Say you’re on a long 12-hour flight. You’ll have get some shut-eye, and hopefully
when you wake up, it’ll be almost landing time. Have you ever wondered if – and where – your
flight attendants and pilot can get some rest too? That might lead you to wonder what other secrets
your airplane is hiding! 1. Sleeping Quarters
Your pilot and flight attendants need some rest on long flights too! There are secret compartments above your head
at both ends of the airplane where the pilot and crew can squeeze a nap in! Small stairs lead to these sleeping quarters
behind the cockpit and at the back of the plane, either behind a locked door or a hatch
disguised as a storage bin. There’s a bed, a phone, and curtains for
privacy if needed. The crew member can control the brightness
in the compartment, and in bigger planes, they’re even equipped with a TV. 2. Secret Bathrooms and Showers for the Crew
Not every crew rest cabin, or CRC, has this feature, but they do on really big commercial
planes, and some private planes. This way, if they’re on an especially long
flight, the flight attendants and pilot can grab a shower and just have some privacy to
freshen up. 3. Secret Legroom Button
If you have an aisle seat, there’s a button under your armrest by the hinge that not many
people know about! If you press this button, the armrest will
slide down completely parallel to your seat, giving you some extra leg and elbow room! It’s really there so that you can exit the
plane more quickly if there’s an emergency, but you can still press this handy little
button to make yourself more comfortable. 4. The Hiding Handrail
Have you ever noticed how flight attendants always seem to slide their hands over the
overhead compartments as they walk the aisle of the plane? Most overhead compartments have edges on the
bottoms into which a handrail is molded! This helps them get a better grip and keep
their balance! This is how flight attendants look so graceful
as they move quickly along the plane. Try it for yourself on your next flight; plus,
it’s much better than stumbling into other passengers’ laps! 5. Constraints
What if there’s an unruly passenger disturbing your flight? I mean, you can’t exactly kick them out
of the plane. Although I’d pay extra to see that. Just kidding. So for these situations, every plane is equipped
with handcuffs! Hopefully using the handcuffs would calm the
situation down, but if not, you might have an unscheduled landing on your hands. There are fire extinguishers on every flight
too, which is standard safety…but did you know that most flights also have an axe or
crowbar on board?? This is for rare emergency landings, so the
windows of the plane can be broken open. 6. Undercover Safety Police
Well, sort of. I’m talking about air marshals! They’re generally used for international
flights. Air marshals are basically the police of the
airplane: they can make arrests, but they won’t intervene in a standard “rowdy passenger”
situation. They’re mostly there to watch over the flight
and keep everyone safe. You’ll probably never figure out who the
air marshal is though – they’ll be dressed like any other passenger and could be seated
anywhere. They blend right in! Except that big shiny badge and the cowboy
hat… no not really. 7. A Hidden Onboard Life Saver
Since 2015, all U.S.-based commercial airlines require a defibrillator to be on board every
flight. If a passenger goes into cardiac arrest during
the flight, a defibrillator could save their life! It’s one of those things you may not think
about, but are really grateful for when it’s needed! 8. Secret Bathroom Latch
Sorry, but this one is only for the flight crew! If the flight attendants or pilot think that
a passenger is doing something suspicious in the bathroom, hmmm, they can use this handy
little latch to lock the bathroom from the outside. Likewise, if the flight crew thinks that a
passenger has been in the bathroom a little too long and might be hurt or needs help,
they can use this latch to unlock the bathroom. This secret little lavatory latch is just
there for safety reasons! 9. Pilots Have Secret Powers
I mean, pilots are kind of like Superman, flying the skies…but that’s not the kind
of superpower I’m talking about here. If there’s an unruly or rule-breaking passenger,
pilots can issue fines, and even make unofficial arrests (remember those handcuffs?). It’s best to just follow the rules and stay
on the pilot’s good side! 10. Untold Superstition
This isn’t true for all planes, but pay attention to the row numbers the next time
you’re trying to find your seat for a flight. People are so superstitious about the “unlucky”
number 13, that some airlines have completely removed this row number from the seats! The row numbers on your plane may very well
go from 12 to 14. Making this move has been a cost-effective
one for those airlines, because nervous passengers just weren’t booking seats in row 13. Superstitious or not, it’s interesting to
think about! By the way, Row 13 is now located at the back
of the plane, outside on the tail. It can get pretty windy back there so…. no it’s not. 11. Invisible Defense Against Mother Nature
So you’re flying along and all of a sudden, your plane is caught in a thunderstorm! Now, your plane’s unlikely to get struck
by lightning in the first place, but if it does, you probably won’t even know it! The exteriors of airplanes are coated in lighting-resistant
material. If your plane is hit, the lighting will just
slide along the surface until it has nowhere else to go. The outer layer of the plane won’t conduct
any electricity from the lightning, so the layers underneath aren’t affected, and everyone
remains safe! Except those folks back on the tail in Row
13… 12. Tiny Overlooked Helpers
No these aren’t the 7 dwarf s! If you look closely, there are tiny yellow
hooks on the wings of your plane. No, they’re not for looks; this is where
rope and the safety slide can be tied in case of an emergency, so that passengers can get
off. The hooks ensure an even and sturdy slide. Your flight attendant may mention the slide
during the safety speech, but actually knowing how and where it’s attached to the plane
helps. Little yellow hooks never looked so beautiful! 13. A Path That Glows in the Dark
In the event of a fire, things will get pretty smoky and hard to see, since planes are such
cramped spaces. In the rare event that you’re in a fire
on an airplane, all you have to do is look down! Airlines have started installing FPEEPMS,
or Floor Proximity Emergency Escape Path Marking Systems. That’s a mouthful! But these life-saving paths will glow brightly
enough through the dark and thick smoke that you can still see the way to the exit signs! 14. Hidden Camera in the Cockpit
Well, hidden to passengers, anyway. There isn’t one on all planes; but if there’s
a camera in the cockpit, the pilots are aware of it. Many pilots have protested it on the grounds
that it invades their privacy. But of course, it’s all for the pilots’
and passengers’ safety, in the unlikely event that an unwelcome guest makes their
way into the cockpit. It also records all black-box and flight data,
so that it can be looked at later for a variety of reasons. 15. Hidden Masks
No not Guy Fawkes. There’re Gas masks. In the rare event of a fire, the crew are
entrusted with staying calm, collected, and doing what they can to put the fire out. The gas masks are for the flight attendants
so that they can see and breathe enough in order to put out the flames and take care
of passengers if necessary. The gas masks also enable the flight attendants
to stay mobile during a fire; if an emergency landing is called for, they’ll be able to
get passengers out of the plane much more efficiently. 16. Secretly Safe Seats
They’re not exactly secret, because you’re sitting right on them! Yes, your airplane seat is fireproof! The Federal Aviation Administration, along
with NASA, has done extensive tests on flame-resistant materials and cushioning to find the safest
seats for airlines. Nowadays, there are even flame-proof tests
that your seat has to pass! So the next time you want to complain about
the uncomfortable seating on your flight, remember that your seat could save your life! 17. Covert Communication
Ooh, should we whisper? The flight attendants, and especially those
in the cockpit, are constantly communicating. The captain and co-pilot stay in communication
through the whole flight. There may also be a flight engineer, or second
officer, on board, who’ll be making all the important calculations as far as the best
landing position and other complicated stuff that has to do with the equipment the pilot
is using. The pilot is also always in communication
with air traffic control. That’s a lot of talking, but keeping everyone
on the same page is the safest bet. “Breaker 19. That’s a big 10-4 good buddy. See you on the flip flop, and remember to
keep the dirty side down and the shiny side up!” What? That’s not pilots talking. Hey if you have any idea what I just said,
leave it in the comments! Hey, if you learned something new today, give
this video a like a share it with a friend! And here are some other videos I think you’ll
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the Bright Side of life!
