Why Planes Don't Fly Over the Pacific Ocean

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Why do airlines avoid the Pacific Ocean? You might think it was a safety issue. The Pacific is the largest and deepest of the world’s oceans. If a plane encounters a problem over a seemingly endless and bottomless pond of water, the pilots are going to have a rough time finding a safe spot to set her down.

Guessing that it is a safety precaution wouldn't be entirely wrong. When planning a route, many pilots prefer to maximize the number of airports along their path. Emergencies are incredibly rare relative to how many planes take to the skies every day. That said, it isn’t the main reason airlines tend to avoid making a straight shot east to west...

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#planes #aviation #brightside

SUMMARY:
- When planning a route, many pilots prefer to maximize the number of airports along their path.
- Excluding special circumstances such as passing through the jet streams or other meteorological concerns, the fastest route is almost always the one closest to a straight line.
- On a 2D map, making a giant rainbow to avoid the Pacific Ocean looks like a much longer route. But since the Earth is a sphere, a straight line is going to look very different in three-dimensional spaces.
- The combination of the two factors, the curvature of the Earth and its extra equatorial width, mean that curving toward the poles is a shorter distance than flying (what seems like on a map) “straight” across!
- Another reason planes will sometimes brave an oceanic voyage is to take advantage of the smoother ride. Even in clear weather, there’s much less turbulence over water than over land.
- The other primary consideration for determining flight paths are air currents, namely the jet streams. These high-altitude air currents exist near the top of the troposphere.
- There are 4 main jet streams, 2 in each hemisphere, and thanks to the Earth’s rotation, they mostly flow west to east.
- Flying with a jet stream can shave several hours off of a trip, but flying into it can slow the plane down considerably.
- It’s also worth noting the risks associated with jet streams. The biggest hazard is a kind of turbulence known as clear-air turbulence, which occurs along the edges of the streams.
- The jet stream mostly affects things tens of thousands of feet in the air, and the curvature of the Earth doesn’t really matter unless you’re traveling hundreds of miles per hour over vast distances.

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Комментарии

When was the last time you were on a plane? Where did you go?

BRIGHTSIDEOFFICIAL

Quick answer: can't land in emergencies, and the spherical shape of the earth makes it more efficient to go across alaska

cooperbennett

This video could also be titled “How to turn 30 seconds of information into a 9 1/2 minute video.”

soonercary

I have flown many times from Vancouver bc to Sydney Australia. 14 hours of nothing but ocean, it’s amazing and scary

stankythecat

"It's easy to forget that an airline is a business." You're right. I always thought airline companies are charities.

StephenWong

*On the go?*

Here is a brief description:
- Planes don’t fly over the Pacific Ocean because planes take the polar route because it is shorter and it is much speedier! Compared to travelling across the Pacific Ocean!
- Don't forget the earth isn't flat which means if you travel in a straight line in line with the equator it is much longer!
- Moreover, you don't want an emergency landing in the middle of nowhere, so it much safer to travel near land but also avoiding airports on the way!

Hope this helped you, and enjoy your day! Love you all! If I get it wrong I am sorry I just summarised what I heard from the video! ❤️

joshive

I’m an airline pilot and the Pacific Ocean is my highway. How did this guy get 30 million subscribers?

busrikunni

I flew from Melbourne (Australia) to LAX last month and back to Sydney.
I crossed the Pacific, the date line, and the equator twice in a 10 day period.
Just saying

CypherOzzie

I’ve actually flown this route many times, from Osaka to Honolulu. Literally crossing the pacific. We apply a special requirement called ETOPS where we can fly along routes with the nearest airport can be 3 hours away… in our case it was midway island as en route diversion airport should there be an emergency

fahdkamal

“It’s easy to forget that an airline is a business.” Is it? I’m usually reminded when I pay for tickets, checked bag, in flight meals and movies.

KSakamoto

I live in Hawaii and often travel to Guam, Japan, and the US mainland and I can say without a doubt, planes DO fly over the pacific ocean without any problems.

johnellis

"it's easy to forget airlines is a business"
What. It's hard to forget.

EMNstar

SUMMARY: The great circle route is the shortest distance. The turbulence over the equator is always noticeable on trips from Australia to the USA or China.

GrffD