained to stay at least ten metres away from this area. However, this information is not shared with the passengers.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533338/original/file-20230622-19-4wmz21.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Long view photo of a snowy grey tarmac with an air canada plane and several fuel and other support trucks around it" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533338/original/file-20230622-19-4wmz21.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533338/original/file-20230622-19-4wmz21.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533338/original/file-20230622-19-4wmz21.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533338/original/file-20230622-19-4wmz21.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533338/original/file-20230622-19-4wmz21.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533338/original/file-20230622-19-4wmz21.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533338/original/file-20230622-19-4wmz21.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The tarmac is busy with crew, various support and fuel vehicles, and airplanes themselves, with plenty of hazards for a passenger who wanders into the wrong area.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/OIf5dPuecMg">David Preston/Unsplash</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A myth about fuel</h2>
<p>You may have heard that mobile phones are a fire hazard near fuel, and aeroplanes are, of course, refuelled on the tarmac.</p>
<p>However, the chances of fuel catching fire during this process are extremely low, because the refuelling truck is <a href="https://safetyfirst.airbus.com/safe-aircraft-refuelling/">bonded and “grounded” to the plane</a>: the operator attaches a wire to the aircraft to move built-up static electricity to the ground to prevent any chance of a spark. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533350/original/file-20230622-18-ot2mup.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A sign at a petrol station showing smoking and mobile phones are prohibited" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533350/original/file-20230622-18-ot2mup.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533350/original/file-20230622-18-ot2mup.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533350/original/file-20230622-18-ot2mup.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533350/original/file-20230622-18-ot2mup.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533350/original/file-20230622-18-ot2mup.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533350/original/file-20230622-18-ot2mup.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533350/original/file-20230622-18-ot2mup.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Warning about mobile phones at petrol stations are inaccurate.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/warning-sign-gas-petroleum-industrial-prevention-2084569294">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There have been stories in the press about mobile phones sparking <a href="https://www.verizon.com/about/news/vzw/2014/12/fact-or-fiction-using-a-cell-phone-at-the-gas-station-can-cause-a-fire">fires at petrol stations in Indonesia and Australia</a>, but these turned out to be inaccurate. There is <a href="https://www.nfpa.org/assets/files/AboutTheCodes/30A/FI%20-%20NFPA%2030A-2015%20Para%208.3.1%20-%20Attachments%2014-19.2017-04-04.pdf">no evidence a phone can spark a fire at a fuel pump</a>, despite the warning labels you might see.</p>
<p>Either way, the chances of a mobile phone causing this on the tarmac with a refuelling truck that is grounded to the aeroplane are extremely low, not least because the passenger permitted areas and refuelling areas are completely separated.</p>
<h2>Why are we told not to take photos on the tarmac?</h2>
<p>This rule varies from airport to airport depending on their <a href="https://www.tsa.gov/travel/frequently-asked-questions/can-i-film-and-take-photos-security-checkpoint">security processes</a>.</p>
<p>Such restrictions are carryovers from the changes to airport security following the <a href="https://heinonline.org/HOL/P?h=hein.journals/jlecono50&i=739">September 11 2001 terrorist attacks</a>. The now federalised security teams, TSA (Transportation Security Administration) in the United States and the Department of Home Affairs in Australia, change their processes frequently to prevent having any identifiable patterns that could be used to create a security breach.</p>
<p>The increased security measures also mean new technologies were introduced; airport security sections do not want photos taken of how they operate. </p>
<p>The airport security process is a major choke point in the flow of passenger movement due to the screening process. If a passenger is perceived to be slowing the process down by taking photos or talking on their phone, they will be reminded to turn off their device and/or stop taking photos of security personnel and equipment.</p>
<p>If you refuse to follow the rules of the screening process, you will be <a href="https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/about-us/what-we-do/travelsecure/passenger-screening">denied entry</a> into the airport terminal gate area and miss your flight. Can you also get arrested for using your phone? Depends on the airport and country. I, for one, do not want to find out.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207926/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Doug Drury does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Lingering on the tarmac once you get off a plane through the rear door is unadvisable for many reasons – here’s why the staff want your phone in your pocket.Doug Drury, Professor/Head of Aviation, CQUniversity AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2062672023-06-22T16:59:33Z2023-06-22T16:59:33ZTechnology remains at the heart of the hajj<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532431/original/file-20230616-23-novafc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=24%2C0%2C8068%2C4913&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Iranian pilgrims pose for a selfie during the hajj pilgrimage in 2022.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/SaudiArabiaHajj/00c994b4debf44c18cd331df8cac397a/photo">AP Photo/Amr Nabil</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The hajj – <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-the-hajj-101641">the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca</a>, Saudi Arabia, which Muslims are expected to make once in their lives if they are able – is expected to begin June 26 and last for five days. In 2023, <a href="https://www.arabianbusiness.com/abnews/hajj-2023-saudi-arabia-to-receive-2-million-pilgrims">approximately 2 million pilgrims will participate</a>, close to the annual <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/617696/saudi-arabia-total-hajj-pilgrims/">numbers of pilgrims</a> in years before the COVID-19 pandemic. </p>
<p>Their visits, like those in generations past, will be enhanced, and even made possible, by modern technology. </p>
<p>In recent years, the Saudi government has developed smartphone apps aimed at organizations of pilgrim groups. Pilgrims use apps themselves, with guides to help them find and pray at specific holy locations. And they document their journey, both physical and spiritual, on social media platforms like <a href="https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/hajj2023/">Instagram</a> and <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/hajj2023">TikTok</a>. </p>
<p>The country is rolling out <a href="https://twitter.com/MoHU_En/status/1416070942166499329">smart cards</a> for pilgrims to access hajj services and information, as well as make cashless payments.</p>
<p>And in 2022, the Saudi government established an online system by which prospective pilgrims from the U.S., Australia and Western Europe must enter a digital lottery for visas allowing them to <a href="https://theconversation.com/from-caravans-to-markets-the-hajj-pilgrimage-has-always-included-a-commercial-component-184418">make the hajj</a>. As for Muslim-majority countries, <a href="https://www.natvisa.com/saudi-arabia-blog/pilgrimage-visa-saudi-arabia">one visa is allocated</a> per 1,000 Muslims in each country. Those who are granted visas must <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/saudi-arabia-hajj-western-pilgrims-not-able-book-travel-agencies">book their travel through the Saudi government</a>, rather than through travel agencies in their home countries.</p>
<p>As those changes have occurred, news coverage about the hajj has often mentioned the technology involved, describing it as <a href="https://me.mashable.com/culture/23967/hajj-2023-expo-from-smartcards-to-ai-saudi-arabia-is-changing-the-face-of-pilgrimage-with-tech">a new phenomenon</a> that is “<a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/gulf-news/2023/01/11/hajj-expo-2023-all-you-need-to-know-about-the-pilgrimage/">transforming” the pilgrimage</a>. </p>
<p>Yet as a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=s3BLaAgAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">historian of the Middle East</a> and an expert on contemporary Islam, I know that technology has been at the heart of the hajj since the mid-1800s. Transportation and communications technologies have long been fundamental to governments’ management of the pilgrimage and to pilgrims’ spiritual experiences.</p>
<h2>Travel technology</h2>
<p>As far back as the 1850s, steamship technology made it possible for many more Muslims to make the pilgrimage even if they lived long distances from Mecca. </p>
<p>According to scholar <a href="https://daily.jstor.org/daily-author/eric-schewe/">Eric Schewe</a>, “<a href="https://daily.jstor.org/how-european-empires-helped-shape-the-hajjhow-european-empires-helped-shape-the-hajj/">European shipping lines sought Hajj pilgrims as passengers to supplement</a>” the money they made from shipping commercial cargo through the Suez Canal. By dropping off pilgrims at Arabian ports along a route their ships were already traveling, merchants were able to make a little extra income around the time of the hajj.</p>
<p>And the pilgrims appreciated the safety, speed, reliability and lower cost of steamship travel. As a result, they could reach the hajj more quickly and more cheaply than at any earlier period in history. From the 1880s to the 1930s, the <a href="https://daily.jstor.org/how-european-empires-helped-shape-the-hajjhow-european-empires-helped-shape-the-hajj">number of pilgrims going on hajj each year quadrupled</a>.</p>
<p>While steamships helped those traveling by water, rail helped those coming by land – especially those from Russia, whose multi-leg journeys often included travel by train to Odessa, in today’s Ukraine, or another Black Sea port, where they <a href="https://russia-islworld.ru/main/how-russian-muslims-went-to-the-hajj-in-the-past/">crossed to Istanbul by steamship</a> and then to Mecca via caravan. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532299/original/file-20230615-21-df5gh9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A photographic panorama of a holy space." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532299/original/file-20230615-21-df5gh9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532299/original/file-20230615-21-df5gh9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=224&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532299/original/file-20230615-21-df5gh9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=224&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532299/original/file-20230615-21-df5gh9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=224&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532299/original/file-20230615-21-df5gh9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=282&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532299/original/file-20230615-21-df5gh9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=282&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532299/original/file-20230615-21-df5gh9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=282&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘The honoured Ka‘bah and the Meccan sanctuary,’ 1880 photography by Sadiq Bey.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Khalili_Collection_Hajj_and_Arts_of_Pilgrimage_Arc.pp-0254.2.jpg">Khalili Collections via Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Communications technology</h2>
<p>The telegraph also played an important role in the hajj. The Ottoman government used its extensive telegraph network to govern and as <a href="https://trafo.hypotheses.org/30676">a sign of independence</a> from European powers; one key link was from the capital in <a href="https://www.archnet.org/sites/20029">Istanbul through Damascus, Syria, to Mecca</a>. European consular officials, rail and steamship companies and even individual pilgrims used the telegraph system for hajj-related communications.</p>
<p>Other communications technologies also affected the pilgrimage. <a href="http://cup.columbia.edu/book/imperial-mecca/9780231190770">Colonial powers with Muslim populations worried</a> that the mass gathering of Muslims would lead to political unrest. They also worried about public health. </p>
<p>The speed of rail and steam travel meant that pilgrims could bring infectious diseases home with them, as happened with the <a href="https://www.lectures.iastate.edu/lectures/pilgrims-passport-pandemics-past-mecca-and-hajj-under-quarantine-cholera-covid-19">cholera epidemics that broke out regularly</a> during the hajj in the 1800s. </p>
<p>Many governments introduced tracking regulations that relied on print technologies: The Dutch in 1825 began requiring pilgrims to get passports, while the French in 1892 began requiring Algerian pilgrims to have travel permits. The British government in 1886 gave travel agency Thomas Cook an <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/package-tour-to-mecca-how-the-hajj-became-an-essential-part-of-the-british-calendar">exclusive contract for hajj travel from India</a>, requiring pilgrims to pre-purchase tickets for each leg of the journey. </p>
<p>Together, these regulations helped pilgrims get through the hajj safely. But they also worked to minimize its potential political and public health risks for the colonial powers that governed most of the world’s Muslim population.</p>
<h2>Into the modern era</h2>
<p>The spread of commercial air travel starting in the 1940s changed hajj dynamics further: Flying was even faster, cheaper and safer than steamship travel. It offered to further open hajj participation to more Muslims, but created massive logistical, political and economic challenges as the number of pilgrims increased six or seven times <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/0195171071.001.0001">between 1950 and 1980</a>.</p>
<p>New communications technologies further popularized the hajj. For example, radio stations covered the hajj, starting in the 1940s in Mandate Palestine, with pilgrim letters broadcast to listeners at home. Like earlier <a href="https://www.britishpathe.com/asset/251774/">cinema newsreels</a>, television from the 1960s showed viewers footage of pilgrims circumambulating or walking around the Kaaba, one of the key hajj rituals. This footage helped inspire them to want to go on hajj as well. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, growing literacy rates allowed Muslims to read the increasing number of <a href="https://www.meccabooks.com/266-handbook-for-hajj-and-umrah-9780860373407.html">printed hajj guides</a> helping them navigate lodging, eating and worship. <a href="https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/M/bo20313514.html">Contemporary hajj travelogues</a> recording pilgrims’ experiences are part of a classical genre of Middle Eastern travel literature, known in Arabic as the <a href="https://funci.org/the-emergence-of-the-rihla-or-travel-literature/?lang=en">rihla</a> or seyahetname; both terms describe books of travels that typically included pilgrimage.</p>
<p>As pilgrims <a href="https://twitter.com/shen_shiwei/status/1289250173961396224/photo/1">celebrated their ability to travel to the hajj</a> via airplane, glitches happened. In 1952, the Saudi government’s last-minute cutting a hajj entry tax encouraged thousands of additional pilgrims to fly to Beirut, where Lebanese airline companies had no seats available. Instead, the <a href="https://roadsandkingdoms.com/2014/when-uncle-sam-rolled-out-the-magic-carpet-for-hajj/">United States Air Force organized an airlift</a> that transported nearly 4,000 stranded pilgrims from Beirut to Mecca in time to make the hajj.</p>
<p>Again, communications technologies played an important role in pilgrim management. In the 1950s, <a href="https://www.papertotravel.com/MP-323/photo/5723">British-governed Malaysia</a> issued so-called “pilgrim passports,” which collected all information relevant to a pilgrim’s travel, from vaccination dates to next of kin contact information. Saudi-issued hajj visas evolved from handwritten and handstamped in the <a href="https://www.ebay.com/itm/314050359157">1970s</a> to digitally stamped, bar-coded visas by the <a href="https://www.papertotravel.com/MP-576/photo/10717">late 2000s</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532432/original/file-20230616-25-p8kviv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A crowd of people moves through a tunnel." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532432/original/file-20230616-25-p8kviv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532432/original/file-20230616-25-p8kviv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532432/original/file-20230616-25-p8kviv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532432/original/file-20230616-25-p8kviv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532432/original/file-20230616-25-p8kviv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532432/original/file-20230616-25-p8kviv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532432/original/file-20230616-25-p8kviv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Massive numbers of people make the hajj every year, requiring significant effort for crowd control and safety.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/prospective-pilgrims-continue-their-worship-to-fulfill-the-news-photo/1241839087">Ashraf Amra/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Large numbers of travelers</h2>
<p>Historically, a tiny minority of Muslims envisioned making the pilgrimage at any point in their lives. Even today, most Muslims will never be able to go on hajj, and most who do will go only once. </p>
<p>But the <a href="https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2023/04/354870/global-muslim-population-exceeds-2-billion">global Muslim population</a> numbers just over 2 billion, so even a small fraction of their total means a lot of people. The 2 million expected on this year’s hajj are still just 0.1% of the world’s Muslims.</p>
<p>With travel and communications eased, Mecca’s ability to handle all those visitors at once has become <a href="https://english.alarabiya.net/features/2023/04/03/Umrah-crowd-control-How-Saudi-authorities-are-ensuring-safety-of-pilgrims-">the major challenge</a>. The stakes are high for the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and <a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-fears-put-a-halt-to-the-muslim-pilgrimage-of-umrah-but-not-yet-the-hajj-132943">Umrah</a>: It is expected to provide a safe, healthy and spiritually meaningful experience for all pilgrims, while avoiding any bad press for the host country. Umrah, known as the “lesser pilgrimage”, is recommended but not required for Muslims. It includes many of the hajj rituals but can be completed at any time of the year.</p>
<p>Now, with its own digital tools and devices in the hands of many pilgrims, the 21st century hajj fits within the longer history of technology and the hajj, a story nearly 200 years old. Even as the specific technologies have changed, their importance to the management of the hajj and to pilgrims’ spiritual experiences remains constant.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/206267/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrea Stanton does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Saudi government is using digital technology to help the hajj run smoothly and safely – the latest updates in a 200-year history of technology and the hajj.Andrea Stanton, Associate Professor of Islamic Studies & Faculty Affiliate, Center for Middle East Studies, University of DenverLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2024002023-03-29T19:26:53Z2023-03-29T19:26:53ZAirplanes face a growing risk of being hit by uncontrolled re-entries of rockets used to launch satellites<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517907/original/file-20230328-21-a6pz02.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3996%2C1944&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying Starlink satellites launches on Aug. 19, 2022. The Falcon 9 is a reusable rocket and its re-entry is controlled after launch, reducing debris.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Malcolm Denemark/Florida Today via AP)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/airplanes-face-a-growing-risk-of-being-hit-by-uncontrolled-re-entries-of-rockets-used-to-launch-satellites" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>On May 11, 2020 a deadly threat flew from Los Angeles to New York City in under nine minutes. It was a <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/chinese-rocket-debris-passed-over-n-y-c-l-it-n1206311">20-tonne Chinese Long March 5B rocket body passing around 60 miles overhead</a>. </p>
<p>Just 15 minutes later, the rocket body re-entered the atmosphere and broke into pieces, including a <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanocallaghan/2020/05/12/parts-of-a-chinese-rocket-may-have-fallen-on-an-african-village/">12-metre-long pipe that crashed into a village in the Ivory Coast</a>.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1260222397350887425"}"></div></p>
<p>The rocket body had completed its mission and been abandoned in orbit, left to return to the surface in an uncontrolled way. It posed an indiscriminate threat to people across the globe — on the ground, at sea, and in aircraft in flight. <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/2327922-10-per-cent-chance-falling-rockets-will-hit-someone-in-next-decade/">The probability of a lethal impact was very small</a>, but the consequences could have been severe.</p>
<h2>Weighing cost against risk</h2>
<p>At the time, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) decided not to close U.S. airspace — denying planes permission to fly within a designated area — along the rocket body’s path. The timeframe for making such a decision was very short and fraught with uncertainty, while the economic costs to airlines and passengers were certain and large.</p>
<p>In circumstances like these, decision-makers have to weigh the economic costs against taking no action but accepting a small probability of casualties. The FAA chose the latter.</p>
<p>On Nov. 4, 2022, Spain and France closed parts of their airspace for 40 and 60 minutes respectively, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/nov/04/spanish-airspace-partially-closed-as-chinese-rocket-debris-falls-to-earth">another Chinese Long March 5B rocket body was due to re-enter the atmosphere uncontrolled</a>. The rocket body passed harmlessly overhead, before breaking up over the Pacific Ocean. </p>
<p><a href="https://spacenews.com/long-march-5b-stage-reenters-over-pacific-ocean-after-forcing-airspace-closures-in-europe/">More than 300 flights were disrupted</a> by the Spanish airspace closure alone, costing airlines and passengers millions of Euros.</p>
<p>Which approach was correct? Nobody likes delays, yet we all expect airlines and regulators to put safety first. Nevertheless, why are aviation agencies being forced to make these decisions at all?</p>
<h2>No confirmed instances</h2>
<p>An aircraft in flight could be seriously damaged by just 300 grams of space debris impacting an engine, windshield or other critical surface. Although there are no confirmed instances of space debris hitting an aircraft in flight, in 1996 the windscreen of a Boeing 757 was cracked by <a href="https://aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org/features/dodging-debris/">an unknown object while flying at 31,500 feet</a>. </p>
<p>In 2013, another Boeing 757 had one side of <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/chinese-passenger-jet-makes-emergency-landing-after-being-hit-by-ufo-unidentified-foreign-object-at-26-000-feet-8654040.html">its nose-cone punched in by an unidentified object while flying at 26,000 feet</a>. Bird strikes were unlikely in these instances.</p>
<p>There’s no need for any of us to worry. The probability of an airplane being struck by space debris is extremely small — much smaller than a <a href="https://www.faa.gov/airports/airport_safety/wildlife/faq">bird strike</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517560/original/file-20230327-22-ht1uqe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="a photograph showing a rocket taking off in the distance while a crowd of people watch" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517560/original/file-20230327-22-ht1uqe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517560/original/file-20230327-22-ht1uqe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517560/original/file-20230327-22-ht1uqe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517560/original/file-20230327-22-ht1uqe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517560/original/file-20230327-22-ht1uqe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517560/original/file-20230327-22-ht1uqe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517560/original/file-20230327-22-ht1uqe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">People watch the Long March 5B Y3 carrier rocket lift off from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in southern China on July 24, 2022. Authorities warned of potential danger to aircraft and ships.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Zhang Liyun/Xinhua via AP, File)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But even very small probabilities can have severe consequences that justify regulatory action. In 2021, the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine was linked to <a href="https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/news/astrazenecas-covid-19-vaccine-ema-finds-possible-link-very-rare-cases-unusual-blood-clots-low-blood">a very small risk of blood clots — a total of 222 cases among 34 million people</a>, or 0.0007 per cent. </p>
<p>A number of countries responded by curtailing and, in the case of the U.S., not licensing the use of AstraZeneca, <a href="https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/coronavirus-vaccine-blood-clots">thus favoring more expensive MRNA vaccines</a> .</p>
<p>Today, two factors combine to increase the probability of an airplane being struck by space debris: increasing air traffic and increasing uses of space. COVID-19 aside, <a href="https://www.icao.int/about-icao/Pages/annual-reports.aspx">the number of airline flights each year has doubled since the millennium</a>. </p>
<p>In just the last four years the number of active and defunct satellites in low Earth orbit has also doubled, <a href="https://planet4589.org/space/gcat/data/derived/currentcat.html">from approximately 3,000 to more than 8,000</a>.</p>
<h2>Controlled versus uncontrolled</h2>
<p>Satellites are launched using rockets, and while some rocket bodies are brought back to Earth in a controlled manner, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actaastro.2021.03.030">many are simply abandoned in orbit</a>.</p>
<p>Uncontrolled re-entries occur because objects orbiting at low enough altitudes still feel the effects of the uppermost portions of Earth’s atmosphere, creating a drag that ensures an eventual re-entry. Predicting these re-entries is very difficult due to a <a href="http://iaass.space-safety.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2021/12/Making-Space-Safe-and-Sustainable-A4-v1-3.pdf">myriad of factors</a> that include variations in the atmosphere itself.</p>
<p>In contrast, a controlled re-entry is performed by using an engine burn that directs the rocket body to a remote area of ocean or a recovery zone. Some fuel must be retained in the rocket body for this purpose, and the engines must be able to reignite.</p>
<p>Yet many operators still <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsse.2019.02.001">choose to use uncontrolled re-entries</a>, presumably to avoid the additional costs associated with technological upgrades and extra fuel. </p>
<p>Even SpaceX, an industry leader in technology development, sometimes abandons <a href="https://everydayastronaut.com/ses-18-ses-19-falcon-9-block-5/">the second stages of its rockets after lifting satellites destined for geosynchronous orbit</a>. In 2016, two pressure vessels — each the size of a washing machine — from one such stage reached the ground intact, <a href="https://spaceflight101.com/falcon-9-jcsat-16/spacex-rocket-parts-rain-down-over-indonesia/">landing in Indonesia</a>.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OhBw5yaR_SU?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A controlled re-entry of the European Space Agency’s automated transfer vehicle Jules Verne in Sept. 2008.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Aviation bodies are taking notice, <a href="https://www.icao.int/secretariat/SecretaryGeneral/Documents/Addresses%20and%20Messages/20230217_SG-SPEECH-SpaceDerbisWorkshop.pdf">including the International Civil Aviation Organization</a> and <a href="https://www.alpa.org/-/media/ALPA/Files/pdfs/news-events/letters/2021/0514-icao-fang-liu-rocket.pdf?la=en">the Air Line Pilots Association</a>. </p>
<p>In March 2023, the <a href="http://outerspaceinstitute.ca/">Montréal Recommendations on Aviation Safety and Uncontrolled Space Object Reentries</a> were released. The recommendations were compiled by international experts, including the Inspector General of the French Space Agency and the Chief of Space Safety in the U.S. Department of the Air Force.</p>
<p>Recognizing that the “use of space by any single state has global implications, with risks potentially exported from launching states to other states,” the recommendations call on states to “establish requirements to avoid uncontrolled re-entries of space objects.”</p>
<p>Will it take a major accident, such as a catastrophic strike to an airplane, before public concern forces governments to require that all rocket bodies be brought back to Earth in a controlled manner?</p>
<h2>Successful policies</h2>
<p>We’ve been here before. In the 1970s, a growing risk to oceans from oil spills led <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/24113126">to calls for a requirement for double hulls on tankers</a>. The shipping industry, concerned about increased costs, was able to stifle these efforts — until 1989, when <a href="https://darrp.noaa.gov/oil-spills/exxon-valdez">the Exxon Valdez spilled roughly 11 million gallons of oil into Alaska’s Prince William Sound</a>.</p>
<p>Suddenly, the issue of oil spills was a matter of public concern, and after the National Transportation Safety Board concluded that a double hull would <a href="https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/MAR9004.pdf">have substantially reduced if not eliminated the spill</a>, the U.S. government required <a href="https://response.restoration.noaa.gov/about/media/final-farewell-oil-tankers-single-hulls.html">all new tankers calling at U.S. ports to have double hulls</a>. </p>
<p>This unilateral move prompted the International Maritime Organization to amend the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships in 1992 to require double hulls on new tankers. And, through further amendments in 2001 and 2003, to <a href="http://www.imo.org/en/OurWork/Environment/Pages/constructionrequirements.aspx">accelerate the retirement of single-hulled tankers</a>. </p>
<p>The 1992 amendment has since been ratified by 150 nations <a href="http://www.imo.org/en/About/Conventions/Pages/StatusOfConventions.aspx">representing 98 per cent of the world’s shipping tonnage</a>.</p>
<p>One of the most informative aspects of this precedent is that the U.S. adopted a double-hull requirement before any other nation, and this move then prompted successful multilateral law-making.</p>
<p>Today, uncontrolled rocket body re-entries are another international safety issue where the U.S. could lead.</p>
<p>The FAA licenses the majority of the world’s space launches and regulates one of the largest aviation industries. It is perfectly positioned to spur international change — before an airplane full of passengers is struck from the sky.</p>
<p><em>This is a corrected version of a story originally published on March 29. The earlier story said that the Montréal Recommendations on Aviation Safety and Uncontrolled Space Object Reentries was published in 2022 instead of 2023.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/202400/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Byers receives funding from the Canada Research Chairs Program, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, New Frontiers in Research Fund, and the Department of National Defence. He is affiliated with the Outer Space Institute and the Salt Spring Forum. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Aaron Boley receives funding from the Canada Research Chairs Program, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, New Frontiers in Research Fund, and the Department of National Defence. He is affiliated with the Outer Space Institute. </span></em></p>Rockets used to launch satellites fall back to Earth, and as their number grows, the risk faced by people living on the ground — or flying in airplanes — increases.Michael Byers, Professor, Political Science, University of British ColumbiaAaron Boley, Associate Professor, Physics and Astronomy, University of British ColumbiaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1979012023-01-16T05:52:30Z2023-01-16T05:52:30ZWhy does Nepal’s aviation industry have safety issues? An expert explains<p>A Yeti Airlines ATR 72-500 aircraft <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/15/world/asia/plane-crash-nepal.html">crashed in Pokhara</a> in central Nepal on January 15 2023, killing at least 68 passengers on board. The aircraft was en route from Nepal’s capital Kathmandu to Pokhara, the country’s second largest city, situated under the picturesque Annapurna mountain range.</p>
<p>While the picturesque landscape of the country appeals to tourists, it poses significant challenges to aviation operators, who need to embrace and navigate the challenging environment.</p>
<p>The air crash on Sunday was Nepal’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/15/nepal-plane-crash-with-72-onboard-leaves-at-least-16-dead">worst aviation disaster since 1992</a>. The country has been working to overcome its challenges in aviation.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1614542705207480320"}"></div></p>
<h2>A challenging landscape</h2>
<p>Topography has gifted Nepal with picturesque landscapes, but posits <a href="https://inews.co.uk/news/nepal-plane-crash-why-aviation-incidents-tourist-hotspot-2085215">unrivalled challenges to flight operations</a>.</p>
<p>Nepal, situated between India and China, is home to eight of the world’s 14 highest mountains, including Mount Everest or Sagarmāthā. For flight operations, it’s an almost unrivalled, harsh environment with sudden weather changes that can make for hazardous conditions.</p>
<p>Airports built in mountainous regions often need to have shorter runways that can only accommodate turboprop-powered regional aircraft, rather than large jet airliners that can access larger cities in Nepal.</p>
<p>As a result, aviation carriers in Nepal have a variety of aircraft on their fleets. These craft vary in condition, presenting potential safety hazards.</p>
<p>The ATR 72 aircraft is one typical aircraft used by Nepali carriers. It is a turboprop-powered regional aircraft with a capacity between 44 and 78 passengers. These aircraft are manufactured by a joint venture of Airbus in France and Leonardo in Italy.</p>
<p>The aircraft involved in this crash had been in service for 15 years, a fairly typical age for an aircraft.</p>
<p>The final report on what happened to the tragic Yeti Airlines flight <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-01-16/what-caused-nepal-plane-crash-pokhara-footage-from-witnesses/101858104">will take over a month to complete</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504593/original/file-20230116-16-1r6yov.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A picturesque landscape of snow capped jagged mountains seen from a distance, with a blue sky dappled with clouds" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504593/original/file-20230116-16-1r6yov.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504593/original/file-20230116-16-1r6yov.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=254&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504593/original/file-20230116-16-1r6yov.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=254&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504593/original/file-20230116-16-1r6yov.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=254&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504593/original/file-20230116-16-1r6yov.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=320&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504593/original/file-20230116-16-1r6yov.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=320&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504593/original/file-20230116-16-1r6yov.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=320&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Annapurna mountain range, as seen from Pokhara.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shishir Gautam/Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A growing and fast-changing industry</h2>
<p>Nepal has welcomed <a href="https://www.newbusinessage.com/MagazineArticles/view/3419">private investment</a> into its aviation sector since 1992. Yeti Airlines is one of 20 domestic carriers. The airline, headquartered in Kathmandu, flies to ten domestic destinations using ATR 72-500 aircraft. In addition, <a href="https://caanepal.gov.np/air-transport/airlines">29 international airlines operate into Nepal’s capital</a> too.</p>
<p>With air travel in Nepal becoming more accessible and affordable, airport infrastructure development has remained far behind compared to the growth of air traffic. This has resulted in increasing congestion at airports, fare competition between airlines, and decreased safety records.</p>
<p>In fact, the country <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/search-resumes-four-people-missing-nepal-after-deadly-air-crash-2023-01-16/">has recorded at least 350 casualties</a> associated with aeroplanes or helicopters since 2000, which has raised questions about the effectiveness of its aviation safety regulations.</p>
<p>The aviation regulator in charge is <a href="https://caanepal.gov.np/about-caan">the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal</a>, a government agency established in 1998.</p>
<h2>Working hard to improve</h2>
<p>Nepal became a member of the UN’s International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) in 1960. This membership obliges the country to abide by international conventions, ICAO’s regulations, standards, and recommended practices in aviation safety.</p>
<p>While Nepal’s aviation industry has made significant efforts to improve safety, unfortunately the safety record still doesn’t match up with the requirements of other civil aviation authorities.</p>
<p>In particular, the European Union banned all Nepali airlines from operating in the bloc’s airspace <a href="https://nepalindata.com/ne/EU-ban-on-Nepali-airlines-continues-despite-ICAO-green-signal/">in 2013 after ICAO raised a red flag</a>. That ban still hasn’t been lifted, and Nepal remains on the <a href="https://transport.ec.europa.eu/transport-themes/eu-air-safety-list_en">EU Air Safety List</a>.</p>
<p>Despite the tragic casualty record, Nepal has stepped up its efforts to improve aviation safety. The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal has been focusing on improving safety in Nepali aviation – such as <a href="https://caanepal.gov.np/storage/app/media/uploaded-files/atcep-4th-qpr.pdf">building improvements at airports</a>, upgrading safety equipment, and fostering a positive safety culture by encouraging hazard reporting.</p>
<p>Nepal’s considerable improvement in safety measures and compliance with international standards <a href="https://www.icao.int/Newsroom/Pages/Nepals-heightened-ICAO-compliance-results-in-Council-President-Certificate.aspx">was recognised by ICAO in 2018</a>. However, the country must <a href="https://thediplomat.com/2022/08/will-reform-of-nepals-civil-aviation-authority-ever-take-off/">continue work on its aviation reform</a> to make its skies safe for everyone.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/197901/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chrystal Zhang does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A tragic plane crash has claimed at least 68 lives in Nepal – the latest in a string of aviation disasters in a country grappling with improving the safety of its flight industry.Chrystal Zhang, Associate professor, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1968722022-12-20T04:34:03Z2022-12-20T04:34:03ZWhat is air turbulence?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502061/original/file-20221220-18-124g72.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=29%2C14%2C4882%2C3254&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/iiqpxCg2GD4">Philip Myrtorp / Unsplash</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>You probably know the feeling: you’re sitting on a plane, happily cruising through the sky, when suddenly the seat-belt light comes on and things get a little bumpy.</p>
<p>Most of the time, turbulence leads to nothing worse than momentary jitters or perhaps a spilled cup of coffee. In rare cases, passengers or flight attendants might end up with some injuries.</p>
<p>What’s going on here? Why are flights usually so stable, but sometimes get so unsteady?</p>
<p>As a meteorologist and atmospheric scientist who studies air turbulence, let me explain.</p>
<h2>What is air turbulence?</h2>
<p>Air turbulence is when the air starts to flow in a chaotic or random way. </p>
<p>At high altitudes the wind usually moves in a smooth, horizontal current called “laminar flow”. This provides ideal conditions for steady flight.</p>
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<img alt="A diagram showing laminar flow and turbulent flow." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502063/original/file-20221220-20-4bvy8f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502063/original/file-20221220-20-4bvy8f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502063/original/file-20221220-20-4bvy8f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502063/original/file-20221220-20-4bvy8f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502063/original/file-20221220-20-4bvy8f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502063/original/file-20221220-20-4bvy8f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502063/original/file-20221220-20-4bvy8f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">In ‘laminar flow’, air moves smoothly in one direction. When turbulence begins, it goes every which way.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Turbulence occurs when something disrupts this smooth flow, and the air starts to move up and down as well as horizontally. When this happens, conditions can change from moment to moment and place to place.</p>
<p>You can think of normal flying conditions as the glassy surface of the ocean on a still day. But when a wind comes up, things get choppy, or waves form and break – that’s turbulence.</p>
<h2>What causes air turbulence?</h2>
<p>The kind of turbulence that affects commercial passenger flights has three main causes.</p>
<p>The first is thunderstorms. Inside a thunderstorm, there is strong up-and-down air movement, which makes a lot of turbulence that can spread out to the surrounding region. Thunderstorms can also create “atmospheric waves”, which travel through the surrounding air and eventually break, causing turbulence. </p>
<p>Fortunately, pilots can usually see thunderstorms ahead (either with the naked eye or on radar) and will make efforts to go around them.</p>
<p>The other common causes of turbulence create what’s typically called “clear-air turbulence”. It comes out of air that looks perfectly clear, with no clouds, so it’s harder to dodge.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A diagram showing mountains, air currents and turbulence." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502065/original/file-20221220-16-45aimu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502065/original/file-20221220-16-45aimu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502065/original/file-20221220-16-45aimu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502065/original/file-20221220-16-45aimu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502065/original/file-20221220-16-45aimu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=583&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502065/original/file-20221220-16-45aimu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=583&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502065/original/file-20221220-16-45aimu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=583&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Jet streams and mountains are common causes of clear-air turbulence.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The second cause of turbulence is jet streams. These are high-speed winds in the upper atmosphere, at the kind of altitudes where passenger jets fly. </p>
<p>While air inside the jet stream moves quite smoothly, there is often turbulence near the top and bottom of the stream. That’s because there is a big difference in air speed (called “wind shear”) between the jet stream and the air outside it. High levels of wind shear create turbulence.</p>
<p>The third thing that makes turbulence is mountains. As air flows over a mountain range, it creates another kind of wave – called, of course, a “mountain wave” – that disrupts air flow and can create turbulence.</p>
<h2>Can air turbulence be avoided?</h2>
<p>Pilots do their best to avoid air turbulence – and they’re pretty good at it!</p>
<p>As mentioned, thunderstorms are the easiest to fly around. For clear-air turbulence, things are a little trickier.</p>
<p>When pilots encounter turbulence, they will change altitude to try to avoid it. They also report the turbulence to air traffic controllers, who pass the information on to other flights in the area so they can try to avoid it. </p>
<p>Weather forecasting centres also provide turbulence forecasts. Based on their models of what’s happening in the atmosphere, they can predict where and when clear-air turbulence is likely to occur.</p>
<h2>Will climate change make turbulence worse?</h2>
<p>As the globe warms and the climate changes in coming decades, we think air turbulence will also be affected.</p>
<p>One reason is that the jet streams which can cause turbulence are shifting and may become more intense. As Earth’s tropical climate zones spread away from the equator, the jet streams are moving with them.</p>
<p>This is likely to increase turbulence on at least some flight routes. Some studies also <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-019-1465-z">suggest</a> the wind shear around jet streams has become more intense.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/could-climate-change-have-played-a-role-in-the-airasia-crash-36002">Could climate change have played a role in the AirAsia crash?</a>
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<p>Another reason is that the most severe thunderstorms are also likely to become more intense, partly because a warmer atmosphere can hold more water vapour. This too is likely to generate more intense turbulence.</p>
<p>These predictions are largely based on climate models, because it is difficult to collect the data needed to identify trends in air turbulence. These data largely come from reports by aircraft, the quality and extent of which are changing over time. These measurements are quite different from the long-term, methodically gathered data usually used to detect trends in the weather and climate.</p>
<h2>How dangerous is air turbulence?</h2>
<p>Around the globe, air turbulence causes hundreds of injuries each year among passengers and flight attendants on commercial aircraft. But, given the hundreds of millions of people who fly each year, those are pretty good odds.</p>
<p>Turbulence is usually short-lived. What’s more, modern aircraft are engineered to comfortably withstand all but the most extreme air turbulence. </p>
<p>And among people who are injured, the great majority are those who aren’t strapped in. So if you’re concerned, the easiest way to protect yourself is to wear your seat belt. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/heres-the-real-reason-to-turn-on-aeroplane-mode-when-you-fly-188585">Here's the real reason to turn on aeroplane mode when you fly</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/196872/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Todd Lane receives funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p>When something disrupts the smooth, laminar flow of high-altitude winds, your flight might get a little bumpy.Todd Lane, Professor, School of Geography, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, The University of Melbourne, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1900982022-09-19T12:21:03Z2022-09-19T12:21:03ZElectric planes are coming: Short-hop regional flights could be running on batteries in a few years<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484695/original/file-20220914-9158-ybu2z4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5043%2C3351&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Small planes are easier to electrify, but larger ones aren't far behind.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/traffic-at-airport-during-sunset-royalty-free-image/1139652369">Chalabala/istock via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Electric planes might seem futuristic, but they aren’t that far off, at least for short hops.</em></p>
<p><em>Two-seater Velis Electros are already <a href="https://investor.textron.com/news/news-releases/press-release-details/2022/Textron-Completes-Acquisition-of-Pipistrel/default.aspx">quietly buzzing around Europe</a>, <a href="https://harbourair.com/harbour-air-and-magnix-announce-successful-flight-of-worlds-first-commercial-electric-airplane/">electric sea planes</a> are being tested in British Columbia, and larger planes are coming. <a href="http://heartaerospace.com/heart-aerospace-unveils-new-airplane-design-confirms-air-canada-and-saab-as-new-shareholders/">Air Canada</a> announced on Sept. 15, 2022, that it would buy 30 electric-hybrid regional aircraft from Sweden’s Heart Aerospace, which expects to have its 30-seat plane in service by 2028. Analysts at the U.S. National Renewable Energy Lab note that the <a href="https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy22osti/80220.pdf">first hybrid electric 50- to 70-seat</a> commuter plane <a href="https://www.electricaviationgroup.com/electric-flight/">could be ready</a> not long after that. In the 2030s, they say, electric aviation could really take off.</em></p>
<p><em>That matters for managing climate change. About 3% of global emissions come from aviation today, and with more passengers and flights expected as the population expands, aviation could be producing <a href="https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy22osti/80220.pdf">three to five times more</a> carbon dioxide emissions by 2050 than it did before the COVID-19 pandemic.</em></p>
<p><em>Aerospace engineer and assistant professor <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=KIbLE10AAAAJ&hl=en">Gökçin Çınar</a> develops sustainable aviation concepts, including hybrid-electric planes and hydrogen fuel alternatives, at the University of Michigan. We asked her about the key ways to cut aviation emissions today and where technologies like electrification and hydrogen are headed.</em></p>
<h2>Why is aviation so difficult to electrify?</h2>
<p>Aircraft are some of the most complex vehicles out there, but the biggest problem for electrifying them is the battery weight.</p>
<p>If you tried to fully electrify a 737 with today’s batteries, you would have to take out all the passengers and cargo and fill that space with batteries just to fly for under an hour.</p>
<p>Jet fuel can hold about 50 times more energy compared to batteries per unit mass. So, you can have 1 pound of jet fuel or 50 pounds of batteries. To close that gap, we need to either make lithium-ion batteries lighter or develop new batteries that hold more energy. New batteries are being developed, but they aren’t yet ready for aircraft.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Illustration of an Air Canada Heart Aerospace electric plane." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484951/original/file-20220915-37168-hs6bel.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484951/original/file-20220915-37168-hs6bel.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484951/original/file-20220915-37168-hs6bel.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484951/original/file-20220915-37168-hs6bel.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484951/original/file-20220915-37168-hs6bel.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484951/original/file-20220915-37168-hs6bel.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484951/original/file-20220915-37168-hs6bel.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Air Canada and United Airlines have ordered 30-seat regional hybrid-electric planes from Heart Aerospace that can go about 125 miles (200 km) fully electric and 250 miles (400 km) as hybrids. With a 25-passenger configuration, the company says the hybrid distance doubles.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://heartaerospace.com/heart-aerospace-unveils-new-airplane-design-confirms-air-canada-and-saab-as-new-shareholders/">Heart Aerospace</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>An <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/10/5880">electric alternative</a> is hybrids.</p>
<p>Even though we might not be able to fully electrify a 737, we can get some fuel burn benefits from batteries in the larger jets by using hybrid propulsion systems. We are trying to make that happen in the short term, with a 2030-2035 target for smaller regional planes. The less fuel burned during flight, the fewer greenhouse gas emissions.</p>
<h2>How does hybrid aviation work to cut emissions?</h2>
<p>Hybrid electric aircraft are similar to hybrid electric cars in that they use a combination of batteries and aviation fuels. The problem is that no other industry has the weight limitations that we do in the aerospace industry.</p>
<p>That’s why we have to be very smart about how and how much we are hybridizing the propulsion system.</p>
<p>Using batteries as a power assist during takeoff and climb are very promising options. Taxiing to the runway using just electric power could also save a significant amount of fuel and reduce the local emissions at airports. There is a sweet spot between the added weight of the battery and how much electricity you can use to get net fuel benefits. This optimization problem is at the center of my research.</p>
<p>Hybrids would still burn fuel during flight, but it could be considerably less than just relying entirely on jet fuel.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/71blB6hNV0g?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">How hybrid electric aviation could work on large aircraft.</span></figcaption>
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<p>I see hybridization as a mid-term option for larger jets, but a near-term solution for regional aircraft.</p>
<p>For 2030 to 2035, we’re focused on hybrid turboprops, typically regional aircraft with 50-80 passengers or used for freight. These hybrids could <a href="https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/10.2514/1.C036919">cut fuel use by about 10%</a>.</p>
<p>With electric hybrids, airlines could also <a href="https://sacd.larc.nasa.gov/sacd/wp-content/uploads/sites/167/2021/04/2021-04-20-RAM.pdf">make more use of regional airports</a>, reducing congestion and time larger planes spend idling on the runway.</p>
<h2>What do you expect to see in the near term from sustainable aviation?</h2>
<p>Shorter term we’ll see more use of sustainable aviation fuels, or SAF. With today’s engines, you can dump sustainable aviation fuel into the same fuel tank and burn it. Fuels made from <a href="https://www.energy.gov/eere/bioenergy/2016-billion-ton-report">corn, oilseeds</a>, <a href="https://biomassmagazine.com/articles/18484/honeywell-technology-enables-jet-flights-with-saf-from-algal-oil">algae</a> and other fats are already being used.</p>
<p>Sustainable aviation fuels can reduce an aircraft’s net carbon dioxide emissions <a href="https://www.iata.org/en/programs/environment/sustainable-aviation-fuels/">by around 80%</a>, but supply is limited, and using more biomass for fuel could compete with food production and lead to deforestation.</p>
<p>A second option is using synthetic sustainable aviation fuels, which involves capturing carbon from the air or other industrial processes and synthesizing it with hydrogen. But that’s a complex and costly process and does not have a high production scale yet.</p>
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<img alt="A pilot walks away from a small plane at an airport" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484694/original/file-20220914-9420-x9isjy.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484694/original/file-20220914-9420-x9isjy.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484694/original/file-20220914-9420-x9isjy.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484694/original/file-20220914-9420-x9isjy.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484694/original/file-20220914-9420-x9isjy.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484694/original/file-20220914-9420-x9isjy.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484694/original/file-20220914-9420-x9isjy.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Ampaire reported that its hybrid electric EEL had fuel savings up to 40% compared with a standard version of the similar Cessna Skymaster.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.ampaire.com/press">Ampaire</a></span>
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<p>Airlines can also optimize their operations in the short term, such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-aviation-industry-must-look-beyond-carbon-to-get-serious-about-climate-change-186947">route planning</a> to avoid flying nearly empty planes. That can also reduce emissions.</p>
<h2>Is hydrogen an option for aviation?</h2>
<p>Hydrogen fuel has been around a very long time, and when it’s <a href="https://www.energy.gov/eere/fuelcells/hydrogen-production-electrolysis">green hydrogen</a> – produced with water and electrolysis powered by renewable energy – it doesn’t produce carbon dioxide. It can also hold more energy per unit of mass than batteries.</p>
<p>There are two ways to use hydrogen in an airplane: either in place of regular jet fuel in an engine, or combined with oxygen to power hydrogen fuel cells, which then generate electricity to power the aircraft.</p>
<p>The problem is volume – hydrogen gas takes up a lot of space. That’s why engineers are looking at methods like keeping it very cool so it can be stored as liquid until it’s burned as a gas. It <a href="https://www.iata.org/contentassets/d13875e9ed784f75bac90f000760e998/fact_sheet7-hydrogen-fact-sheet_072020.pdf">still takes up more space</a> than jet fuel, and the storage tanks are heavy, so how to store, handle or distribute it on aircraft is still being worked out.</p>
<p>Airbus is doing a lot of research on hydrogen combustion using modified gas turbine engines with an A380 platform, and <a href="https://www.airbus.com/en/innovation/zero-emission/hydrogen/zeroe">aiming to have mature technology by 2025</a>. Australia’s Rex airline expects to start <a href="https://australianaviation.com.au/2022/07/rex-to-trial-electric-planes-on-short-routes-in-2024/">testing a 34-seat, hydrogen-electric airplane</a> for short hops in the next few years.</p>
<p>Due to the variety of options, I see hydrogen as one of the key technologies for sustainable aviation.</p>
<h2>Will these technologies be able to meet the aviation industry’s goals for reducing emissions?</h2>
<p>The problem with aviation emissions isn’t their current levels – it’s the fear that their emissions will increase rapidly as demand increases. By 2050, we could see three to five times more carbon dioxide emissions from aviation than before the pandemic. </p>
<p><iframe id="5mb3z" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/5mb3z/6/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.icao.int/about-icao/Pages/default.aspx">International Civil Aviation Organization</a>, a United Nations agency, generally defines the industry’s goals, looking at what’s feasible and how aviation can push the boundaries.</p>
<p>Its long-term goal is to <a href="https://www.icao.int/Meetings/2022-ICAO-LTAG-GLADS/Pages/default.aspx">cut net carbon dioxide emissions 50%</a> by 2050 compared with 2005 levels. Getting there will require a mix of different technologies and optimization. I don’t know if we’re going to be able to reach it by 2050, but I believe we must do everything we can to make future aviation environmentally sustainable.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/190098/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gökçin Çınar receives research funding from the government and other entities to work on sustainable aviation technologies. </span></em></p>Air Canada and United Airlines both have orders for hybrid electric 30-seaters. An aerospace engineer explains where electrification, hydrogen and sustainable aviation fuels are headed.Gökçin Çınar, Assistant Professor of Aerospace Engineering, University of MichiganLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1803332022-04-26T19:56:19Z2022-04-26T19:56:19ZWant to cut your chance of catching COVID on a plane? Wear a mask and avoid business class<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/458758/original/file-20220420-25-4z0ccn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=4%2C4%2C994%2C681&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/facemask-on-plane-airport-travel-wearing-1905906799">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A Florida court recently <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-04-19/florida-judge-voids-us-mask-mandate-for-planes-other-travel/100998116">overturned mask mandates</a> on planes in the United States, saying the directive was unlawful. That decision is now <a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/covid19-masks-on-us-flights-justice-department-appeals-easing-of-rules/a960d39c-dff4-4198-935c-c5b5c5b40551">under appeal</a>.</p>
<p>Before that, Australian comedian Celeste Barber
<a href="https://twitter.com/djokaymegamixer/status/1514836909620572162">told her social media followers</a> a passenger sitting next to her on a recent flight took off her mask to sneeze.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1514836909620572162"}"></div></p>
<p>So wearing masks on planes to limit the spread of COVID is clearly a hot-button issue.</p>
<p>As we return to the skies more than two years into the pandemic, what is the risk of catching COVID on a plane? And does it really matter where on the plane you are?</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/worried-about-covid-risk-on-a-flight-heres-what-you-can-do-to-protect-yourself-and-how-airlines-can-step-up-150735">Worried about COVID risk on a flight? Here's what you can do to protect yourself — and how airlines can step up</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>So many variables</h2>
<p>It’s impossible to give a precise answer about your risk of catching COVID on a plane as there are so many variables.</p>
<p>For instance, not all countries and <a href="https://twitter.com/British_Airways/status/1503729049050353665">airlines</a> require passengers to wear masks or <a href="https://www.nationalworld.com/lifestyle/travel/where-can-i-travel-without-a-vaccine-countries-that-allow-unvaccinated-passengers-and-entry-requirements-3528913">be vaccinated</a>.</p>
<p>Some countries and airlines require a negative COVID test within a certain timeframe before flying, others have <a href="https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/covid19/vaccinated-travellers/temporary-visa-holders/leaving-australia">scrapped that requirement</a> entirely. </p>
<p>Then there are different rules that may apply if you’re flying domestically or internationally, or <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/health-alerts/covid-19/international-travel/proof-of-vaccination">leaving or entering</a> a country.</p>
<p>That’s before we start talking about the virus itself. We know more recent variants have emerged (Omicron and the sub-variant BA.2, for example), that are <a href="https://aci.health.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/critical-intelligence-unit/sars-cov-2-variants">much more easily transmitted</a> than the original virus or the Delta variant. We don’t know how transmissible future variants or sub-variants will be.</p>
<p>So we can only talk in general terms about the risk of catching COVID on a plane. All up, your risk <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1477893921001745">is very low</a>, but the measures airlines put in place help achieve that. You can also reduce your personal risk further in a number of ways.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-next-covid-wave-is-here-why-for-some-of-us-its-omg-and-for-others-its-meh-180338">The next COVID wave is here. Why for some of us it's OMG and for others it's meh</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Air flow and HEPA filters</h2>
<p>Air flow is designed to largely <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1477893920304117">travel vertically</a>, from the ceiling to the floor, to reduce the potential spread of contaminated air through the plane. </p>
<p>The height of the seats acts as a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8013760/">partial barrier</a> to air movement from rows in front and behind you. </p>
<p>Cabin air is also replaced <a href="https://cdn1.sph.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/2443/2020/10/HSPH-APHI-Phase-One-Report.pdf">every two to three minutes</a> with a half-half mix of recycled and fresh air.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/458744/original/file-20220420-24670-q5yz3z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Air flows from top to bottom on a plane" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/458744/original/file-20220420-24670-q5yz3z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/458744/original/file-20220420-24670-q5yz3z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458744/original/file-20220420-24670-q5yz3z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458744/original/file-20220420-24670-q5yz3z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458744/original/file-20220420-24670-q5yz3z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=611&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458744/original/file-20220420-24670-q5yz3z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=611&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458744/original/file-20220420-24670-q5yz3z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=611&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Air largely travels from the ceiling to the floor.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1477893920304117">Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>To see <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7588538/">how this works in real life</a>, researchers looked at how the virus spread on a long-haul flight when an infected person (the index case) sat in business class. </p>
<p>Twelve of 16 people who were infected on the plane sat within a few rows of this person; another was a flight attendant. This suggests limited spread of contaminated air through the rest of the plane.</p>
<p>Recycled air is also filtered through high-efficiency particulate air (or HEPA) filters. These remove <a href="https://cdn1.sph.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/2443/2020/10/HSPH-APHI-Phase-One-Report.pdf">more than 99%</a> of viral particles, further reducing the risk of droplet or airborne transmission. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-should-install-air-purifiers-with-hepa-filters-in-every-classroom-it-could-help-with-covid-bushfire-smoke-and-asthma-166332">We should install air purifiers with HEPA filters in every classroom. It could help with COVID, bushfire smoke and asthma</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Masks</h2>
<p>Well fitted masks or respirators (worn properly) can reduce your risk of contracting COVID on a flight. That’s why many airlines say wearing a mask is a condition of flying.</p>
<p>For example, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ina.12979">modelling</a> of several known transmission events on planes demonstrates an advantage if both the infected person and others around them wear masks.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1496681764705955845"}"></div></p>
<h2>Vaccination</h2>
<p>Some countries, such as Australia, require entering travellers to be <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/health-alerts/covid-19/international-travel/proof-of-vaccination">fully vaccinated</a>. This <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(21)00648-4/fulltext">lowers the risk</a> of someone becoming sick with COVID.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/your-unvaccinated-friend-is-roughly-20-times-more-likely-to-give-you-covid-170448">Your unvaccinated friend is roughly 20 times more likely to give you COVID</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Pre-flight COVID testing</h2>
<p>Not all flights require a negative COVID test before boarding. For those that do, the time frame before a flight varies, as does the type of test required. </p>
<p>However, we know tests do not detect every single COVID case. A range of factors can influence test sensitivity (ability to detect COVID). These include the type and <a href="https://www.tga.gov.au/covid-19-rapid-antigen-self-tests-are-approved-australia">brand</a> of test you take, whether you have <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8761676/">symptoms</a>, your <a href="https://ebm.bmj.com/content/early/2022/01/04/bmjebm-2021-111828">age</a>, and the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8761676/">viral variant</a>.</p>
<p>You can also still test negative two days before a flight and catch COVID in the meantime.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/15-things-not-to-do-when-using-a-rapid-antigen-test-from-storing-in-the-freezer-to-sampling-snot-176364">15 things not to do when using a rapid antigen test, from storing in the freezer to sampling snot</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Sanitisation</h2>
<p>Airlines may do additional cleaning of high-touch areas, and overnight disinfection, to reduce the spread of COVID through touching contaminated surfaces. </p>
<p>However, the risk of transmission by this route is <a href="https://cdn1.sph.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/2443/2020/10/HSPH-APHI-Phase-One-Report.pdf">low</a> compared to the risk of catching COVID through breathing in infectious droplets and aerosols.</p>
<h2>When and where are you most at risk?</h2>
<p><strong>The closer you are to the infected person</strong></p>
<p>Most transmission occurs within <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1477893920304117">two to three rows</a> of an infected person. If you sit next to someone who is coughing or has other symptoms you might ask to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7665738/">move seats</a> if spare seats are available. </p>
<p><a href="https://cdn1.sph.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/2443/2020/10/HSPH-APHI-Phase-One-Report.pdf">Distance</a> yourself from others if you can, particularly when getting on and off the plane. </p>
<p>You might also avoid sitting close to the toilets as passengers will hang about in the aisles waiting to use them, particularly on long flights.</p>
<p><strong>The longer the flight</strong> </p>
<p>The risk increases with long- versus <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33650201/">short- or medium-haul</a> flights. During long-haul flights passengers are also more likely to <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ina.12979">recline their seats</a>. This somewhat reduces the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8013760/">protection upright seats</a> provide in reducing air movement between rows. </p>
<p><strong>If you or others are not wearing a mask or wearing it properly</strong></p>
<p>You can breathe infectious particles in and out via your nose as well as your mouth, so don’t wear your mask under your chin or nose.</p>
<p>The risk also increases when everyone takes off their masks during food service. You might choose not to eat or drink on short flights to avoid this. Alternatively you might bring a snack to eat before food service begins, or <a href="https://cdn1.sph.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/2443/2020/10/HSPH-APHI-Phase-One-Report.pdf">eat after</a> those around you. </p>
<p><strong>If you contaminate your food or your face</strong></p>
<p>You can catch COVID through touching your food or face with contaminated fingers. Sanitise your hands regularly and <a href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9176589">train yourself</a> to not touch your face.</p>
<p><strong>If you are in business class</strong> </p>
<p>Based on limited reports, the transmission risk appears higher in business class. This is possibly because of <a href="https://globalizationandhealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12992-021-00749-6">more interruptions to mask wearing</a> due to greater service of food and drinks.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/180333/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Thea van de Mortel teaches into the Graduate Infection Prevention and Control program at Griffith University. </span></em></p>All up, your risk of catching COVID on a flight is very low. But there are things you can do to lower that risk even further.Thea van de Mortel, Professor, Nursing and Deputy Head (Learning & Teaching), School of Nursing and Midwifery, Griffith UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1791402022-03-15T15:05:15Z2022-03-15T15:05:15ZBoeing: why the Ukraine crisis could help it become the world’s number one aircraft maker again<p>Boeing has faced a lot of bad press in recent years, and deservedly so. After <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/737-max-crashes-killed-346-were-horrific-culmination-failures-boeing-n1240192">two Boeing 737 Max</a> crashes killed 346 people, the American aerospace giant <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2046147X211001350">was criticised</a> for its “slow” and “defensive” handling of the crisis, and <a href="https://www.flightglobal.com/airframers/boeing-737-max-cleared-to-fly-again-after-20-month-grounding/141166.article">nearly 400 planes</a> were grounded for 20 months following a temporary ban by the US authorities. The company has also been <a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2020/09/15/boeing-consolidation-787-assembly-study-everett.html">plagued with problems</a> at its South Carolina plant, which makes 787 Dreamliners. </p>
<p>However, Boeing has got a lot right too – and this is becoming apparent as events in Ukraine unfold.</p>
<p>New aircraft rely heavily on lightweight materials, including titanium. Titanium has other key properties too, including its high strength and heat resistance, making it ideal for use in the body of the plane (the airframe), the parts that hold the structure together (the fastening elements), and the wheels and undercarriage (the landing gear). Unfortunately, titanium is scarce – and <a href="https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2022/mcs2022-titanium.pdf">16% of its supply</a> comes from Russia and Ukraine.</p>
<p>Following the 2014 Crimean crisis, <a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/wichita/news/2014/08/08/boeing-united-technologies-stocking-up-on-russian.html">Boeing began</a> stockpiling titanium and <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/boeing-confident-working-through-any-disruption-titanium-supplies-exec-2022-02-14/">started diversifying</a> its arrangements for sourcing metals. In a statement on March 7, the company sought to reassure its stakeholders about its position with regards to raw materials: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Our inventory and diversity of titanium sources provide sufficient supply for airplane production, and we will continue to take the right steps to ensure long-term continuity.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Interestingly, Boeing <a href="https://www.businesstoday.in/latest/world/story/ukraine-crisis-boeing-stops-purchase-of-titanium-from-russia-325070-2022-03-07#:%7E:text=US%20planemaker%20Boeing%20Co%20said,continuity%2C%22%20the%20company%20added.">suspended buying titanium</a> from Russia earlier in March, even though the metal is not yet covered by US sanctions. Airbus <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/aerospace-firms-brace-turbulence-russian-titanium-supplies-2022-01-28/">may also</a> have been stockpiling titanium since Crimea, but <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/boeing-suspends-part-its-business-russia-wsj-2022-03-07/">it continues</a> to rely on Russia for its supply, citing its compliance with EU sanctions. </p>
<p>Thanks to its diversification, Boeing <a href="https://mentourpilot.com/boeing-stops-buying-russian-titanium-airbus-continues/">now relies</a> on Russia for about 35% of its supply, whereas different sources put Airbus somewhere between 50% and 65%. Incidentally, smaller manufacturers are even more reliant: Brazilian aircraft maker Embraer relies on Russia for 100% of its supply.</p>
<p>Both Boeing and Airbus have taken a hit in the stock market since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, because of the prospect of decreased demand for aircraft in affected markets and potential disruption to financing arrangements. Boeing has performed marginally better at the time of writing, having generally underperformed Airbus in recent years. And should sanctions be placed on Russian titanium, Airbus and other manufacturers would find themselves in a difficult (perhaps impossible) position. For Boeing, the threat is much less significant.</p>
<p><strong>Boeing vs Airbus</strong></p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451947/original/file-20220314-24-1xj3cyw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Chart showing Boeing and Airbus stock performances compared to the S&P 500" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451947/original/file-20220314-24-1xj3cyw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451947/original/file-20220314-24-1xj3cyw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=314&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451947/original/file-20220314-24-1xj3cyw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=314&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451947/original/file-20220314-24-1xj3cyw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=314&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451947/original/file-20220314-24-1xj3cyw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451947/original/file-20220314-24-1xj3cyw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451947/original/file-20220314-24-1xj3cyw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Cyan = S&P 500; blue = Boeing; orange = Airbus.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Trading View</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The 747-8 – a plane that failed well</h2>
<p>The Boeing 747 might be about the most successful plane of all time, but the 747-8, launched in 2005, has been described as <a href="https://airwaysmag.com/airlines/klm-retires-its-last-two-boeing-747/">a “flop”</a> for the company. Boeing’s final punt in the jumbo era sold <a href="https://modernairliners.com/airbus-a380/airbus-a380-orders-and-deliveries/#content">138 planes</a>, compared to 249 by main rival, the Airbus A380. </p>
<p>Yet Airbus’ success over the 747-8 was pyrrhic. The fact that Boeing developed the 747-8 lured Airbus into mobilising huge resources into the A380, having not previously had the infrastructure to build such a vehicle. Boeing, which obviously did not have this problem, was able to spend elsewhere. The 747-8 programme <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/article/3293125-the-boeing-747minus-8-and-airbus-a380-2-very-large-aircraft-2-different-stories">cost US$4 billion</a> (£3 billion) after adjusting for inflation, while the A380 cost <a href="https://simpleflying.com/airbus-a380-cost/">six or seven times</a> more. </p>
<p>The problem for Airbus was that the market pivoted from jumbos towards mid-sized widebody aircraft like the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The industry has for years been <a href="https://simpleflying.com/hub-and-spoke-vs-point-to-point/">shifting towards</a> “point-to-point” flying between two places, as opposed to via a hub like London Heathrow, and COVID accelerated this trend. This favours the operational agility of mid-size aircraft. Consequently, many airlines including Air France, KLM and Virgin Atlantic have prematurely retired their A380 and 747 fleets. Production of A380s was wrapped up in 2021 after Emirates cancelled its final orders, while Boeing 747 production ceases this year. </p>
<p>Launched in 2004, the Dreamliner boasts unprecedented <a href="https://simpleflying.com/airbus-a330neo-vs-boeing-787-9-which-is-best/">fuel efficiency</a> and <a href="https://simpleflying.com/boeing-787-dimmable-windows-why/">comfort</a>. It soon became the fastest selling widebody aircraft of all time. Airbus put everything into the A380 – a plane for which <a href="https://simpleflying.com/boeing-a380-competitor/">Boeing knew</a> there was little demand. </p>
<p>Even when Airbus did get the A330neo to market to compete with the Dreamliner in 2014, its development was a modified version of a pre-existing airframe, so it cannot match the 787 in terms of fuel efficiency and comfort. In any case, the 787 had already cemented itself as the preferred plane in its market. Boeing <a href="https://modernairliners.com/boeing-787-dreamliner/boeing-787-dreamliner-deliveries/#content">has delivered</a> 1,006 of them to customers and has orders for about 900 more, whereas the A330neo has done 67 deliveries and a total of 348 orders. </p>
<p>Airbus has been more successful with its A350, which is a larger widebody aircraft more suited to long haul that began passenger flights in 2015. Boeing’s competition, the 777X, is due for its first delivery in 2023 (having been delayed by the problems with the 737 Max). <a href="https://modernairliners.com/boeing-787-dreamliner/boeing-787-dreamliner-deliveries/#content">In terms of orders</a>, the A350 is ahead, but the 777X has been on sale for less time and is picking up orders. Boeing is <a href="https://www.aviacionline.com/2022/01/boeing-prepares-new-version-of-787-dreamliner-family/">also launching</a> a larger version of the Dreamliner to compete with the A350, so there is the potential for the A350 to be squeezed from both sides. </p>
<h2>Where next</h2>
<p>The question is whether Boeing can repeat its success with the Dreamliner in other segments of the market. We eagerly await news on its new mid-sized aircraft for medium-haul flights (currently referred to as the 797), which has also been delayed by the 737 Max problems. Designed to replace the narrowbody 757 and compete with the Airbus A321XLR, which is due to enter service in 2023, this aircraft may be critical to Boeing’s success. </p>
<p>In the narrowbody market, which is for shorter flights, the Airbus A320 family <a href="https://modernairliners.com/boeing-787-dreamliner/boeing-787-dreamliner-deliveries/#content">recently inched ahead</a> of Boeing’s 737 in terms of sales, though the 737 retains the lead for aircraft delivered. It is uncertain how potential supply chain issues may disrupt this balance. The ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine has the potential to be hard, particularly on Airbus.</p>
<p>The future of aircraft manufacturing is uncertain. But by thinking forwards, in terms of sourcing arrangements and travel demand, Boeing has been shrewd. So long as Boeing learns lessons from its recent past, it may finally be back in the ascendant.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/179140/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joseph Mellors does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>For years it has lagged Airbus, but that might be coming to an end.Joseph Mellors, Associate lecturer, Northumbria University, NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1753062022-01-25T13:28:14Z2022-01-25T13:28:14ZHow 5G puts airplanes at risk – an electrical engineer explains<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442368/original/file-20220124-13-p8az99.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C1563%2C875&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The FAA raised concerns that new, full-speed 5G cellphone services near airports could interfere with aircraft operations.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/44073224@N04/28345407183/">Bernal Saborio/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>New high-speed cellphone services have raised concerns of interference with aircraft operations, particularly as aircraft are landing at airports. The Federal Aviation Administration has <a href="https://www.faa.gov/5g">assured Americans that most commercial aircraft are safe</a>, and AT&T and Verizon have agreed to <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/01/18/1073859389/verizon-att-5g-rollout-delay-airports-airlines-faa">hold off on installing their new cellphone antennas</a> near airports for six months. But the problem has not been entirely resolved.</p>
<p>Concerns began when the U.S. government <a href="https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-370267A1.pdf">auctioned</a> part of the <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/19/tech/c-band-5g-att-verizon-rollout/index.html">C-band spectrum</a> to wireless carriers in 2021 for US$81 billion. The carriers are using C-band spectrum to <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-5g-an-electrical-engineer-explains-173196">provide 5G</a> service at full speed, 10 times the speed of 4G networks.</p>
<p>The C-band spectrum is close to the frequencies used by key electronics that aircraft rely on to land safely. Here’s why that can be a problem.</p>
<h2>Keeping order on the spectrum</h2>
<p>Wireless signals are carried by radio waves. The radio spectrum ranges from 3 hertz to 3,000 gigahertz and is part of the electromagnetic spectrum. The portion of the radio spectrum that carries the signals from your phone and other wireless devices is <a href="https://www.ctia.org/news/what-is-spectrum-a-brief-explainer">20 kilohertz to 300 gigahertz</a>.</p>
<p>If two wireless signals in the same area use the same frequency, you get garbled noise. You hear this when you are midway between two radio stations using the same or similar frequency bands to send their information. The signals get garbled and sometimes you hear one station, at other times the other, all mixed with a healthy dose of noise. </p>
<p>Therefore, in the U.S., the use of these frequency bands is tightly regulated by the Federal Communications Commission to ensure that radio stations, wireless carriers and other organizations are assigned “lanes,” or frequency spectra, to use in an orderly fashion.</p>
<h2>Bouncing radio waves off the ground</h2>
<p>Modern airplanes use altimeters, which calculate the time it takes for a signal to bounce back from the ground to determine a plane’s altitude. These altimeters are a vital part of automatic landing systems that are especially useful in cases where there is low visibility. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442379/original/file-20220124-23335-w6fct0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A hand on an aircraft yoke in front of a multicolor display panel" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442379/original/file-20220124-23335-w6fct0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442379/original/file-20220124-23335-w6fct0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442379/original/file-20220124-23335-w6fct0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442379/original/file-20220124-23335-w6fct0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442379/original/file-20220124-23335-w6fct0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442379/original/file-20220124-23335-w6fct0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442379/original/file-20220124-23335-w6fct0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The radio altimeter in an aircraft tells the pilot how far off the ground the aircraft is.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/AustraliaMalaysiaPlane/6fb7b6c1d681451e988f5f9efad4205b/photo">AP Photo/Rob Griffith</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>So, if an altimeter interprets a signal from a wireless carrier as the rebounded signal from the ground, it may think that the ground is closer than it is and prematurely try to lower the landing gear and do the other maneuvers that are needed to land an aircraft. If interference with wireless carrier signals corrupts and garbles the altimeter’s radio signals, the altimeter may not recognize the rebounded signal and thus be unable to figure out how close to the ground the plane is.</p>
<p>[<em>Understand new developments in science, health and technology, each week.</em> <a href="https://memberservices.theconversation.com/newsletters/?nl=science&source=inline-science-understand">Subscribe to The Conversation’s science newsletter</a>.]</p>
<p>The portions of the radio frequency spectrum used by airplanes and cellphone carriers are different. The problem is that airplane altimeters use the 4.2 to 4.4 gigahertz range, while the recently sold – and previously unused – C-band spectrum for wireless carriers ranges from 3.7 to 3.98 gigahertz. It turns out the 0.22 gigahertz difference between the signals may not be quite enough to be absolutely sure that a cellphone carrier signal will not be mistaken for or corrupt an altimeter’s signal.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442380/original/file-20220124-27-n2x6kx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Four vertical rectangular devices mounted on the corner of a roof of a building with a church spire in the background" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442380/original/file-20220124-27-n2x6kx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442380/original/file-20220124-27-n2x6kx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442380/original/file-20220124-27-n2x6kx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442380/original/file-20220124-27-n2x6kx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442380/original/file-20220124-27-n2x6kx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442380/original/file-20220124-27-n2x6kx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/442380/original/file-20220124-27-n2x6kx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Full-speed 5G signals like those in services that wireless carriers are currently rolling out might interfere with aircraft altimeters.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/VirusOutbreak5GConspiracyTheories/71c36ff2fca14b4baf1ee83fda44af00/photo">AP Photo/Alastair Grant</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Steering clear of trouble – for now</h2>
<p>The telecommunication industry has argued that the gap of 0.22 gigahertz is enough and <a href="https://apnews.com/article/why-are-airlines-worried-about-5g-f908b6eff8551b580dfd111029c5be2d">there will be no interference</a>. The airline industry has been <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/01/07/1071409710/airlines-are-concerned-5g-wireless-service-may-affect-the-ability-to-land-planes">more cautious</a>. Even if the risk is very small, I believe the consequences of a plane crash are enormous.</p>
<p>Who is correct? The chances of such interference are very small, but the truth is that there isn’t much data to say that such interference will never happen. Whether there will be interference depends on the receivers in the altimeters and their sensitivity. In my view, there is no way to ensure that such stray interfering signals will never reach altimeters. </p>
<p>If the altimeters can register the stray signals as noise and filter them out, then they can function correctly. Upgrading aircraft altimeters <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/22/tech/5g-airlines-crisis-what-happened/index.html">is a costly proposition</a>, however, and it’s not clear who would pay the cost.</p>
<p>The FAA has been testing altimeters and <a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2022/01/airline-ceos-make-u-turn-now-say-5g-isnt-a-big-problem-for-altimeters/">clearing ones that can be relied on</a> in the near future. AT&T and Verizon have agreed to not put up 5G transmitters and receivers near the 50 largest airports for six months while a solution is being worked out. This has averted a major crisis in the near term, but it isn’t a permanent solution. </p>
<p>Moreover, regional airlines and rural airports <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/20/business/faa-5g-airliner-approvals/index.html">remain at risk of interference</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/175306/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Prasenjit Mitra works with Remcom Inc. He does not receive any funding from them. </span></em></p>Airplanes use radio waves to determine how far off the ground they are. New 5G cellphone services come close to the same frequencies the airplanes use. Here’s how that can be a problem.Prasenjit Mitra, Professor of Information Sciences and Technology, Penn StateLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1511802021-01-25T13:29:51Z2021-01-25T13:29:51ZWhy does it take longer to fly from east to west on an airplane?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378155/original/file-20210111-17-hrdaro.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C50%2C1533%2C970&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The jet stream can have a big impact on how long a plane ride will last.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Search&limit=500&offset=500&profile=default&search=boeing+747&advancedSearch-current=%7B%7D&ns0=1&ns6=1&ns12=1&ns14=1&ns100=1&ns106=1&searchToken=6ddmgacgqvctsdphhxwo6ty0n#%2Fmedia%2FFile%3AG-CIVA_Boeing_747_British_Airways_%288401802240%29.jpg">Aeroprints via Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/curious-kids-us-74795">Curious Kids</a> is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to <a href="mailto:curiouskidsus@theconversation.com">curiouskidsus@theconversation.com</a>.</em></p>
<hr>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>Why does it take longer to fly from east to west on an airplane? – Henry D, Age 7, Cambridge, Massachusetts</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p>I am a retired <a href="https://www.unomaha.edu/college-of-public-affairs-and-community-service/aviation/about-us/faculty-staff/skip-bailey.php">United States Air Force pilot and flight instructor</a>, and a few years ago I was sitting in the cockpit of a Boeing 747 airplane. I was 29,000 feet in the sky, flying from New Jersey to Sacramento, California, and then to Hawaii. It took six hours to fly and land the plane safely in Sacramento. After a few hours in California, I continued to Hawaii,which took almost another five hours of flying. That was 11 total hours of flying. </p>
<p>After enjoying the sunshine in Hawaii, it was time to fly back to New Jersey. This trip went much faster. I didn’t stop in California this time, but flying back only took about eight and a half hours. I was still flying the same airplane, and New Jersey wasn’t any closer to California or Hawaii than it had been a few days before. </p>
<p>So why was my flight to Hawaii, from east to west, so much longer than my flight home?</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378134/original/file-20210111-13-mc63ul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A graphic showing the rough locations of jet streams around the globe." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378134/original/file-20210111-13-mc63ul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378134/original/file-20210111-13-mc63ul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=345&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378134/original/file-20210111-13-mc63ul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=345&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378134/original/file-20210111-13-mc63ul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=345&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378134/original/file-20210111-13-mc63ul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=433&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378134/original/file-20210111-13-mc63ul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=433&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378134/original/file-20210111-13-mc63ul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=433&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Jet streams always blow from west to east and can found in many places around the world.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jet_stream#/media/File:Jetstreamconfig.jpg">Lyndon State College Meteorology via Wikipedia</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Riding on a river of air</h2>
<p>The reason it took so much longer to fly back is the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jet_stream">jet stream</a>, a river of fast-moving air high up in the sky. </p>
<p>Jet streams are usually about 100 miles wide. They can be thousands of miles long and are found all over the earth. To be called a jet stream, the wind must be moving faster than 60 mph. </p>
<p>Jet streams generally blow from the west to the east around the Earth, often <a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2008GL033614">following a meandering, curved path</a> just like a river on land. The jet stream over the United States never stays in one place – it tends to move <a href="https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(1961)018%3C0172:TSJSOW%3E2.0.CO;2">farther south and blow stronger in the winter</a>, and to move farther north and not blow as strong in the summer. </p>
<p>So what does this have to do with planes?</p>
<h2>Flying into the wind</h2>
<p>Airplane pilots measure speed in two different ways. First is airspeed – how fast the wind would feel if you stuck your hand out the window. The second is ground speed – how fast the plane is moving over the ground. When you fly in the jet stream, your airspeed always stays the same, but your ground speed can change a lot because the air around the plane is moving.</p>
<p>On the way to Hawaii, I was flying with an airspeed of 562 mph. But because the jet stream was blowing against my airplane – called a headwind – at 140 mph, I was actually only moving across the ground at 422 mph.</p>
<p>But flying from Hawaii to New Jersey, the jet stream blows from behind the plane and pushes it forward. I was still flying with an airspeed of 562 mph, but the 140 mph tailwind meant that my airplane was moving across the ground at 702 mph.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378135/original/file-20210111-15-4p9wus.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A graphic showing how routes differ when a plan flies from east to west or west to east." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378135/original/file-20210111-15-4p9wus.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378135/original/file-20210111-15-4p9wus.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=275&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378135/original/file-20210111-15-4p9wus.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=275&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378135/original/file-20210111-15-4p9wus.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=275&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378135/original/file-20210111-15-4p9wus.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=346&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378135/original/file-20210111-15-4p9wus.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=346&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/378135/original/file-20210111-15-4p9wus.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=346&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Planes will try to avoid the jet stream when flying east to west, but try to hitch a ride on the way back.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jet_stream#/media/File:Greatcircle_Jetstream_routes.svg">ChaosNil via Wikipedia</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Pilots plan to go fast</h2>
<p>When pilots plan the route of their flights, they often use weather forecasts <a href="https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0493(1981)109%3C2450:COTWPJ%3E2.0.CO;2">to find where the jet stream is blowing</a>. When they fly from the east to the west, they try <a href="https://simpleflying.com/why-aircraft-dont-fly-in-a-straight-line-from-origin-to-destination/">to plan their flight</a> so the jet stream isn’t blowing against their airplane and giving them a bad headwind. When they plan their flight from the west to the east, they look for the jet stream and try to fly so it can give them a big tailwind and help them fly faster. A good plan can help conserve fuel too.</p>
<p>The next time you are flying high across the country from east to west, don’t be surprised when it takes a little longer than you expect. But be excited knowing that when you fly back your pilot is probably hitching a ride along the jet stream to get you home fast.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Hello, curious kids! Do you have a question you’d like an expert to answer? Ask an adult to send your question to <a href="mailto:curiouskidsus@theconversation.com">CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com</a>. Please tell us your name, age and the city where you live.</em></p>
<p><em>And since curiosity has no age limit – adults, let us know what you’re wondering, too. We won’t be able to answer every question, but we will do our best.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/151180/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Skip Bailey does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>When planes fly from east to west, they are flying against a river of air called a jet stream. These air currents can make your flight longer or shorter, depending on which way you are going.Skip Bailey, Aviation Institute Flight Training Coordinator and Instructor, University of Nebraska OmahaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1467012020-11-05T11:09:56Z2020-11-05T11:09:56ZCoronavirus: staying safe on trains, planes and automobiles<p>Many of us rely on public transport to get to work, school, and to meet friends and family. But in the time of COVID-19 is it safe to use these vehicles and is there a difference between them?</p>
<p>Transport has <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0967070X20304273?via%3Dihub">contributed</a> to the spread of coronavirus – locally, regionally and internationally. Despite various measures for passenger screening, quarantine after travel and border control, infected people have still managed to travel – knowingly or unknowingly. We now know that quite a large proportion of people who are infected show no symptoms of COVID-19 and that people are <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7323549/">infectious before they show</a> symptoms.</p>
<p>But has transmission of the virus occurred on public transport vehicles? There is very little good scientific evidence on the transmission of infectious disease on public transport vehicles. This is because linking a transmission event to a specific journey is notoriously difficult, as there are so many factors at play. Scientists around the world are trying to unpick the complex interactions between people and the environment that might lead to transmission.</p>
<p>Since the start of the pandemic, a few studies have shown that transmission may have occurred – or could occur – on various public-transport vehicles. Yet these studies have not shown that transmission has actually taken place on the vehicle. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://academic.oup.com/cid/advance-article/doi/10.1093/cid/ciaa1057/5877944">study looking at trains</a> came up with probabilities of transmission depending on proximity to an infected person using risk modelling. <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2769383">Another study</a> that followed a group of tourists who travelled together by plane used questionnaires to link events and diagnoses over a period of time. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0304389420305987?via%3Dihub">Computer simulations</a> of a coach filled with manikins were used to model the possible distribution of virus-laden droplets and estimate the likelihood of passengers encountering these at various locations. Everything we know so far is based on modelling, probability and risk. </p>
<p>One way to identify transmission is to compare the genetic sequence of the virus taken from two infected people that are linked by a contact event. We know there are many SARS-CoV-2 strains, each with a unique sequence. </p>
<p>Only <a href="https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/26/11/20-3254_article">one study</a> looking at transmission on transport vehicles has done this. Contact tracing and viral RNA sequencing (RNA being the genetic material of some viruses) showed that a married couple and two flight attendants who had travelled on a flight from the US to Hong Kong were infected with the same strain. This strain had not been found previously in Hong Kong, and this could indicate that transmission occurred on the flight. However, the four people could also have become infected elsewhere while in the US where very similar viral RNA sequences have been found consistently. </p>
<h2>How to travel safely</h2>
<p>Taking any form of public transport means coming into contact with other people in an enclosed space. To assess the risk that you might expose yourself to, there are several things to consider: the number of people you might encounter, the length of the journey, and the ventilation on the vehicle. </p>
<p>When thinking about contact with other people, the fewer you encounter, the lower the risk. So consider travelling at off-peak times and make sure that you socially distance as much as possible. </p>
<p>Journeys can last a few minutes or many hours, depending on the distance and the mode of transport. The longer your journey the more chance that you will be exposed to the virus as there is more time for air and surfaces to become contaminated and for you to come in contact with the virus. </p>
<p>The ventilation systems on transport vehicles have been designed for passenger comfort and energy efficiency. There is little regulation of the level of fresh air for passengers, except for aeroplanes. </p>
<p>The ventilation in aircraft is very tightly regulated and probably the most sophisticated, aside from operating theatres and clean rooms. A <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-airlines/coronavirus-exposure-risk-on-airplanes-very-low-u-s-defense-study-finds-idINKBN2702S7">recent study</a> by the US Department of Defense showed that the combined effect of the cabin ventilation system and mask-wearing meant that people on the flight were exposed to very few particles circulating in the air. Other vehicles may not have such good ventilation. So if you are on a bus or a train where you can open a window, open it if it is safe to do so. </p>
<p>You should wear a face covering throughout your journey to protect yourself from respiratory droplets that might be contaminated with virus particles on public transport. If you are travelling by taxi or ride-sharing service, such as Uber, crack open the window. Ask yourself which surfaces are likely to have been touched by many people. You will probably have to touch these yourself, so be sure to clean your hands well once you finish your journey. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="People getting into a London taxi." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/365187/original/file-20201023-14-1grqaz1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/365187/original/file-20201023-14-1grqaz1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/365187/original/file-20201023-14-1grqaz1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/365187/original/file-20201023-14-1grqaz1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/365187/original/file-20201023-14-1grqaz1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/365187/original/file-20201023-14-1grqaz1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/365187/original/file-20201023-14-1grqaz1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Consider which surfaces are likely to have been touched a lot by other people.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/london-uk-september-12-2018-pimlico-1296321451">Andriy Blokhin/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>If you are using a bike-share scheme, consider wiping down the handlebars before you set off. And it is always important that you stick to the measures given by the transport operator.</p>
<p>As you prepare for your journey, consider the three points above (people, duration, fresh air) as they will vary depending on the mode of transport you will use: bus, train, metro, plane, coach, taxi, ride-share, bike-share scheme. Travel safely.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/146701/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lena Ciric receives funding from UKRI, including a project investigating pathogen transmission on public transport vehicles. </span></em></p>Hard evidence on how much coronavirus transmission occurs on transport is hard to come by. But there are ways to reduce your risk.Lena Ciric, Associate Professor in Environmental Engineering, UCLLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1232422020-05-18T12:15:48Z2020-05-18T12:15:48ZHow greater diversity in the cockpit could help airlines avoid a looming pilot shortage<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/334464/original/file-20200512-82379-1h8cyxo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=54%2C162%2C3971%2C2752&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The cockpit has long been the dominion of white men.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Benjamin Ohnona/EyeEm via Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Before the new coronavirus hit, the airline industry was bracing for a <a href="https://www.boeing.com/commercial/market/pilot-technician-outlook/">severe pilot shortage</a>. But just as the pandemic has forced school closures across the country, it’s also <a href="https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2020/march/12/faa-training-industry-take-precautions-amid-coronavirus-concerns">disrupting aviation training programs</a>, which could mean even fewer pilots are trained to fly tomorrow’s fleet of commercial aircraft.</p>
<p>There are many reasons for the anticipated shortage, including <a href="https://www.faa.gov/pilots/training/atp/">increased regulation</a>, <a href="https://www.iata.org/en/pressroom/pr/2017-10-24-01">growing demand for air travel</a> and <a href="https://www.cae.com/media/documents/Civil_Aviation/CAE-Airline-Pilot-Demand-Outlook-Spread.pdf">an aging workforce</a>, coupled with a <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2009/07/15/E9-16777/part-121-pilot-age-limit">mandatory retirement age</a> of 65. But there’s one cause that also offers a solution: The industry has long struggled to recruit women, people of color and members of other marginalized groups.</p>
<p>As a <a href="https://aviation.osu.edu/people/morrison.413">scholar of aviation education and policy</a>, I believe a stronger focus on attracting a diverse workforce and embracing a more inclusive culture is pivotal to ensuring there are enough pilots as Americans return to the skies in record numbers after this crisis passes.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/335744/original/file-20200518-83384-6tsec6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/335744/original/file-20200518-83384-6tsec6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=467&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335744/original/file-20200518-83384-6tsec6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=467&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335744/original/file-20200518-83384-6tsec6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=467&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335744/original/file-20200518-83384-6tsec6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=587&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335744/original/file-20200518-83384-6tsec6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=587&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/335744/original/file-20200518-83384-6tsec6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=587&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Helen Richey, the first woman pilot to fly a commercial airline, is seen here in the cockpit of a Central Airlines plane in 1934. No major carrier hired a woman pilot until the 1970s.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AP Photo</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Lack of diversity</h2>
<p>Upon entering the field of aviation in 2014, it took me about a year on the job before I fully grasped that I was, more often than not, the only woman in the room – and frequently the youngest to boot.</p>
<p>Eventually, I had the opportunity to critically examine the systemic problems that have led to a lack of diversity in both the academic aviation world and the broader industry it reflects. I found that women, people of color and members of the LGBTQ community were significantly underrepresented, yet <a href="https://news.delta.com/delta-s-first-black-female-captain-taking-was-thrill-my-life">their mere presence was often used</a> to symbolize progress in diversifying the industry. </p>
<p>And little has changed.</p>
<p>A review of the latest <a href="https://www.faa.gov/data_research/aviation_data_statistics/civil_airmen_statistics/">Civil Airmen Statistics</a> indicates that a little over 4% of Airline Transport Certificate holders – the required certification to fly for a major carrier – are women. <a href="https://www.wai.org/pioneers/2018/bonnie-tiburzi-caputo">No major U.S. carrier hired</a> a female pilot until 1973. </p>
<p>The situation is even worse for African Americans, who were <a href="https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/green-marlon-dewitt-1929-2009/">not hired to pilot a commercial airplane until the 1960s</a>. Things changed only because of a six-year battle against Continental Airlines waged by Marlon Green, who filed a discrimination complaint against the carrier. In 1963, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled in his favor, paving the way for the first black pilot, David Ellsworth Harris, whom American Airlines hired in 1964. Green would follow suit at Continental in 1965.</p>
<p>But even today there are few African American pilots. Sociologists Louwanda Evans and Joe Feagin estimate that the number in 2012 <a href="https://www.doi.org/10.1177/0002764211433804">was fewer than 700</a> – less than 1% of all commercial pilots. Fewer than 20 were black women. </p>
<h2>Pilot shortage</h2>
<p>I believe this lack of inclusion has contributed to the looming pilot shortage the industry has worried about for several years.</p>
<p>Every few years, Boeing releases a report forecasting the number of professionals that the aviation industry will need in the coming years, from pilots and maintenance technicians to cabin crew. In its most recent report, <a href="https://www.boeing.com/commercial/market/pilot-technician-outlook/">Boeing estimates</a> that North America is short 212,000 pilots through 2038.</p>
<p>One of the problems is the field’s high barrier for those who lack resources and support. The cost of a <a href="https://aviation.osu.edu/flight-training-costs">flight education</a> at a traditional four-year institution can range from US$50,000 to upwards of $100,000, in addition to rising tuition fees.</p>
<p>Another issue is a culture that isn’t very inclusive.</p>
<p>For an ongoing research project, I’ve been interviewing African American women in a variety of positions in the aviation industry about the challenges pursuing a successful career in the field. I’ve found that the lack of mentors, access to the industry, resources and “people who look like you” have all been barriers to entry and retention in the industry. There is also a perception problem, where women are not seen as authoritative enough for positions like <a href="https://time.com/longform/tammie-jo-shults-southwest-pilot-hero/">captain of an aircraft</a>.</p>
<p>In a <a href="https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/women-in-aviation/index.html">recent CNN article</a>, aviation writer Kathryn Creedy put part of the blame on work rules that “haven’t changed in 50 years.” A sexist work environment is the subject of an ongoing lawsuit against Frontier Airlines, which <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/10/opinion/pregnancy-discrimination-frontier-airlines.html">is accused of discriminating against</a> pregnant and breastfeeding women. </p>
<h2>Beyond tokenism</h2>
<p>In the various months devoted to recognizing historically marginalized groups such as <a href="https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/womens-history-month">women</a>, <a href="https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/black-history-month">African Americans</a> and <a href="https://lgbthistorymonth.com">LBGTQ people</a>, the aviation industry joins the chorus of group that use the calendar to highlight historic diversity firsts.</p>
<p>For example, you’ll often see <a href="https://www.airlines.org/blog/u-s-airlines-celebrate-black-history-month/">articles in February</a> showcasing the “first African American pilot” or the “<a href="http://news.aa.com/american-stories/american-stories-details/2019/Flying-with-pride/default.aspx">first all LGBTQ flight crew</a>.” Unfortunately, those firsts did not spark a significant change that led to real diversity in the cockpit, which continues to be <a href="https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/aviation-diversity-commercial-pilots-trnd/index.html">dominated by white men</a>. </p>
<p>The problem with celebrating diverse talent only during the designated month is that this approach does not require the industry to reflect on why it needs diversity and inclusion policies in the first place. In her 2013 book, “<a href="https://rowman.com/isbn/9781442221352/cabin-pressure-african-american-pilots-flight-attendants-and-emotional-labor">Cabin Pressure: African-American Pilots, Flight Attendants, and Emotional Labor</a>,” sociologist Louwanda Evans writes about how mere representation can’t paper over entrenched discrimination. And this problem, in turn, is contributing to the looming pilot shortage. </p>
<p>The principles of justice and equity should be enough to convince carriers to make their policies and practices more equitable and inclusive to individuals who have not typically been drawn to the industry. But if they need more convincing, the clear economic imperative should do the job. </p>
<p>[<em><a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=expertise">Expertise in your inbox. Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter and get a digest of academic takes on today’s news, every day.</a></em>]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/123242/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Shannon McLoughlin Morrison is affiliated with The Ohio State University, and has volunteered for the National Gay Pilots Association and Women in Aviation</span></em></p>The aviation industry was already expecting a severe pilot shortage over the coming years. The pandemic could make it even worse.Shannon McLoughlin Morrison, Assistant Director, Academics and Program Assessment, The Ohio State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1375852020-05-10T12:00:45Z2020-05-10T12:00:45ZWeather forecasts could become more challenging during the coronavirus storm<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/333472/original/file-20200507-49579-1ecgbry.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C199%2C4367%2C3054&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A weather buoy floats in Lake Michigan. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted several sectors and meteorology is no exception. The quality and quantity of the observational data that feed into weather forecasting models could well be affected by the pandemic, according to the <a href="https://public.wmo.int/en/media/press-release/wmo-concerned-about-impact-of-covid-19-observing-system">World Meteorological Organization (WMO)</a>.</p>
<p>Knowing the state of the atmosphere is essential for good weather forecasting. In addition to announcing rain or sunshine, weather forecasts allow us to better prepare for risks and other weather hazards such as <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-communities-across-canada-prepare-for-doubled-crises-of-flooding-in-a/">spring flooding</a> and hurricanes. </p>
<p>The pandemic has curtailed a number of these observations in a variety of ways. But scientists around the world are finding ways to fill some of those gaps.</p>
<h2>International collaboration</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://public.wmo.int/en/programmes/global-observing-system">WMO Global Observing System</a> provides observations of the atmosphere, such as wind speed, and the ocean surface, namely sea surface temperature. The system comes from the close collaboration between national and international agencies that provide measurements from different observing instruments.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/330858/original/file-20200427-145566-1ccwtmw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/330858/original/file-20200427-145566-1ccwtmw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=380&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330858/original/file-20200427-145566-1ccwtmw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=380&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330858/original/file-20200427-145566-1ccwtmw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=380&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330858/original/file-20200427-145566-1ccwtmw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330858/original/file-20200427-145566-1ccwtmw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330858/original/file-20200427-145566-1ccwtmw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The World Meteorological Organization’s (WMO) Global Observing System is composed of a large number of <em>in situ</em> and satellite observing systems.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(World Meteorological Organization)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The <a href="https://public.wmo.int/en/our-mandate/what-we-do/observations">WMO Global Observing System</a> relies on observations taken on land, in the air, on the ocean and from space. More than 10,000 surface-based stations, 1,000 weather balloon stations, 3,000 commercial aircraft, 7,000 ships, 100 moored buoys, 1,000 drifting buoys, 30 meteorological satellites and 200 research satellites gather information about the Earth.</p>
<p>The frequency and spatial distribution of these measurements vary enormously depending on the type of observation. For example, a surface weather station can collect precipitation measurements every five minutes, while the <a href="https://cloudsat.atmos.colostate.edu/education/faq">CloudSat</a> satellite, dedicated to global cloud observation, takes measurements covering the same geographical area every 16 days.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/330859/original/file-20200427-145566-uiagnk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/330859/original/file-20200427-145566-uiagnk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330859/original/file-20200427-145566-uiagnk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330859/original/file-20200427-145566-uiagnk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330859/original/file-20200427-145566-uiagnk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330859/original/file-20200427-145566-uiagnk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330859/original/file-20200427-145566-uiagnk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Example of air temperature observation data taken in Oslo and at the airport in Svalbard, Norway.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Norsk Klima Service Center)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How forecasts are made</h2>
<p>Atmospheric models are a set of equations that describe the changing state of the atmosphere. They require information about the initial state of the atmosphere and the Earth’s surface (land and ocean) in order to provide weather forecasts. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, observational data alone are not sufficient to provide a complete picture of the state of the atmosphere because they are distributed irregularly over space and time, and sometimes contain errors.</p>
<p>This is where a technique known as “<a href="https://research.reading.ac.uk/met-darc/aboutus/what-is-data-assimilation/">data assimilation</a>” comes into play. It involves combining observational data with data obtained from an atmospheric model to get the best estimate of the state of the atmosphere. In other words, one starts from a weather forecast made with the model and corrects it with the observational data.</p>
<p>The result of the data assimilation is a coherent complete image of the atmosphere and the Earth’s surface at a given time. Once the initial state of the atmosphere and Earth’s surface is known, an atmospheric model can be applied to predict its evolution.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/330863/original/file-20200427-145553-xclhd5.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/330863/original/file-20200427-145553-xclhd5.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=527&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330863/original/file-20200427-145553-xclhd5.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=527&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330863/original/file-20200427-145553-xclhd5.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=527&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330863/original/file-20200427-145553-xclhd5.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=663&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330863/original/file-20200427-145553-xclhd5.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=663&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/330863/original/file-20200427-145553-xclhd5.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=663&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An example of an analysis of the Regional Deterministic Prediction System (RDPS) at the Canadian Meteorological Centre (CMC). Wind speed (in knots) is represented by the colours and wind direction is represented by the blue arrows. The black isolines represent sea level pressure.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(MeteoCentre)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The impact of the pandemic</h2>
<p>The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a <a href="https://public.wmo.int/en/media/press-release/wmo-concerned-about-impact-of-covid-19-observing-system">decrease in observations</a> made by commercial aircraft, due to the decrease in air traffic. In Europe, for example, there has been a <a href="https://www.eurocontrol.int/Economics/DailyTrafficVariation-States.html">90 per cent</a> decline in the daily number of flights. </p>
<p>There has also been a drop in manual observations at surface weather stations in several developing countries, which have not switched to fully automated measurements. In the long term, other components of the observing system could be negatively affected if maintenance, repair and replenishment work cannot be done.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/333226/original/file-20200506-49589-1hfwb6a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C1356%2C667&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/333226/original/file-20200506-49589-1hfwb6a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=296&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333226/original/file-20200506-49589-1hfwb6a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=296&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333226/original/file-20200506-49589-1hfwb6a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=296&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333226/original/file-20200506-49589-1hfwb6a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=371&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333226/original/file-20200506-49589-1hfwb6a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=371&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/333226/original/file-20200506-49589-1hfwb6a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=371&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) relies on observations from vast number of stations located around the world.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com">(Shutterstock)</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Each type of observation has a different impact on the quality of forecasts. <a href="https://www.ecmwf.int/en/about/media-centre/news/2020/drop-aircraft-observations-could-have-impact-weather-forecasts">Studies</a> conducted by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) have shown that in the absence of aircraft meteorological data, the quality of short-term wind and temperature forecasts at cruising altitude decreases by 15 per cent, which can affect the prediction of the jet stream and, consequently, forecasts of winter storms and heat waves. The quality of near-surface forecasts also decreases, but not as much.</p>
<p>Ironically, the importance of aircraft observation data was highlighted in mid-February 2020 at an ECMWF <a href="https://www.ecmwf.int/en/learning/workshops/workshop-aircraft-weather-observations-and-their-use">workshop on the state of aircraft observations</a>. Fortunately, the impact of satellite observations on forecast quality is greater than that of aircraft meteorological data.</p>
<h2>Mobilizing scientists</h2>
<p>The scientific community is trying to ease the impact of the decrease in observational data collected by aircraft. As a result, European national meteorological services are <a href="https://www.ecmwf.int/en/newsletter/163/editorial/ecmwf-and-covid-19">launching more weather balloons</a>. </p>
<p>Observations from recently launched satellites can also help to fill the gap left by declining observations. This is the case of the <a href="https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/Aeolus/COVID-19_Aeolus_and_weather_forecasts">European Space Agency’s Aeolus satellite</a>, which provides wind data at different altitudes.</p>
<p>The declining quality of weather forecasts adds to the many challenges posed by the pandemic. With the <a href="https://tropical.colostate.edu/media/sites/111/2020/04/2020-04.pdf">Atlantic hurricane season</a> expected to be more active than usual, it is even more important to correctly forecast the trajectory and intensity of hurricanes. Indeed, for <a href="https://www.undrr.org/news/covid-19-risks-complicating-caribbean-hurricane-season">Caribbean countries</a>, where the peak of COVID-19 cases is expected just before the start of the hurricane season, the pandemic is a major obstacle in preparing for this meteorological hazard.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/137585/count.gif" alt="La Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marta Moreno Ibáñez is a member of the board of the Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS) and member of the Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society (CMOS). </span></em></p>The COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t just disrupted our lives. It has also challenged the way we forecast the weather.Marta Moreno Ibáñez, PhD candidate in Earth and atmospheric sciences, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1088702019-01-04T11:33:50Z2019-01-04T11:33:50ZAmelia Earhart would have a hard time disappearing in 2019<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/251049/original/file-20181217-185246-2ppe1n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C1024%2C323&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Amelia Earhart's Lockheed Model 10-E Electra, with advanced navigation equipment mounted above the cockpit.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Earhart-electra_10.jpg">USAF/Wikimedia Commons</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When <a href="https://www.ameliaearhart.com/">Amelia Earhart</a> took off in 1937 to fly around the world, people had been flying airplanes for only about 35 years. When she tried to <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Amelia-Earhart">fly across the Pacific</a>, she – and the world – knew it was risky. She didn’t make it, and was <a href="https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780765324832">declared dead</a> in January 1939. In the 80 years since then, many other planes have been <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_missing_aircraft">lost around the world</a> and never found again – including the 2014 disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, over the Indian Ocean.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/251048/original/file-20181217-185264-vj6j89.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/251048/original/file-20181217-185264-vj6j89.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/251048/original/file-20181217-185264-vj6j89.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=446&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/251048/original/file-20181217-185264-vj6j89.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=446&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/251048/original/file-20181217-185264-vj6j89.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=446&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/251048/original/file-20181217-185264-vj6j89.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=561&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/251048/original/file-20181217-185264-vj6j89.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=561&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/251048/original/file-20181217-185264-vj6j89.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=561&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Amelia Earhart, missing and declared dead Jan. 5, 1939.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Amelia_Earhart_standing_under_nose_of_her_Lockheed_Model_10-E_Electra,_small.jpg">Underwood & Underwood/Wikimedia Commons</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As flight instructors and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=nAyrczcAAAAJ&hl=en">aviation industry professionals</a>, we know that increasingly advanced technologies are getting better at tracking planes, even across great expanses of water far from land. These systems allow aircraft to navigate much more easily, and many allow real-time flight tracking across much of the globe.</p>
<h2>Getting from place to place</h2>
<p>From the early years of aviation up until about 2000, the main way pilots navigated was by playing connect-the-dots across a map. They would use radio direction-finding equipment to follow a route from an airport to a radio-transmitting beacon at a fixed location, and then from beacon to beacon until reaching the destination airport. Various technologies made that process easier, but the concept was still the same. That system is still in use, but decreasingly so as new technologies replace it.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/251050/original/file-20181217-185249-v4xsm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/251050/original/file-20181217-185249-v4xsm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/251050/original/file-20181217-185249-v4xsm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=305&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/251050/original/file-20181217-185249-v4xsm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=305&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/251050/original/file-20181217-185249-v4xsm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=305&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/251050/original/file-20181217-185249-v4xsm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/251050/original/file-20181217-185249-v4xsm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/251050/original/file-20181217-185249-v4xsm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ground-based radio beacons are found at airports and along major flight routes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:VOR_Ngurah_Rai_Airport.jpg">Sabung.hamster/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the first few years of the 21st century, pilots for major airlines began to use the United States’ Global Positioning System and other similar systems that use signals from orbiting satellites to calculate the plane’s position. GPS is more accurate, letting pilots land easily in bad weather conditions, without the need for expensive ground-based radio transmitters. Satellite navigation also lets pilots fly more directly between destinations, because they need not follow the routes from one radio beacon to the next.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/251051/original/file-20181217-185237-18kefqu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/251051/original/file-20181217-185237-18kefqu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/251051/original/file-20181217-185237-18kefqu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/251051/original/file-20181217-185237-18kefqu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/251051/original/file-20181217-185237-18kefqu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/251051/original/file-20181217-185237-18kefqu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/251051/original/file-20181217-185237-18kefqu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/251051/original/file-20181217-185237-18kefqu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A diagram of what a constellation of position-finding satellites looks like.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:GPS-constellation-3D-NOAA.jpg">NOAA/Wikimedia Commons</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There are six satellite-based navigation systems in operation: <a href="https://www.gps.gov">GPS</a>, run by the United States; <a href="https://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Navigation/Galileo/Galileo_satellites">Galileo</a>, run by the European Union and the European Space Agency; and the Russian <a href="https://www.glonass-iac.ru/en/">GLONASS</a> cover the whole planet, and China’s <a href="http://en.beidou.gov.cn/">BeiDou</a> system is expected to span the globe by 2020. India’s <a href="https://www.isro.gov.in/irnss-programme">NAVIC</a> covers the Indian Ocean and nearby areas; Japan has begun operating the <a href="http://qzss.go.jp/en/">QZSS</a> system to improve navigation in the Pacific.</p>
<p>The systems <a href="https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2018/12/16/us-air-force-set-to-launch-1st-next-generation-gps-satellite/">operate independently</a> of each other, but some satellite navigation receivers can merge <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2018-11-26/fcc-allows-galileo-augment-gps-us">data from more than one of them</a> simultaneously, providing pilots with extremely accurate information about where they are. That can help them get where they’re going, rather than going missing.</p>
<h2>Tracking aircraft</h2>
<p>When planes do get lost, the company or country responsible for them often starts searching; some efforts, like the search for MH 370, include many nations and businesses. </p>
<p>When all is going well, most planes are tracked by radar, which can also help air traffic controllers prevent midair collisions and give pilots directions around severe weather. When planes fly beyond the range of land-based radar, like on long-haul trips over oceans, though, they’re tracked using a method devised more than 70 years ago: Pilots periodically radio air traffic control with reports on where they are, what altitude they’re flying at and what their next navigation landmark is.</p>
<p>Over the past few years, a new method has been rolling out around the world. Called “<a href="https://www.faa.gov/nextgen/programs/adsb/">Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast</a>,” the system <a href="https://www.skybrary.aero/index.php/Automatic_Dependent_Surveillance_Broadcast_(ADS-B)">sends automatic position reports</a> from airplanes to air traffic controllers and nearby aircraft, so everyone knows who’s where and avoids collisions. By 2020, the FAA will require <a href="https://www.aopa.org/go-fly/aircraft-and-ownership/ads-b/where-is-ads-b-out-required">most aircraft in the U.S.</a> to have an ADS-B system, which is already <a href="https://jdasolutions.aero/blog/ads-b-update-bits-information-around-world/">mandatory in several other countries</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/251058/original/file-20181217-185237-18no9x.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/251058/original/file-20181217-185237-18no9x.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/251058/original/file-20181217-185237-18no9x.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/251058/original/file-20181217-185237-18no9x.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/251058/original/file-20181217-185237-18no9x.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/251058/original/file-20181217-185237-18no9x.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/251058/original/file-20181217-185237-18no9x.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/251058/original/file-20181217-185237-18no9x.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Coverage for ADS-B service in the U.S.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.faa.gov/nextgen/programs/adsb/coverageMap/">FAA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>At the moment, though, ADS-B flight tracking doesn’t cover remote areas of the world because it depends on ground-based receivers to collect the information from planes. A <a href="https://www.aviationtoday.com/2018/01/19/space-based-ads-b-undergoes-successful-testing/">space-based receiver system</a> is being tested, which could eventually cover the entire planet.</p>
<p>In addition, many airplane manufacturers sell equipment that includes monitoring and tracking software: for instance, to analyze engine performance and spot problems before they become severe. Some of this equipment can transmit real-time data on the location of the aircraft while it’s in flight. Data from those systems were used in the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-26544554">search for MH 370</a>, and also <a href="https://www.aviationtoday.com/2015/03/25/germanwings-crash-investigation-focused-on-locating-flight-data-recorder/">gave investigators early insight</a> into the 2015 Germanwings 9525 crash in the French Alps, before the plane’s “black box” flight data recorder was found.</p>
<p>GPS, ADS-B and other navigation and tracking systems might have helped save, or at least find, Amelia Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan – either by preventing them from getting lost in the first place or by directing rescuers to their location after the plane went down. Eight decades later, planes still go missing – but it’s getting harder to fly off the map.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/108870/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Eight decades after missing aviator Amelia Earhart was declared dead, technologies still don’t quite track every airplane all over the globe.Brian Strzempkowski, Assistant Director, Center for Aviation Studies, The Ohio State UniversityShawn Pruchnicki, Lecturer, Center for Aviation Studies, The Ohio State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/981362018-11-16T22:21:34Z2018-11-16T22:21:34ZUsing your phone on a plane is safe – but for now you still can’t make calls<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246036/original/file-20181116-194513-18fyjq7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1873%2C440%2C5398%2C3702&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">No problem, I can talk....</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/arabic-businessman-middle-east-speaking-on-135220868">Zurijeta/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Over the Thanksgiving travel period an <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/flights/todayinthesky/2018/11/14/thanksgiving-travel-airlines-say-one-busiest-ever/1993235002/">estimated 30 million Americans plan to fly</a> to enjoy turkey and all the trimmings with far-flung family and friends. The <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/564717/airline-industry-passenger-traffic-globally/">huge increase in air travelers</a> and ever more full – <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2017/04/11/overbooking/">and oversold</a> – flights have made air travel more trying. But it has gotten better in one aspect that most of us in the smartphone-addicted public appreciate: Cellphone use is no longer completely forbidden on planes.</p>
<p>We used to have to turn our phones off and store them when we flew commercially, but now can keep them on as long as they are in Airplane Mode. Why? What’s changed? Weren’t planes supposed to fall out of the sky should some forgetful flier leave their phone on? And what really would happen if everyone started yakking away during cross-country flights?</p>
<h2>Connecting calls via cell towers</h2>
<p>First some basics on how cellphone systems work. When you make or receive a call, your phone looks for the closest cell tower to connect to. Each tower services an area (a “<a href="https://www.tnuda.org.il/en/physics-radiation/radio-frequency-rf-radiation/cellular-communication-network-technologies">cell</a>”) that may be as large as 50 miles in radius over flat terrain, or smaller than a mile in radius in hilly areas or dense urban zones.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246040/original/file-20181116-194503-27tht1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246040/original/file-20181116-194503-27tht1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246040/original/file-20181116-194503-27tht1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246040/original/file-20181116-194503-27tht1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246040/original/file-20181116-194503-27tht1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246040/original/file-20181116-194503-27tht1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246040/original/file-20181116-194503-27tht1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246040/original/file-20181116-194503-27tht1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Your call gets transferred from tower to tower as you move through the landscape.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/silhouette-antenna-tower-repeater-communication-telecommunication-512686384?src=llxshrdHbAwieAqtia4nDQ-1-1">Anucha Cheechang/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
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<p>As you move from one cell to another, say on your daily commute, your cellphone call gets handed off from one tower to the next. It requires a fair bit of work on the part of the overall system to make these transitions seem seamless to you. There are also built-in expectations about how often these handoffs should happen (not very), the speed of the user (highway speeds at most), and your altitude (somewhere near the ground).</p>
<p>Cellular use on a plane at cruising altitude breaks all three of these expectations. Simply put, calls in the sky may interfere with the proper functioning of this complex system – particularly if a couple hundred passengers all had their cellular radios on – such that users on the ground are affected.</p>
<p>So, for now, the Federal Communications Commission <a href="https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?rgn=div8&node=47:2.0.1.1.2.8.27.12">restricts cellular use on airplanes</a>.</p>
<h2>But what’s the risk?</h2>
<p>That all sounds like a service issue, not a safety one. What would happen if someone kept their phone’s cellular functions on while enjoying the view at 30,000 feet? Likely, nothing. And that’s a good thing, since even when their use was completely banned, people <a href="https://phys.org/news/2013-05-flyers-dont-planes-survey.html">left them on all the time</a>, whether intentionally or not.</p>
<p>But there is a non-neglible risk that using your phone could interfere with critical systems on the plane.</p>
<p>Although most modern phones no longer do this, GSM (2G) phones were notorious for interfering with other electronic systems. Former owners will recall the “<a href="https://www.geek.com/geek-pick/what-causes-gsm-buzz-1538169/">buzz</a>” you heard in your stereo or speakerphone when making a call. Now, imagine this buzz being picked up by a sensitive navigation system. You don’t need to be technically minded to understand that might not be good.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2005-6361">Researchers found</a> that electromagnetic emissions from personal electronic devices can interfere with a plane’s systems. Specifically, <a href="https://mythresults.com/episode49">those in the 800-900 MHz range can interfere with unshielded cockpit instrumentation</a>. This is a particular issue on older aircraft. Newer planes are designed to deal with the huge amount of electronics the flying public takes onto airplanes. </p>
<p>Airplanes are incredibly complex machines, filled with electronics and critical systems required to perform the modern miracle that is flight. The thing about complex systems is that it’s usually impossible to test how safe they are under every conceivable contingency. Given how many new phones <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/11/samsung-decides-56-smartphones-a-year-is-too-many-will-cut-lineup-by-30/">come on the market each year</a>, it would be challenging to test how each and every model might interfere with the systems on each aircraft in the commercial fleet worldwide. So airplane manufacturers work to “<a href="https://www.aerospacemanufacturinganddesign.com/article/amd0415-aircraft-avionics-emi-effects/">harden</a>” the critical systems on their planes to make them less susceptible to interference from electronics.</p>
<h2>Switch your phone to Airplane Mode</h2>
<p>Cellphones used to be just that, a phone. You used it to call and text people. Arguably, the “phone” is now the least used function — think about the time you spend making calls versus everything else you do with it. So frequent fliers chafed at having to put their phone away for hours.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/245872/original/file-20181115-194488-wgcden.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/245872/original/file-20181115-194488-wgcden.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/245872/original/file-20181115-194488-wgcden.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=750&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245872/original/file-20181115-194488-wgcden.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=750&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245872/original/file-20181115-194488-wgcden.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=750&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245872/original/file-20181115-194488-wgcden.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=943&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245872/original/file-20181115-194488-wgcden.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=943&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245872/original/file-20181115-194488-wgcden.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=943&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Today’s phones do way more than just make calls.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/XWTo3Jwx-eE">Stephen Leonardi/Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p>Although the FCC governs the use of cellular phones on planes, the Federal Aviation Administration governs the use of electronic devices on planes. If a device doesn’t interfere with the aircraft’s communication or navigation systems, it can be used on planes. People were using laptops, cameras, video players, tablets, electronic games and so on, so why not smartphones? After all, this single device now performs the functions of all those others. Hence, the <a href="https://www.faa.gov/news/press_releases/news_story.cfm?newsId=15254">FAA ruled</a> they may be used, but only if the cellular radio was switched off. Enter Airplane Mode.</p>
<p>By adding Airplane Mode, device manufacturers have made our lives easier. When you flip on this feature, it turns off your phone’s cellular radio so you can’t make phone calls or text. It also turns off WiFi and Bluetooth, but both of those can be <a href="https://gizmodo.com/every-major-airlines-wifi-service-explained-and-ranked-1701017977">re-enabled and used on planes</a>.</p>
<p>Airlines continue to innovate. Delta, for example, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/27/business/delta-text-messaging.html">offers free access to certain messaging apps</a> like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp, which work over WiFi. But cellular texting, which needs the cellular radio, is still prohibited.</p>
<p>Of course some people still want to be able to make phone calls while in flight. Sadly for those of us in the flying public who don’t want to sit next to someone loudly blabbing away all the way from New York to LA, this day may come. Airlines are <a href="https://www.wired.com/2012/05/how-virgin-atlantic-is-letting-you-use-cellphones-mid-flight/">experimenting with “picocells,”</a> which are like mini, low-power cell towers within the plane itself. Since this is the closest “tower” a phone on a plane would find, it would not connect to any towers on the ground, eliminating the FCC’s concerns. Your call would be routed like a <a href="https://www.fcc.gov/general/voice-over-internet-protocol-voip">VoIP call</a> using the plane’s onboard internet provider system.</p>
<p>As for how to keep the rest of us from <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0417148/">erupting like Samuel L. Jackson</a>, “Enough is enough! I’ve had it with these [daggone] cell phones on this [daggone] plane!” – perhaps airlines will create “cell-free zones” like the ones in trains and other public places.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/98136/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sven Bilén is a member of IEEE P1920.1 - Aerial Communications and Networking Standards working group.</span></em></p>Phones’ functions go far beyond making calls these days. Here’s the basics on why you can use some features and not others – and why planes may someday soon be filled with passengers yakking on phones.Sven Bilén, Professor of Engineering Design, Electrical Engineering and Aerospace Engineering, Penn StateLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.