10 Things No One Tells You About Flying

Lists, Other, Shocking, Travel

Flying high in the sky on an airplane can be one of the most terrifying experiences for many people, especially those who have a pronounced fear of flying in the first place. It has been said that the more often you fly, then the more nervous you tend to get. However, your fears are not going to be calmed by reading the facts listed here. In fact, your fears may grow by just a little bit. Here are ten things people don’t tell you about flying, but you should really know anyway.

Radar

While flying out over the ocean, there is no radar tracking the airplane, which means if you go down there is nothing anyone can do. Once an aircraft is about 150 miles out over the ocean, the radar coverages stops.

Faking Wheelchairs

Believe it or not, a lot of people will fake a wheelchair-type injury in order to get preferential treatment. This means they can get on the airplane quicker, despite not actually having a disability whatsoever.

Dog’s Fear

Dogs grow terrified before they step on an airplane. Handlers try to calm the dog down beforehand, but it generally helps if the dog has its name on the cage, too. Cats, however, do not care whatsoever.

Broken Items

Sadly, there is a long list of items that are probably going to be broken or missing on an aircraft, and yet they are still allowed to fly anyway. This is known as the Minimum Equipment List.

Baggage Locks

You should absolutely know that the lock on a piece of baggage is actually quite useless. You can pop said lock and its zipper with nothing more than a normal pen.

Aisle Armrests

Most people don’t know this, but the aisle armrests can actually be raised to allow for more room. There is a divot underneath the armrest that must be pushed. The flight attendant could ask you to put it back, though.

Different Meals

Both pilots on the plane are actually served completely different meals when everyone else eats, and they are not allowed to share. This is to prevent a case of food poisoning from occurring.

Struck By Lightning

It is not uncommon for an airplane to be struck by lightning while flying. The plane itself sometimes triggers lightning by flying directly through a charged cloud, which tends to result in static discharge.

Lavatory Latch

In a more creepy factoid, there is actually a small latch within the lavatory sign that can be opened and unlocked to open the door from the outside, even if you have locked it from within beforehand.

Old Tags

Should you fail to remove old tags from your airline baggage, there is a chance it will be rerouted and won’t make it to the final destination where you end up.