Pilots and Flight Attendants Confess Dark Secrets You Need to Know About Flying

7/24/2019 Pilots and Flight Attendants Confess Dark Secrets You Need to Know About Flying

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27 Pilots And Flight Attendants Confess Dark

Secrets You Need To Know About Flying

A recent Ask Reddit thread asked pilots & flight attendants the darkest secrets of the airline

industry. Here are the best revelations they found:

EVEN THE HEADPHONES THAT COME WRAPPED UP ARENT

NEW.

I used to work for warehouse that supplied a certain airline with items. The headsets that are

given to you are not new, despite being wrapped up. They are taken off the flight, cleaned,

and then packaged again.

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1/2 of pilots sleep while flying and 1/3 of the time they wake up to find their partner asleep.

THE TRUE STORY BEHIND THOSE OXYGEN MASKS.


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PILOTS ARE SLEEPING MOST OF THE TIME.


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That if the oxygen masks drop down, you only have about 15 minutes of oxygen from the point

of pulling them down. However, that is more than enough time for the pilot to take us to a

lower altitude where you can breathe normally. More important at altitude, you have 15-20

seconds before you pass out. Put yours on first, then do your kids. Passing out for a few

seconds wont harm the kids.

THE REAL REASON THE LIGHTS ON THE AIRPLANE DIM WHEN

LANDING.

When a plane is landing at night, they dim the interior lights in case you need to evacuate upon

landing your eyes are already adjusted to the darkness so youll be able to see better onceoutside the plane.


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My dad works for a large airline, he told me a few little things: pilots are served different

meals and cannot share, this is done in case of food poisoning. Stealing food, even if theyare

going to throw it out can get you fired instantly. You can ask your supervisor, but youcannot

take food. They dont want people messing with it.

THE TRUTH ABOUT FLYING WITH PETS.

I am an aircraft fueler. One thing I cannot stress enough is how your pets are treated. While

your airline will take the best possible actions, some things cannot be avoided, like the noise on

the ramp. I cannot stand out there without ear protection, and imagine your pet sitting out there

on the ramp waiting to be loaded onto the plane being exposed to the same amount of noise I


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REGARDING FOOD ON THE PLANE.


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am. Please people, think twice before flying your pets.

WHAT FLIGHT ATTENDANTS REALLY DO AFTER TELLING THE

PLANE TO TURN OFF THEIR ELECTRONICS.

My sister is a flight attendant, she says after she tells everyone to turn off all electronics, she

goes to the back and pulls out her phone and starts texting.

LIGHTNING AND THE POWER OF A PILOT.


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My dads been an airline pilot for almost 20 years, and apparently planes get struck by

lightning all the time. Also if a passenger is causing a scene in the jetway he can refuse to let

them on and take off without them. The captain has almost limitless authority when the doors

are closed. He is allowed to arrest people, write fines and even take the will of a dying

passenger

DONT DRINK WATER ON A PLANE THAT DIDNT COME FROM ABOTTLE.

Former Lufthansa cargo agent here. Do not EVER drink water on an aircraft that did not come

from a bottle. Dont even TOUCH IT. The reason being the ports to purge lavatory shit and

refill the aircraft with potable water are within feet from each other and sometimes serviced all


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at once by the same guy. Not always, but if youre not on the ramp watching, youll never

know.

THE DRINKING WATER USED FOR COFFEE AND TEA IS FILTHY.

The drinking water, that used for making coffee, tea, etc., should NEVER be consumed. The

holding tanks in these sometimes 60 year old planes are never cleaned. They have accumulated

so much greenish grime on the walls that in some places it can be inches thick. This one is very

known by all airline employees.

THOSE LAVATORIES UNLOCK FROM THE OUTSIDE.


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You are able to unlock airplane lavatories from the outside. There is usually a lock mechanismconcealed behind the no smoking badge on the door. Just lift the flap up and slide the bolt to

unlock.

THE WATER IN THE LAVATORIES IS VERY DIRTY TOO.

Whatever you do, do not drink the water in the lav. It is bad enough to wash your hands in it.

We sanitize the water tank at selected maintenance intervals, however parasites build

tolerances to these cleaners. Check the outside of the aircraft when walking in. If the paint iscrappy shape, the plane is in crappy shape. Skydrol (hydraulic fluid) is a nasty fluid and will

dissolve everything. So if the paint is missing, its probably from a skydrol leak. No one wants

a hydraulic leak at 35,000 ft in the air. As you cant just pull over and top the reservoir off.

ON THE IMPORTANCE OF LOCKING YOUR BAGS.


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Lock your bags, carry-on bags included.

Look online or in a travel store for TSA-approved locks. The TSA has keys to open those locks

in case they need to further inspect them (and hopefully not steal from them). And most people

dont think to lock their carry-on, but especially now with load factors very high, more and

more people are having to gate check bags. Once you drop your bag at the end of the jetway

for gate-checking, anyone from a fellow passenger, to a gate agent, to a ramp agent has access

to your bag.

HOW YOUR CHECKED BAGS ARE REALLY TREATED.

If it says fragile, its getting thrown harder. If its says this side up, its going to be upside

down. We have to fit freight and 100+ bags in a cargo pit. It has to fit how its going to fitI

will tell you that when we see I heart baggage handlers bag tagsWe take special care of

your shit.

HOW A PILOT APPROACHES LANDING.


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When you experience a hard landing in bad weather it wasnt because of a lack of pilot skills

but it is in fact intentional. If the runway is covered in water the airplane has to touch down

hard in order to puncture the water layer and prevent aqua planing. Landings are nothing more

than controlled crashes. Pilot friend quote.

TIPPING COULD GO A LONG WAY.

My girlfriend is a flight attendant. NO ONE tips flight attendants. If you give your FA a fiver

with your first drink youll probably drink for free the rest of the flight.

WHY ITS ALWAYS EASIER TO JUST TAKE THE BATTERIES

OUT.

Women: if you pack a toy in your bag, take the batteries out. Because if Im loading your bag,

and I hear it vibrating I have to tell my lead. Then my lead has to come pull you off the aircraft

and you have to open your bag and turn off your toy in front of a bunch of giggling grown ass

men.


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JUST BECAUSE YOURE FLYING WITH A BIG AIRLINE, DOESNT

MEAN THE PILOTS ARE EXPERIENCED.

Regional airline pilot here. You may have bought a ticket on Delta, United, or American, but

chances are youll be flying on a subcontractor. That means the pilots have a fraction of the

experience, training, and pay of the big mainline carrier. Also, I dont get paid enough to care if

you make your connection. Most of the time we fly slower than normal to make more money.The only time we fly fast is if ATC tells us to or if its the go home leg.

THE TRUTH BEHIND TURNING OFF ELECTRONICS.


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Pilot here. Having to turn off electronics on a plane is totally useless.

Mobile electronic devices wont really bring an airplane down but they can be really annoying

to pilots. Just imagine sitting in the flightdeck descending to your destination and hearing the

interference of a 100+ cellphones picking up a signal. I have missed a clearance or 2 that way.

A FLIGHT ATTENDANT REVEALS JUST HOW DIRTYEVERYTHING TRULY IS.

I worked for Southwest as a flight attendant. Those blankets and pillows? Yeah, those just get

refolded and stuffed back in the bins between flights. Only fresh ones I ever saw were on an

originating first flight in the morning in a provisioning city. Also, if you have ever spread your


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peanuts on your tray and eaten, or really just touched your tray at all, you have more than

likely ingested baby poo. I saw more dirty diapers laid out on those trays than food. And those

trays, yeah, never saw them cleaned or sanitized once.

A LOOPHOLE SO YOU NEVER HAVE TO PAY BAGGAGE FEES.

You can almost always gate check baggage (unless its abnormally large) take two large

carry-ons and ask then to gate check one. Its free and I never pay fees.

AIRPORTS HAVENT COVERED ALL OF THEIR SECURITY

BASES YET.

There are actually legitimate security loopholes that, if widely known, would let average

citizens get right next to airliners, runways, and taxiways. Like any system, if you know how it

works, you know where the cracks are.


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MOST FLIGHTS ARE ALSO CARRYING HUMAN ORGANS.


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The majority of domestic flights have human remains or organs on them. I work below wing as

a baggage handler. Watch out the window for long boxes that say, Head at one end Oh,

and I can fit 150 bags in bin 3 of a Boeing 737-300.

PLANES WITHOUT ENGINES CAN STILL GLIDE FOR A REALLY

LONG TIME.


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A pilot told me if both engines fail, a plane can glide 6 nautical miles for every 5000 feet. So at

35,000 feet, a plane can glide about 42 miles without power. Its why most accidents happen

landing or taking off.

PLANES HAVE A HARD TIME FLYING ON HOT DAYS.

I worked the ramp in Phoenix. On especially hot days, we had to offload cargo because planes

struggled to take off in the thin air.

THE REAL REASON THERE ARE STILL ASHTRAYS IN THE

LAVATORIES


Heres one: ashtrays in the lavatories are mandatory equipment even though the FAA banned

smoking on flights years ago. The reasoning is that if people do decide to smoke, they want

them to have a place other than the trash can to throw the butt.

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Pilots and Flight Attendants Confess Dark Secrets You Need to Know About Flying