What is aviation safety?
Every field has its risk factors. Managing these risk factors during aviation is called aviation safety. Their work is to prevent accidents and incidents when the aircraft is in action. This is done through research and educating everyone. The research is still in progress to develop the infrastructure to fit the growing requirements and expectations.
Aviation safety before World War II:
Initially, a chain of beacons was built in 1923 to guide the airmail flights in the Transcontinental Airway System. Juan de la Cierva invented gyrocopters that could avoid a stall and spin accidents. The Air Commerce Act of 1926 commanded the pilots to take up examinations and get licensed before driving a plane. But, the idea of aerial lighthouses didn’t work out.
During the Second World War and later:
The first-ever decision made was to make hard runways throughout the world for the second world war. The replacement of the Global Positioning System followed the development of radars. Several radars when positioned based on Weather Radar systems could detect areas of severe air turbulence. As the idea of the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) popped in, accurate navigation came in with the help of satellites.
Feeling a little overwhelmed with amazing facts? We are familiar with some known terms used in aviation safety risks.
Foreign Object Debris (FOD):
This includes the items left in the aircraft during manufacture or repair. The debris on the runway passage of an aircraft and the solid hindrances during flight also come under this category. Air France Flight 4590 crashed when it hit the fallen piece from another aircraft.
Misleading information and lack of information:
Misinformation about the coordinates that disrupt the points on the maps can lead to terrible accidents. This can lead to serious accidents like flying into the mountain as Air New Zealand Flight 901 did.
Lightening:
A good aircraft must survive lightning. No one aircraft hovers above our head that isn’t struck by lightning. The effect of lightning on aircraft was found to be drastic like the glider in 1999. Later, all aircraft were designed in such a way to combat this phenomenon.
Ice and snow:
We all love to fly to snowy destinations for vacations. The same ice and snow are a big enemy for aircraft. A tinge of icing or frost or coarse frost can create a big problem.
Wind shear or microburst:
The change of speed in a particular direction at a relatively short distance in the atmosphere is called wind shear. During a thunderstorm, localized air is sunken down. This is called a microburst. Both are serious threats to aviation.
Engine failure:
The starvation of fuel and mechanical failure can happen due to improper maintenance.
If an emergency landing is not possible, this may end up crashing.
Structural failures in the airplane:
Whenever the airplane is exposed to constant pressure, the layerings of the airplane might upset now and again. This failure is developed inside the surface. As the damage is not visible outside, ultrasound methods are used to detect these failures.
Stalling:
While lift supports the aircraft to stay airborne, the increase in the angle of attack at one point creates a failure in the lift of the wings. If a timely correction is not made. This may result in serious accidents. While lift supports the aircraft to stay airborne.
Other factors:
Safety regulations need to be taken regarding fire and smoke as they can burn down the whole aircraft. Bird strikes can also happen. This might even lead to the breakage of cockpit windshields. The pilot can have fatigue at times due to sleeplessness. This significantly causes a pilot error. Pilots intoxicated during the flight are really rare cases. Multiple other factors can also cause risk.
Wanna know about the other types of aircraft? Dig in to find out(Types of aircraft).
Hope this article made you wear your thinking caps and reading glasses. The era of inventory of life in the air is still in progress. Hope you enjoyed this fun fact about all the aviation safety measures. It’s time for landing! For more information on aviation and related stuff do check out our blog page at Criss Cross Tamizh. Until then, bye crewmate!