Ex-Virgin Atlantic captain solutions questions from nervous flyers

Nervous flyer?

Then you’ve probably wondered whether turbulence can damage the structure of a plane, what that unnerving falling sensation is after take-off and why engines can suddenly sound like they’ve stopped working at 37,000ft.

Keen for the explanations? 

Former Virgin Atlantic captain and social media sensation ‘Pete the Irish Pilot’ revealed them all in a fascinating YouTube Q&A, along with answers to other questions such as ‘what’s the safest place to sit on a plane?’ and ‘are there any carriers you wouldn’t fly with?’

Read on for fascinating insights from a veteran aviator. 

Is it true pilots don’t train for water landings?

Pete, who has over 40 years of flying experience, says: ‘It’s not true. It’s something that you do in your initial training. We do wet drills with the cabin crew… and in my day, every three years, you had to demonstrate that you could carry out a ditching procedure with the aircraft, obviously in the simulator, following an all-engine failure, where there was no airport to land at. So it definitely is trained and checked.’

What’s the worst mechanical or electrical failure you’ve dealt with?

Pete, who before flying commercially flew fast jets in the RAF, says: ‘I took off from Heathrow going to Miami on one occasion and got struck by lightning just over Windsor.

‘We subsequently found out we had been hit 45 times. It took out all of the instrumentation – this was on an Airbus A340-600 – on the first officer’s side.

‘So, all I had were my primary displays on the left, but the aircraft’s redundancy meant that we could still dump fuel off the Welsh coast and return to Heathrow, dodging the clouds like a Cessna 150.

‘It’s really amazing what you can do on an emergency squawk with air traffic – we were like kids in a sweet shop, having a great time, albeit with only 50 per cent of the flight deck working.’

Can severe turbulence lead to structural failure of the aircraft?

Pete says: ‘No. The aircraft has been tested to many many times more than the load that severe turbulence will bring to bear on the airplane in flight. The professionalism and the airmanship of the operating crew will keep you away from any of the cumulus clouds, the big weather build-ups, the storms. So the airplane might bounce and bang around but believe me, it’s a lot stronger than you could ever imagine.’

What’s the safest place to sit on an airplane?

Pete says: ‘Every seat is safe. Sitting by an exit? Probably better than being far away from an exit. In terms of comfort for minimising the effect of turbulence or aircraft movement – sit right by the centre of gravity, which is where the wings are. So overwing exits is the answer to your question.’

Ever had a flight where you felt things might go to s***?

To the question asker, Pete says: ‘No, I’ve never had a flight where I think it’s going to go the way you’ve suggested in your question.

‘I’ve had some where I feel as if I’ve earned my daily wage and other situations where, because the training can’t cover everything, I’ve had to think long and hard and outside the box to find a solution, but I’ve never thought that it’s all going to go down the pan.

‘There’s always a solution.’

Ever landed in 10 minutes when the cockpit crew say ‘cabin crew, that’s 10 minutes to landing’?

Pete says: ‘Where I worked [Virgin Atlantic], we didn’t have a 10-minute-to-landing call. I think that’s more short-haul than long-haul.’

Any airlines you would choose not to fly with and why?

Pete says: ‘I would prefer not to travel with some of the lower cost carriers in Asia and South America and Europe.

‘I’m not a fan of Ryanair. I don’t mind easyJet at all. Good operation. Do I like BA? No I don’t. Do I like Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa, Emirates?

‘Yeah, I do.

‘Given the number of carriers in the world, that’s an incredibly difficult question to answer.’

I’m terrified of the ‘dropping’ you get during turbulence…

Pete says: ‘Don’t be anxious. The airplane is obviously flying through air, but the air that it is travelling through is also moving and it has ripples in it. Like the surface of a road, you can get a pothole, you can get a pocket of air, and that’s largely the cause of what you’ve experienced.

‘It doesn’t mean the airplane is going to fall out the sky, the wings are not going to fall off, the engines are not going to stop, the pilots are not going to lose control of the airplane.

‘I heartily recommend you chill and let the airplane do its thing. It’s been tested way beyond the limits that you would experience in a normal flight.

‘[Planes] remain the safest mode of transport in the world.’

Why would not putting my phone into airplane mode affect the aircraft negatively?

Pete says: ‘I have not seen any evidence supporting the need to turn off phones or put them into airplane mode. However, it’s something that is globally mandated by all the aviation authorities.

‘It errs on the side of safety, so one shouldn’t complain. And what the hell if you can’t get an email for a few hours.’

Mid-flight at 37,000ft, suddenly the engines sound like they have been switched off and it sounds like you’re about to conk…

Pete says: ‘I can assure you, you’re not about to conk. It could have been a rush in the air conditioning system and that surge has backed off and you’ve perceived that incorrectly as the engines reducing or stopping. I can assure you that’s not the case.

‘Engines do have to increase and decrease their thrust to maintain the speed if it’s flying in turbulence or for other factors.

‘It’s a bit like when you drive a motor car, you push the accelerator and take your foot off the accelerator… but you’re not going to conk.’

What is the falling sensation right after take-off?

Pete says: ‘Your question I think refers to the thrust reduction after take-off. There comes a point in the climb out from the runway where, about 1,500ft above the ground, the handling pilot will bring the thrust levers back to a lower setting and, in order to accelerate, they need to lower the nose of the aircraft, so it’s going from quite steep to less steep, but it’s still climbing… you may have incorrectly perceived that as a feeling of “oh we’re going down”. You’re just going up less steeply.

‘No need to be anxious.’

Are low-cost airlines to be avoided?

Pete says: ‘Absolutely not.’

For more from Pete the Irish Pilot, visit his Instagram profile at www.instagram.com/petetheirishpilot/ and his YouTube channel – www.youtube.com/@PetetheIrishPilot.