What do they mean by “disarm all doors?” Can a jet door be opened mid flight? Do you get drunk quicker on a plane? Why do they ask you to open your windows at take-off and landing? At last, the answers!
Airline Lingo
“Flight attendants, doors to arrival and crosscheck.” Sometimes, you will also hear “Disarm doors and crosscheck.” Usually, the lead flight attendant or purser announces this as a plane approaches the gate.
What it means: This refers to the disarming of the emergency escape slides attached to the doors. When planes depart, those slides are armed so that they can be opened during an emergency evacuation. (You might hear this as “doors to automatic.”) When a plane docks, doors are disarmed to keep them from billowing into the boarding tunnel or onto the apron during servicing. “Crosscheck” is an instruction, asking flight attendants to crosscheck one another’s stations to make sure the doors are armed or disarmed as necessary.
Alcohol Secret
Do you get drunk quicker on a plane? There is a theory that a lack of oxygen on-board means
alcohol will go to your head much faster in the air than it would on the ground.
Relax! Research has found that there are no notable differences between drinking on the runway and 12,000 feet up. But if you drink six straight shots of vodka anywhere….
Window Secret
Why do they ask you to make sure your window blinds are open during take off and landing?
This little mystery has a simple explanation: In the very, very unlikely event of an emergency, fire engines and other rescue services can see inside the plane. The cabin lights are dimmed so evacuating passengers’ eyes can adjust to the outside light.
Door Secret
Can commercial jet doors be opened midflight? We hear incidents of passengers trying to open aircraft doors mid flight. Of course, they have never been successful.
The reason is solid: The doors used in commercial airliners are called ‘plug’ doors. Because the pressure seals the door, you would need the strength of 100 bodybuilders to open them. If you happen to get on a plane with 100 bodybuilders however, start worrying.
Cockpit Secret
Pilots on the flight have to eat an hour after their co-pilot is done eating. Sounds absurd?
There’s a perfectly valid reason to it! Pilots are not allowed to eat at the same time as each other to keep at bay the risk of them falling sick together due to food contamination or poisoning.
For more such secrets from the cockpit, check out our post on some more Secrets You Always Wanted To Know About Flying!
Featured video courtesy : mylosairplanefan
