Flight Attendants Reveal Their Best Kept Flight Secrets

11. What If The Engine Fails in Flight?

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For many passengers, the thought of an engine failing during a flight is naturally terrifying. It's comforting to know, though, that in the rare case of an engine failure you most likely won't even be aware of it right away. Though they are quite rare, engine breakdowns in flight have occasionally occurred. Fortunately, contemporary passenger planes are built and equipped to safely fly even in the case of one of the engines failing. Commercial aircraft are constructed with several engines for redundancy as much as for propulsion. Regarding twin-engine aircraft, which are the most often used kind in commercial aviation nowadays, the plane may keep flying safely on just one engine. The pilots are highly qualified to manage such circumstances, and the systems of the aircraft are made to automatically adapt to engine failure. In the extremely rarer case when both engines die, the matter is more critical but still not hopeless. Under this situation, the plane basically turns into a quite big glider. For every 1,000 feet of elevation, modern aircraft can glide for a rather large distance—about 1.5 nautical miles. Pilots would thus have plenty of time to choose a suitable landing spot or airport since a plane flying at 36,000 feet might possibly glide for roughly 54 nautical miles (more than 100 kilometres. Pilots receive extensive instruction to manage engine breakdowns and other mishaps. Regular practice of these scenarios in flight simulators helps them to be ready to control such circumstances calmly and successfully. The instruction covers techniques for managing the aircraft on low power, restarting engines in flight, and, should an emergency landing be required, for doing so. Furthermore notable is the great dependability of contemporary jet engines. There are quite little odds of an engine failing, and the possibility of both engines failing together is even more improbable. To stop such events, manufacturers and airlines follow strict maintenance plans and safety procedures. Therefore, even although the idea of an engine failure could be disturbing, passengers should relax knowing that planes are built with several safety systems and redundancies and that pilots are ready to manage such rare occurrence.