Why you should always wear your seat belt on a plane

Regarding the recent Singapore Airlines incident, it's worth examining why it's important to keep your seat belt fastened while flying and disperse any myths.

Undoubtedly, seat belts save lives in both cars and planes.

Statistics confirm that seat belts are crucial for commuter safety. Given the amount of driving we do, people automatically buckle up before driving off. So why isn't the same principle applied to air travel?

A 2017 survey of 1,548 airplane passengers found that 9% "rarely" or "never" stay buckled when the seat belt sign is off. Despite the years since this survey, the sound of seat belts clicking open as soon as it's safe to move indicates that passenger behavior hasn't significantly changed.

Staying seated and buckled in on an airplane is the safest practice.

Airplanes are equipped with “lift lever” belts, which, as implied, unfasten when you lift the lever, unlike the button-push mechanism in cars. Lift lever belts predate airplanes but became standard by the 1940s due to their cost-effectiveness and light weight.

While pilots and crew may wear shoulder straps, passengers typically have only a lap belt. In cars, the primary risk is horizontal movement, but in planes, it's vertical. Lap belts are designed to secure passengers in their seats during turbulence. The simple design of the lift lever lap belt allows passengers to fasten and unfasten it quickly as needed.

A major reason people avoid wearing seat belts on planes is the belief that they're ineffective in a crash. While this might hold for catastrophic incidents, minor accidents, such as collisions on the runway, can still cause injuries. Another reason disclosed was just being uncomfortable to wear for long hours

The National Center for Atmospheric Research reports that pilots encounter moderate turbulence 65,000 times and severe turbulence 5,500 times annually. Given that plane crashes occur slightly more than 1,200 times a year and fires are even less common, turbulence is arguably the most significant risk of physical injury on a plane.

Turbulence happens when a plane goes through a sudden change in airflow, which can be caused by mountains, jet streams, or storms. Pilots utilize weather radars and meteorological maps to identify thunderstorms and hazardous winds along their route, activating the seat belt sign accordingly. However, turbulence can sometimes strike unexpectedly, known as clear-air turbulence, occurring even under clear skies.

During turbulence, it's typical for an aircraft to drop unexpectedly, which can cause unbuckled passengers to rise from their seats. In extreme cases, turbulence can forcefully propel individuals into the plane's ceiling, leading to concussions, fractures, or more severe injuries.

So, next time you are on a plane, please stay safe and were your seat belt at all times.

Bomb threat on Ryanair Flight 4978

RYAN AIR BOEING 737-8AS EI-EBG (MSN 37525)

On the 23rd of May 2021 a Ryanair Flight was travelling from Athens (ATH/LGAV) to Vilnius (VNO/EYVI) and was operated by the Polish subsidiary Buzz, a Boeing 737-800 carrying 6 crew members and 126 passengers. The flight was diverted to Minsk National Airport (MSQ/UMMS) after ground authorities reported a bomb on board, whilst the aircraft was 45 nautical miles (83 km; 52 miles) south of Vilnius and 90 nautical miles (170 km; 100 miles) west of Minsk, but still in Belarusian airspace.

The Department of Aviation of Belarus claimed that an email was received in the generic mailbox info@airport... by containing the following text at 09:25 UTC (12:25 local)

"We, Hamas soldiers, demand that Israel cease fire in the Gaza Strip. We demand that the European Union abandon its support for Israel in this war. We know that the participants of Delphi Economic Forum are returning home on May 23 via flight FR4978. A bomb was planted onto this aircraft. If you don’t meet our demands the bomb will explode on May 23 over Vilnius. Allahu Akbar."

This message was sent to a total of six recipients in separate emails to the airports of Vilnius, Athens, Sofia, Bucharest, Kyiv and Minsk, with the first five sent while FR4978 was flying over Ukrainian airspace, immediately prior to entering Belarusian airspace.

According to the airline, its pilots were notified by Belarusian authorities of "a potential security threat on board" and were instructed to land the aircraft in Minsk. The aircraft had entered Belarusian airspace at 12:30, and the "bomb threat" was passed on by Belarusian air traffic control (ATC) immediately afterwards. At 12:33, air traffic control mentioned an e-mail from terrorists sent to the Minsk airport.

According to Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary, the pilots were told by Belarusian ATC that there was a bomb on board which would be detonated if the aircraft entered Lithuanian airspace, hence the need to divert to Minsk. O'Leary said that the pilots tried to seek advice from Ryanair but were lied to by Belarusian ATC, who told them company representatives were not answering the phone.

According to his press service, Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko personally ordered that the flight be re-directed to Minsk with a Belarusian Air Force MiG-29 fighter escort. However, the ICAO fact-finding task force later determined the MiG-29 was tasked with communications back-up and to protect Minsk and did not approach nor escort FR4978. The Belarusian government news agency BelTA said that the pilots had asked to land in Minsk. Both Ryanair and Belarusian law enforcement said that no bombs were found on board.

The flight course of FR4978 over Belarus became unusual even before making the U-turn. Based on Flightradar24 raw data, it was noted that the aircraft did not start to descend over Belarus, even though this is usually done in preparation for landing in Vilnius.

The aircraft involved was a four-year-old Boeing 737-8AS, registered in Poland, registration SP-RSM. Serial number 44791. 

The aircraft entered service with Ryanair in on the 26th of May 2017, it was registered as EI-FZX in Ireland.

Then on the 9th of November 2019 the aircraft was transferred to Ryanair Sun as SP-RSM on the Polish aircraft registry.

On the 27th of October 2019 the aircraft was transferred to Buzz as SP-RSM.

Severe turbulence on Singapore Airlines flight, One dead and at least 71 injured

                           BREAKING NEWS

SINGAPORE AIRLINES BOEING 777-312 9V-SWJ (MSN 34575)

One passenger has died, and at least 71 others have sustained injuries aboard a Singapore Airlines flight that experienced severe turbulence en route from London (LHR/EGLL) to Singapore (SIN/WSSS).

The aircraft departed from Heathrow Airport last night at 22:38, around half an hour behind its scheduled departure time of 22:05. The aircraft initially climbed to 31,000 feet before proceeding to 37,000 feet just after passing India. It was not long after that when the disaster started.

The Boeing 777-300ER aircraft was diverted to Bangkok (BKK/VTBS), as stated in a Singapore Airlines Facebook post. The post mentioned that there were 211 passengers and 18 crew members on board. Initially, the company reported that 30 passengers were injured during the mid-flight disturbance and were receiving hospital treatment, while others were given outpatient care at the airport.

Sadly a 73-year-old British man was the deceased individual, as confirmed by Kittipong Kittikachorn, the General Manager of Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International Airport.

The flight made its landing in the Thai capital at 3:45 p.m. local time (4:45 a.m. ET) on Tuesday.

Kittikachorn informed the media that he had been notified of the emergency landing 10 minutes prior to its arrival. He noted that several passengers suffered broken arms, although most injuries were minor, such as cuts and bruises.

He further stated that some of the injured were transported to Samitivej Srinakarin Hospital nearby, and nearly 200 passengers were awaiting their onward flights.

The hospital later updated that at least 71 individuals were injured, including nationals from Malaysia, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Spain, the United States, and Ireland, with six suffering severe injuries. There were 61 Australian's onboard, 8 of those were taken to hospital in a serious condition.

Media reports states Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 experienced turbulence over Myanmar at around 7:49 a.m. UTC (3:49 a.m. ET). This information corresponds with the airline's report that the aircraft encountered severe turbulence over the Irrawaddy Basin in Myanmar at an altitude of 37,000 feet, roughly 10 hours after takeoff.

It has been reported that they were cruising at 37,000 feet, suddenly dropping around 5,000 feet then rapidly climbing a few hundred feet before dropping and climbing again before finally settling back at its cruising altitude. The entire disruption took about 90 seconds, according to the passengers, but resulted in dozens of injuries, including a fatality.

Aircraft Information:

Airline: Singapore Airlines

Code: SQ/SIA

Aircraft: Boeing 777-312ER

Registration: 9V-SWM (Star Alliance Livery)

Serial Number: 34578

Engines: 2 x GE GE90-115B

First Flew: 19th February 2008

Age: 16 Years 

Remembering PIA Flight 8303

On the 22nd of May 2020 a Pakistan International Airlines Airbus A320 travelling from Lahore-Allama Iqbal International Airport (LHE/OPLA) to Karachi-Jinnah International Airport (KHI/OPKC) crashed on approach to Karachi-Jinnah International Airport Pakistan. There were 91 passengers on board and 8 crew members. Two passengers survived the accident.
The flight departed Lahore at 13:05 hours local time (08:05 UTC) and was expected to arrive at Karachi about 14:45 (09:45 UTC). Departure from Lahore and cruising flight were uneventful.

 
Karachi Approach inquired "confirm track mile comfortable for descend" and later advised to take an orbit, so that the aircraft could capture the required descent profile. No orbit was executed and the effort to intercept the glide slope and ILS localizer was continued.
At 7,220 ft and around 10.5 NM from runway 25L the undercarriage was extended.
Karachi Approach advised repeatedly about the excessive height, but the flight continued the approach.

At an altitude of 1740 feet and at a distance slightly less than 5 nautical miles from runway 25L the undercarriage was raised. At this time, the aircraft had intercepted the localizer as well as the
glide slope. Flaps 1 were selected at 243 knots IAS. Over-speed and EGPWS warnings were then triggered.

Since the approach to land was continued, Karachi Approach instead of changing over the aircraft to the Tower controller, contacted Karachi Tower by phone to request landing clearance.
The Tower controller confirmed clearance to land without observing the abnormality that the landing gears were not extended. Karachi Approach then cleared the aircraft to land.
At 500 ft, the airspeed was 220 knots IAS at a slat/flap configuration 3, and a descent rate of 2000 ft/min. Several warnings and alerts sounded in the cockpit, such as overspeed, landing gear not down and ground proximity alerts. The landing was carried out with landing gears retracted. The aircraft touched the runway surface on its engines. The flight crew applied reverse engine power and initiated a braking action. Both engines scraped the runway at various locations causing damage to both of them.
The Tower controller observed the gear-up landing and contacted the Karachi Approach controller by phone. Subsequently Karachi Approach did not relay this to the flight crew.
The landing was discontinued, and a go-around was executed.

Four minutes later the flight reported they had "lost engines" and subsequently declared a Mayday. The controller cleared the flight to land with both runways (25L and 25R) available.
Both engines failed one by one and subsequently the Ram Air Turbine (RAT) deployed to power the essential aircraft systems.
The aircraft was not able to reach the runway and crashed about 1340 meters short of runway 25L in a residential area named Model Colony. It was a slow speed impact with a high angle of attack
The aircraft broke up and a large post-impact fire erupted. A total of 12 houses and multiple cars suffered major damages due to the crash. One person on the ground later died of her injuries.

Aircraft Information:

Airline: Pakistan International Airlines

Code: PK/PIA

Aircraft: Airbus A320-214

Registration: AP-BLD

Serial Number: 2274

Engines: 2 x CFMI CFM56-5B4/P

First Flew: 17 August 2004

Age: 15.9 Years Old

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi killed in Helicopter crash

Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi has been killed along with the Imam of Juma Tabriz, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the Governor of East Azarbaijan in a helicopter crash, Iranian state media has confirmed. Mr. Raisi was on board an aircraft when it crashed into a mountain range on Sunday after it got into difficulty while travelling in very heavy fog. It is believed to be to one of a three aircraft convoy.

Rescuers fought through blizzards and difficult terrain through the night to reach the wreckage in the early hours of Monday after a search effort backed by Russia was hampered because of bad weather

Rescuers said there was "no sign of life" when they managed to reach the wreckage with the search effort hampered by bad weather conditions at the time. The aircraft was taking Raisi from the Azerbaijan border to Tabriz, the capital of the East Azerbaijan Province, when it got into difficulties and plummeted into a mountainous area on Sunday.

Under the Iranian constitution, Iran´s vice first president takes over if the president dies with Ayatollah Khamenei´s ascent, and a new presidential election would be called within 50 days. Iranian state media has already reported Mohammad Mokhber, 68 has assumed the role of interim president and has already had begun receiving calls from officials and foreign governments.

Mokhber will lead a temporary government alongside the speaker of Iran's parliament, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, and the head of the judiciary, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i. Qalibaf, who campaigned for the Iranian presidency as early as 2005, is expected to be one of the candidates pushing hard to succeed Raisi.

Aircraft Information:

Owner / Operator: Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF)

Aircraft: Bell 412

Registration: 6-9221

Two engine fires, two different aircraft, two days apart

On Saturday, an Air India Express flight bound for Cochin (COK/VOCI) from Bengaluru (BLR/VOB) made an emergency landing in Bengaluru after one of its engines caught fire, according to Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL).

The fire was detected shortly after takeoff, as per sources. Air India Express confirmed that all passengers and crew were safely evacuated without any injuries. Following the incident, the crew alerted the Air Traffic Controller, and a full-scale emergency was declared. The aircraft landed at Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport (KIA), where the fire was extinguished.

A BIAL spokesperson reported, "flight IX 1132 from Bengaluru to Cochin made an emergency landing at BLR Airport at 23:12 hrs due to a fire reported in one of the engines."

After the emergency landing, the fire was quickly put out. All 179 passengers and six crew members were evacuated successfully, the spokesperson added.

Aircraft Information:

Airline: Air India Express Connect

Code: I5/IAD

Aircraft: Airbus A320-216

Registration: VT-ATF

Serial Number: 6015

Engines: 2 x CFMI CFM56-5B6

First Flew: 19th February 2014

Age: 10.3 Years Old

Then a few days earlier a Boeing 747-400 travelling from Makassar-Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport (UPG/WAAA) to Madinah-Mohammad Bin Abdulaziz Airport (MED/OEMA) carrying 468 passengers was compelled to execute an emergency landing in Indonesia when one of its four engines ignited, and flames erupted during takeoff.

The Garuda Indonesia aircraft, en route to Medina, Saudi Arabia—a key point for many Muslims embarking on their pilgrimage to Mecca—departed from Makassar's international airport. Footage revealed that during the Wednesday evening takeoff, flames consumed one of the aircraft's four engines.

Online videos disseminated by JACDEC, an aviation incident analysis firm, captured the moment flames burst forth as the aircraft ascended from the runway. According to JACDEC, the 747 entered a holding pattern for roughly 90 minutes before it safely returned and touched down in Makassar.

Garuda Indonesia, the national airline, reported that a pilot observed sparks in an engine, prompting an immediate halt to the flight. Following a secure landing, the airline grounded the 22-year-old aircraft for further examination and reassigned the passengers to an alternative flight on the same day.

Aircraft Information:

Airline: Garuda Indonesia, (leased from Terra Avia)

Code: GA/GIA

Aircraft: Boeing 747-412

Registration: ER-BOS

Serial Number: 28025

Engine: 4 x PW PW4056

First Flew: 24 October 2001

Age: 22.7 Years Old

Hijacking of Air New Zealand flight 24

Air New Zealand Flight 24 was hijacked at Nadi International Airport (NAN/NFFN) Fiji, on the 19th of May 1987. The Boeing 747-200, on a scheduled refueling stop from Tokyo Narita (NRT/RJAA) to Auckland (AKL/NZAA), was boarded by a hijacker who took three crew members hostage. He threatened to detonate the aircraft unless the ousted Fijian Prime Minister, Dr. Timoci Bavadra, and his ministers under house arrest were freed. The crew ultimately subdued the hijacker and turned him over to the authorities. There were no casualties, and the plane remained on the tarmac.

Flight TE24, bound for Auckland from Tokyo, was refueling in Nadi when Ahmjed Ali, armed with dynamite from a gold mine, forced his way aboard. Ali, a 37-year-old ethnic Indian and refueler for Air Terminal Services, demanded the release of Dr. Bavadra and his ministers, held by Lt. Col. Sitiveni Rabuka after the 1987 Fijian coups d'état, and requested to be flown to Libya.

The 105 passengers and most crew disembarked, leaving Captain Graham Gleeson, flight engineer Graeme Walsh, and first officer Michael McLeay with Ali. For six hours, Ali negotiated from the cockpit with relatives and Air New Zealand officials. The New Zealand Special Air Service was on alert. At approximately 1 p.m., Walsh incapacitated Ali with a whiskey bottle while he was occupied with the radio, allowing the crew to restrain him.