- [Narrator] If our last
video on airline secrets hasn't put you off flying altogether, good on your for giving
this one a watch, too. I suppose some of the
things on the list might be quite reassuring to know. But some of them are pretty freaky. And yeah, it's more the latter. Let's just say, I'd advise
you don't watch this video whilst on a plane. Consider that my safety announcement. So, we're now ready to take
off and fly into our number 10. (electronic gong) ♪ Amazing ♪ Number 10, Lightning strikes. The thought of a plane
getting hit by lightning is pretty scary, right? Well, I hate to break this one to you but this one happens all the time. It's estimated that in the U.S.A alone, each airplane will be struck by lightning once a year on average. Yikes!
Luckily though, planes are built with this in mind. Planes have a copper outer layer which has been designed
to allow the lightning and the energy created
by it to move along it without touching any other layers. So, no damage is done. You may see a bright flash
and hear a loud noise, though. So, there might be some
damage done to your nerves. Number nine: Some seats
are safer than others. In the unlikely event of
a plane crash, of course, the chance of survival is
unfortunately fairly slim. But, did you know that the
seat you're in can make a huge difference as to whether you're
likely to survive or not? Tests show that passengers
right at the front of the plane, i.e., those in first class,
are more likely to suffer if there was an emergency. This is because of the
likelihood that the cockpit may rip off from the front of the plane, leaving them immediately exposed. So, maybe it's not worth
paying all that money for some extra leg room
and a cotton napkin. But, before you people who
usually fly economy get too cocky, you're not the safest
ones on the plane, either. Have you ever noticed
that the attendant's seats are often facing backwards? That's because it's significantly safer. In the event of sudden deceleration, these seats offer far better support. Not only that, but their seats
also have better seat belts. Yes, that also makes them safer than you. So, why aren't all of our
seats facing to the rear with amazing seat belts? As usual, it all comes down to money. It's too expensive for airlines
to redesign aircraft and replace the existing seats and
the seat belts are heavier. So, if we all had them, the
fuel consumption would increase. They don't care that
much about our safety. They likely did some thorough
analysis and realized it wasn't worth changing because
along with the monetary costs consumers seem to prefer
front-facing seats. Number eight: Seats are getting smaller. Whilst we're on the topic of
money, airlines have a trick of getting the most money
out of every flight. And because this video
is about secret things, I'm not talking about that
overpriced soggy sandwich they tried to sell you. For decades, airlines seats
have been gradually getting smaller and smaller. In the 1970's, the average
leg room on an aircraft was 35 inches. Today, it's just 31. And the width of an average
seat has decreased from 18 inches to about 16 and a
half over the same period. That means more seats on
the plane and more dollar for the airline company. Hey, it's sad but at least
you'll feel a bit more reassured that it's not just
you getting fatter, now. It also means that we
indirectly get cheaper flights. So, we can't exactly have it all. Number seven: Staff sleeping quarters. Ever looked up to find
your air host or hostess and not been able to see them? You start to think they're
avoiding you because you're asking for your eleventh
glass of water perhaps. Well, maybe they've just gone to sleep. On long-haul flights,
extra crew are employed so other members can rest. And they have special places
on the plane to do it. There are usually stairs at
the front and back of the aircraft that lead to very
small staff sleeping quarters. Sometimes, they have
windows and small TV's. Sometimes, they do not. They're often described by cabin crew as being like sleeping in a coffin. It still sounds better to me than 31 inches of leg room, though. Number six: Hard landings. We all know what it feels
like to end a plane journey with a really abrupt, hard landing. It's pretty horrible and
a lot people tend to think it's due to the pilot's carelessness. Come on, I know you've
tutted and cursed before. But really, you should
probably be thanking the pilot for the hand landing. Because in some situations,
if they didn't do it that way, you wouldn't get to land at all. If the runway was wet, a
plane has to touch down hard to break the seal of the water. If not, there could be loss
of traction and the pilot could lose control of
the plane all together. And that's not the only reason. Some airports have really short runways, so the pilot has to land
abruptly or else the plane is going to glide right off the end. So, instead of tutting
at the pilot next time, just be thankful he knows
how to land a plane. Number five: Aisle 13. Now, you wouldn't expect the
brain box scientist behind aircraft design or the
high-flying decision makers of the airline companies to
be superstitious, would you? It's not like you're trusting
them to put you into a ginormous, heavy hunk of metal and fly you around the sky in it. Well, it turns out they
do have one superstition. Many planes don't have aisle 13. These include planes of Air France, Iberia, Lufthansa and Ryanair. And some airlines also don't have aisle 17 because aisle 17 is considered
unlucky in many countries like Brazil and Italy. Most airlines say it's
not because they are being superstitious themselves but
because they're aware some passengers find the idea of
sitting on row 13 unlucky. So they've left it out for
customer service reasons. So, if you are superstitious,
and you're sitting in row 14 on your next flight, just
remember that you're still really sitting the thirteenth row. (ghostly howling) No, come on guys. I think the chance row
12 and row 14 making it to the destination but
not row 13 is pretty slim. Number four: Missing life jackets. I bet you, like me, totally
ignore the safety announcements when the cabin crew give them out at the start of the flight, right? We've heard them all before. You know what they're going to say. Well, if you do one thing
the next time you fly do at least listen to them
when they tell you where your life jacket will be and
check it's actually there. Apparently, there's a real
problem with people stealing life jackets to keep as a souvenir. So, you're going to want to
check that the person who sat in your seat before you
wasn't that type of person. I know the souvenirs in the
airport can be expensive but a life jacket, seriously? Number three: Hidden equipment. This one might make you feel
safer or make your feel worse. The staff on board have a
whole range of hidden equipment available to them, designed
with your safety in mind. However, the thought
of them needing to use any of these things is fairly unsettling. Most planes are equipped with, get ready: handcuffs in case of unruly passengers, defibrillators in case of cardiac arrest, cabin and cockpit surveillance
cameras in case of hijack, fire extinguishers in
case of fire, obviously, and axes to rip through
panels and sidewalls in case of electrical fire. Wow, feel safer? It's best to be prepared, but no, with the amount of angry
passengers out there, I don't feel safer either. Number two: Grab handles. Now, this is one of those
things that you may have thought was unimportant, but it's
actually there for a reason. Right next to the doors
of an aircraft is a large, sturdy grab handle. They're there for cabin crew to hold onto whilst they're
manning the doors and allowing passengers out
the plane and on to the emergency slide during an
emergency landing situation. Why would they need that? Well, it's in case of panic. Passengers are likely to push
and rush to get to the door and out of it and in the
crush there's a real concern that a flight attendant
could simply get pushed out of the door and down the slide. So, this handle is there
to help them stay where they're meant to be. And this panic is why
I've decided to put these handles so high up the chart. They're a symbol of something else. Airlines are really scared
of the panic that can ensue during an crisis situation. You've seen the movie Airplane, right? Well, they're so keen
of avoiding this problem that you as a passenger might
be the absolute last to know if anything's gone wrong. You might have even been
in an emergency situation. You probably wouldn't know. Let's move on before we all get scared. Number one: No tracking system. Okay, sorry guys, but this
one is not going to make you feel any better about flying. Have you ever wondering
how a plane can go missing? So many plane situations
over the last few years remain complete and utter mysteries. Which seems pretty weird
because surely planes are being tracked all the time. Well, sorry to break this to you guys, but no, they're not. In spite of all the modern
communication equipment that today's aircraft have,
when they are out at sea, they are actually not
being tracked by radar. It seems kind of hard to
believe but it's true. There's usually a radio
connection that allows air crew to stay in touch with other aircraft and with traffic control. But, it's not being tracked
by radar all the time. It's just a glorified walkie-talkie. So, the next time you fly,
if you're not too petrified to fly again, let me know
in the comments below if you notice any of the
things mentioned in this video. And, if you're feeling really brave, don't forget to give our other
video on this topic a watch. And, as always, if you enjoyed this video, make sure to subscribe to this channel and click that bell icon, stay updated. Thanks for watching.
