This past year and the year before, there has been an influx in the number of plane crashes. Fatal or not, these events cause fear in many people. For instance, after each of these crashes, specifically the one that happened in Washington D.C plane ticket sales saw a decline. More and more people are afraid to board planes, and this is not due to no reason, but this should not shy you away from air travel.
First, let’s begin with how planes work. Planes work on the basis of Bernoulli’s equation.
Bernoulli’s equation/principle is all about pressure. Similar to how tornadoes rip off roofs by pressure building underneath the roof, causing an extreme upward force strong enough to rip the roof off. For a plane, the pressure builds a safe cushion underneath that prevents the plane from falling. The design of planes is specifically to build a strong layer of pressure underneath and allow the pressure from the top of the plane to decrease at high speeds and flow over the plane. This is like the aerodynamics of cars and how sports cars are short and at a steep angle from the front. This is to direct airflow around the vehicle and not in front, slowing down the vehicle. What happens in the air with aerodynamics is often related to a plane in jello. If you have seen the example of an object in jello, no matter how much you shake the jello, the object stays in the same position. This is due to pressures on all sides of the plane, mainly the strong pressure underneath, locking the plane in place. The pressure forces the plane to not be able to fall, rise, or turn left or right with ease.
Turbulence
Turbulence is caused by drag. Drag is the mixing of the pressures from above and below the plane and causes those streaks seen in the sky. When a plane flies into another plane’s drag, it causes turbulence. This is not a sign of the plane falling or going to fall; it is simply the plane splitting due to the drag pressure. It is completely safe, and there has never been a crash due to turbulence, and will never be one since turbulence is just a jiggle to the jello metaphor. The plane still remains in the same position in the air. The drag pressure is not nearly enough to cause the pressure system to be disturbed, simply causing the plane to shake a bit.
Crashes
Most crashes nowadays are due to communication errors and pilot negligence. These issues can be easily solved with proper routine checks of the plane’s systems and engines. Take off and landing are the most dangerous parts, with being in the air as safer than being in a car by miles. Take-off and landing if something goes wrong is due to miscommunication and can be solved by more protocols and checks in the airspace and on the ground. Planes crash because of carelessness and not because they fly thousands of feet in the air.
