Flight Secrets That Are Never Told To Passengers

ladies and gentlemen welcome aboard this beamazed flight as we take to the skies today I'll be letting you in on a few little known mindblowing facts about all things aeronautical from the truth behind bad airline food to how picking the safest seat might save your life here are some of the craziest flight secrets that are never told to [Music] passengers prepare for boarding boarding is one of the most stressful parts of airplane travel we've all been there you've been through airport security you finally get to the gate only to see a huge line of passengers

waiting to board your flight what most people don't realize is that there's not really much point to rushing to join the queue as the majority of Airlines pre-assign specific seats to passengers and while some Airlines like to call passengers in groups for boarding you don't necessarily have to adhere to this rule boarding last is the easiest way to minimize the amount of time you spend hold up on board so assuming your hand luggage isn't overly large and hard to fit in overhead storage there's not really any point in standing waiting in a line waiting for

a seat it's already got your name on it by boarding towards the end there are also fewer people clogging up the gate area and Jet Bridge speeding the process up overall while you wait why not take a glance at your boarding pass the six-digit alpha numerical code that appears on most boarding passes is called a passenger name record which is used to identify individual passengers just in case there's more than one passenger with the same name this code which is recorded in the database of computer reservation systems that contain flight itineraries for each passenger can

reveal a lot about you including your date of birth and contact details this is one of the main reasons you should never throw your boarding pass away in a public trash can among other things the database this code corresponds to holds credit card information passport details as well as IP addresses if booked online but if a code connected to all your personal information seems scary hopefully you'll never find this next code on your boarding pass passengers who find the 4 s's code on their ticket may find themselves going through through additional Security checks why well

short for secondary security screening selection this code is added to boarding passes of passengers who Airlines deem suspicious as we all know airports take security very seriously and some things that might look totally innocent to us are seen as suspicious for airline officials last minute Flyers one-way fairs or buying tickets using cash can all look a little sus to the guys at the airport security desk so try not to panic if you see that code on your boarding pass that is if you don't have anything to hide striking Solutions airplanes are pretty hefty pieces of

Machinery it's crazy to think that an average sized commercial aircraft has a maximum takeoff weight of about 175,000 lb which includes 990,000 lb of fuel as well as 45 5,000 lb worth of passengers crew and cargo despite their size airplanes still run into some problems in the air often due to the other stuff that tends to dwell up there in the sky it goes without saying that collisions between planes and birds Don't often end well for the bird that is but they can still do some damage to an airplane when hitting it at speed as

you can see here with this Turkish Airlines plane that collided with a bird in 20 2015 luckily the passengers were all fine but the bird not so much they're over 13,000 airplane bird strikes annually in the US sometimes severe enough to take out plane engines and as you can imagine walls and fences aren't very effective in keeping birds away from aircraft runways so airports have to get creative to prevent bird related accidents one such method used at Virginia's Reagan National Airport is firing blanks out of cannons to scare feathery friends away from the airport while

other airports make their environment less bird friendly by filling in ponds and replacing grass with gravel Salt Lake City's airport meanwhile reduces its winged trespasser problem by using pigs to root around and eat G eggs other airports like France's Lord T's Pines airport light up LED screens with big pairs of googly eyes to scare off Birds of Prey acting as a kind of Aviation scarecrow but it's not just birds that airports have to worry about extreme weather isn't really something that can be scared off with a dirty look from a pair of LED eyes hail

storms are one of the most dangerous weather conditions for an airplane and they can cause some pretty crazy damage this Jet's nose cone took a real battering from hailstones were as big as golf balls after flying through a hail storm the windows were so shattered that the pilots had to land the plane almost completely blind miraculously no one was hurt aside from the airlines wallet who had to pay for repairs hail storms are one thing but some nervous Flyers also worry about the possibility of lightning striking an airplane while that might seem highly unlikely it's

actually estimated that each airplane in the US 's commercial Fleet is struck lightly by lightning at least once per year while that may seem terrifying it's actually not as dangerous as you'd think before an aircraft goes into service it undergo lightning strike simulations that test its conductivity this ensures lightning can travel uninterrupted across the plain's exterior shell and back off into the sky through an extremity like the nose or a wing tip leaving those inside totally unharmed saved for a ruined pair of Underpants or two dump drop have you ever used an airplane bathroom and

wondered where exactly you're flushing your waist away to well contrary to popular myth plain toilets aren't allowed to be emptied into the sky but of course accidents do happen when you flush an airplane toilet a strong suction pulls the waste away using only a very small amount of water as a means to save weight and space on the aircraft and the contents travel to a large disinfectant filled holding tank at the end of a flight the mixture is sucked into a tanker at the airport and then dumped however the Frozen chunk of pulverized Smurf you

see here is made up of that delightful cocktail of human waste and blue liquid disinfectant and was found at ground level having fallen from a plane in 2017 there were at least 27 documented incidents of blue ice meteors of this kind in the United States Between 1979 and 2003 including incidents of blue ice falling through rooftops under airport landing paths while there is no mechanism that would allow Pilots or flight attendants to perform any kind of blue poopy pranks intentionally leaks sometimes do occur from the plane's septic tank so if you ever find a big

chunk of blue ice in your backyard trust me it's not a blueberry popsicle don't give it a lick but while we're on the topic of Mile High restrooms I'll bet you didn't know that there's actually a secret way to unlock an airplane toilet from the outside the next time a kid gets locked in an airplane bathroom or you just fancy being thrown off a plane for being particularly creepy with a stranger you can easily unlock it from the outside using just one finger most cabin bathrooms exterior locks are tucked behind a metal lavatory sign just

like this one for flight attendant to use in the event of an emergency to open it just lift the lavatory sign Slide the knob into the unlocked position and then make a run for it before the flight attendants catch you like the Rascal you are food for thought everyone knows that the food on airplanes is notoriously awful but have you ever stopped to wonder why what's the deal with airplane food inflight meals are typically made on the ground by industrial catering facilities close to the airport and are usually prepared between 12 and 72 hours before

an intended flight contrary to popular belief most airplane meals are not frozen instead being blast chilled and transported to the aircraft for flight attendance to heat and serve on board some luxury Airlines even have their own in-flight chefs and kitchens like those found aboard some edod Airways flights all this and yet food in the air will never quite match up to the five-star restaurants on the ground so what really makes airplane food tastes so bad turns out it actually comes down to basic human biology airplane cabins have humidity levels as low as 10% while in

the air which is shockingly even drier than the Sahara Desert when humidity levels are at Rock Bottom like this our sinuses get so dehydrated that it affects our ability to taste and smell after a bit of time in an airplane cabin your tongue's ability to taste sweet flavors drops between 15 and 20% while salty flavors are doled by as much as 20 to 30% in an attempt to counteract this some Airlines drastically increase the amount of salt and sugar in their food so you're probably consuming a a lot more calories from that inflight meal than

you think if tasteless inflight meals are getting you down there is actually something you can do about it turns out that Dawning a pair of noise cancelling headphones is just the ticket to making food and drink taste better in the air strangely Studies have found that loud background noise can actually dampen our ability to taste food so using noise cancelling headphones to drown out the low pitched drone of the airplane's can help our senses come back down to Earth but it's not only passengers that have issues to chew over when it comes to the food

served in the sky there are some very specific rules as to what pilots can and can't eat while on the job and for good reason pilots and co-pilots are warned against eating the same meals while working as a preventative measure against Mutual food poisoning if something is badly wrong with one Pilot's meal making them sick the pilot can take over however there's a pecking order to Pilot food in some Airlines the pilot will receive a meal from the first class menu whereas the co-pilot will receive something from business class I bet that makes for quite

the awkward dinner date Snakes on a Plane what with being responsible for hundreds of passengers safety it's no wonder that airline pilot has often been named one of the most stressful jobs in the world while the stress of the job is one thing just imagine having to spend hours stuck in a tiny cockpit with a co-pilot you really really dislike Well turns out with such high stakes avoiding Pilots working with someone they don't like is considered in the industry to be a matter of life and death to help reduce any Airborne tensions each Captain first

and second officer get a do not pair list on which they can list the names of co-workers with whom they'd rather not share a flight requests are submitted through a monthly schedule and the approved list of flying nemeses is fed into the airline scheduling system which stops two adversary pilots from ending up in the same cockpit while it may seem a little extreme getting distracted by a workplace rivalry could result in a pretty serious accident especially during takeoff and Landing where the most attention is required if only such Pleasant co-workers were guaranteed in every job

the safest seat contrary to what movies and TV shows might have you believe air travel is actually one of the safest modes of transportation and your odds of dying in a commercial airline plane crash are staggering 1 in 3.37 billion despite the facts nearly one in three Americans have a fear of flying and that fear has led many to wonder where the safest spot is in the event of an incident in the air turns out an analysis of data from 17 plane crashes over the last 35 years conducted by Time Magazine figured out an answer

time found that historically those seats in the back third of a plane had a 68% average chance of survival compared with 62% in the front section and 61% in the middle third you might think that one of the safest places to be on a plane plane would be an aisle seat as it gives you faster access to the various emergency exits on board however according to the data aisle seats in the middle third of an aircraft are the worst places you can be in the event of a crash with a survival rate of 56% meanwhile

middle seats specifically in the rear of the plane are the absolute safest place to be and give you a 72% chance of surviving a crash landing I like those odds let's just hope none of us ever has to put them to the test skybound Secrets if you've ever had a window seat on a flight you might have noticed a tiny hole right at the bottom of the window while it may look small this is actually one of the airplane's mightiest safety features but why is it so important as air pressure drops as you fly higher

airplanes are designed to maintain air pressure at a safe and and breathable level within the cabin this significant difference in air pressure puts a lot of physical stress on the windows so they have to be built particularly strong while a normal single pane window would break easily at this altitude airplane windows are made up of three strong panels of acrylic the exterior window is for keeping the elements out and maintaining cabin pressure if something were to happen to this first Pan the second panel acts as a fail safe the one inside the cabin meanwhile provides

a final line of defense while keeping our hands off the others to avoid damaging them the tiny hole I mentioned known as the bleed hole is located in the middle Pane and its primary purpose is to balance the air pressure between the middle and outer panes it also keeps the windows from fogging up or frosting over because after all most of our inflight fun comes from window gazing speaking of airplane Interiors have you ever wondered about those small red or black triangles that can be found along cabin Interiors these are actually here to let cabin

crew know which window will give the best vantage point to view the wings of the aircraft allowing them to check if there's a problem with the wing or engine so if you're sitting by the triangle try not to get too paranoid if a flight attendant suddenly starts peering over your shoulder aside from clever signs and icons sounds are also used midair to keep things running like clockwork most regular Flyers out there will recognize this sound While most of us know that this is usually assigned to get back to your seat and fasten your seat belt

it can actually mean so much more while each Airline uses Chimes slightly differently there are some regularly used patterns that you can listen out for on your next flight a singular chime can be the pilot warning flight attendance of upcoming turbulence but it might also mean he wants a cup of coffee to consecutive Chimes usually means that the airplane is approaching 10,000 ft whereas three or more Chimes indicates a more serious problem such as an extremely ill passenger or a warning for extreme turbulence so listen out and if the beeps are blasting away like Darude

Sandstorm it might be time to Panic or dance class Wars crying babies cramped seats and no leg room flying economy really can be a Stairway To Hell meanwhile advertised with private seats free flowing champagne chocolate covered strawberries Etc it's no wonder that a first class flying experience makes its way onto many people's bucket list the luxurious service offered in first class might seem perfect for getting that much needed rest while on a long hul flight but is the Skyhigh price really worth it well compared to business class usually the second best type of ticket it

doesn't appear so there are quite a few features that you'd think were specifically reserved for first class Flyers only that are actually readily available in many business class sections both the first class and business class cabins of many airlines receive high qu quality multi-course meals sometimes even served with Fine China and glasswar as well as plush pillows and blankets many business class cabins even offer complimentary pajamas too these days many airlines are investing into maximizing their business class services with a view to ditch first class altogether and some are even looking towards business class private

pods really the only noticeable differences between the two is that first class offers a slightly larger seat that sometimes comes with your own private Suite as well as a few extra items on the menu such as champagne and whiskey however the enormous difference in price does not reflect the minimal difference in service on average a business class ticket will cost around twice as much as a standard economy seat whereas for first class you'll be flying to the tune of six times the amount paid for an economy Fair I think I'd rather save the money and

spring for a hotel room upgrade at my destination what do you think hit the like button for first class and the Subscribe button for a fancy hotel or why not treat yourself to both you're on vacation after all Sky sleepers Long Haul flights can be bad enough for passengers but have you ever wondered how flight attendants always seem so alert and chipper well next time you board a long Hall flight keep an eye out for a mystery door that looks something like this while it might look like a plain old storage cupboard these doors actually

lead to a completely secret room up an extremely narrow flight of stairs flight attendant will reach what's known as a rest compartment which is specially reserved for the cabin crew to get some well-earned sh ey these rest compartments can usually be found in overhead areas of a long hul air craft one at the back for the flight attendants and one at the front for Pilots each bed comes with a pillow and duvet as well as a safety belt that must be fastened if a crew member decides to catch some z's known by aircraft employees as

controlled rests flight attendants will have a designated amount of time to rest depending per flight and are woken up by their fellow cabin crew through an interphone when their break is over some fancier carriers incl including Singapore Airlines make sure to give their crew members a taste of the high life and provide Lux private cabins for them to get some shedi silk pillowcases included Pilots meanwhile often get their own private Quarters at the front of the plane which usually features two spacious sleeping compartments as well as two business class seats a closet and lavatory so

the next time you wonder where that lovely flight attendant who is serving your drink has gone to they could be right above your head floating in Dreamland Jokes Aside the crew of the plane Pilots above all being well rested is of the utmost importance as demonstrated by some shocking statistics astonishingly when surveyed by the British airline pilots Association 84% of Pilots said that their ability to fly a plane had been compromised due to tiredness and 56% actually admitted that they'd fallen asleep while in charge of a plane in May 2021 there was even One Pilot

who fell asleep for 40 minutes midair on a commercial flight from K to redcliffe in Australia and accidentally overflew his destination by 70 miles before waking up thankfully the majority of commercial airplanes have autopilot to maintain things like altitude so Pilots aren't actually required to be in full control of the aircraft for the entire flight but it's still incredibly dangerous for for them to fall asleep in case of emergency and will most definitely be on my reasons to clench my teeth list for my next flight death def flying while it's not something we like to

think about people die just about everywhere and sometimes that can include 30,000 ft in the air although extremely rare cabin crew must be prepared for the unfortunate event of an inflight death if a passenger does pass pass away during a flight the crew will usually have to wait until the plane reaches its final destination to remove the body from the plane sometimes Airlines will offer the deceased passenger a final upgrade and bump them up to the quieter first class cabin if there's really no room to move the deceased passenger then the cabin crew will cover

their body with a blanket after ensuring they're buckled in for the safety of other passengers Singapore Airlines did one better than the old hide them under a blanket and try not to freak out method and launched a fleet of airbuses with compartments specifically installed to store an average sized body in the event of an inflight death known as Corpse cupboards which totally sounds like a death metal band by the way these lockers were specifically installed on the Airbus a 34500 model which made sense seeing as these planes fly the longest regular non-stop passenger flight in

the world to get from sing Singapore to the John F Kennedy International Airport in New York City it takes around 18 hours and 40 minutes I'd certainly rather have a creepy body cupboard on board than to be the flight attendant asking first class passengers if they don't mind being sat next to a corpse for 18 hours which of these flight Secrets surprised you the most and do you have any of your own to share let me know in the comments below and thank you for flying with BM amazed [Music]