I’m a pilot and we can’t always see when we land – but here is why it isn’t dangerous
A PILOT has revealed how they sometimes land without being able to see the ground - but it is still safe.
Pilot Mark Vanhoenacker revealed in his book How to Land a Plane that it’s sometimes very difficult to spot an airport when flying at night.
He said: "Most of us think of airports as quite well-lit places and it’s true that the apron areas around the terminal buildings are often brightly illuminated.”
"But taxiways and runways are so subtly lit that picking out an airfield at night, especially in an urban landscape often involves looking for a particularly dark spot.
“Close in, thankfully the approach and runway lights are unmistakable.”
However, you don't have to worry about it being unsafe.
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Pilots use equipment such as the plane’s weather sensors, flight instruments and navigation systems to help them land at night.
Mark added that in the event of very poor visibility, a plane will do an “instrument landing” - so using the systems in the cockpit rather than doing it via sight alone.
In this case, pilots will rely on the information from their screens in the cockpit to land – if they really can’t see much else.
Another pilot has revealed what really happens in their cockpit when a storm prevents a plane from landing.
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After one of her flights from Saint Louis to Chicago had to return to Saint Louis because of bad weather, a pilot who goes by the name @almostcaptainmorgan on Tiktok explained the process for making the decision to turn back.
She explained that the go to solution is to circle around the airport while waiting for the bad weather to clear. However, that isn't always a suitable option.
She continued: "We have to do something called 'hold and wait'.
Using a messaging system, pilots are able to communicate with airports, to come up with other choices in order to make sure the plane avoids both the storm and running out of fuel.
Sun Online Travel previously revealed the weather forecasts that pilots fear the most.
There's one rare type of thunderstorm that is a danger to pilots – because they can cause a plane to crash.
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But here is why you shouldn't worry if you have a bumpy landing as it is actually safer.
Pilot Eser Aksan E told Sun Online Travel why she, and other pilots, prefer coming back with a bang.
