Airplane Myths Quiz

No doubt, soaring up in the air at 40,000 feet can be scary, but are a lot of fears associated with flying overblown? Find out if you can navigate through this collection of airplane myths and facts.

If you're in a plane crash, the chances of survival are slim.

True

False

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Despite the horror stories like the no-survivor TWA Flight 800, most people in plane crashes make it through. According to the National Transportation Safety Board, 95.7 percent of passengers involved in plane crashes survive. The statistics are promising because a majority of the airplane accidents involved only nonfatal injuries and aircraft damage.

From 2000 to 2008, NTSB data show that 6 percent of all reported airline accidents resulted in multiple fatalities.

The seats closest to the exits are the safest on a plane in the case of a plane crash.

True

False

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This theory rings true for a specific emergency scenario: If the plane catches on fire, then you want to be sitting within five rows of an exit. That's the feasible range for escaping safely from a burning plane.

But if it's a crash you have to endure, sitting in the back is actually your best bet. Popular Mechanics analyzed data from every commercial jet wreck in the United States from 1971 to 2005 and concluded that people sitting near the tail have a 40 percent higher chance of survival than those sitting in the front.

You'll get drunk faster in the air than on the ground.

True

False

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According to an old saying, one in the air is like three on the ground. That adage misses the mark though, because your blood alcohol level doesn't actually change at a higher altitude as some think. With less oxygen reaching the brain because of the high altitude and the pressurized cabin, it might cause you to feel more intoxicated, but that's about it.

Nevertheless, it probably isn't a good idea to get hammered on a plane, if only out of courtesy to your neighbors.

Cell phones are banned on planes because they might interfere with navigation instruments.

True

False

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Airplanes are specially insulated against foreign radio signals, and their communication and navigation instruments operate on different frequencies from cell phones. The Federal Communications Commission is actually the agency responsible for the ban, since the signals could potentially block telecommunication systems on the ground.

If someone makes a phone call from a plane, the signal would bounce across multiple cell towers at once, which could prevent other calls from going through. Yet some airlines in Europe, the Middle East and Asia have started allowing cell phone usage on flights.

The recycled air in airplane cabins quickly spreads germs and sickness.

True

False

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Air recirculates in an airplane cabin approximately every three to five minutes. For that reason, some people think that it fosters sickness by constantly cycling germs through the air supply. However, airplanes use sophisticated HEPA filters designed to extract 99.5 percent of germs and viruses from the air, potentially making it cleaner than the stuff you breathe on the ground.

Studies have shown that the air filters can remove SARS and bird flu germs and don't spread illness. Sitting in close proximity to someone with a cold, however, might give you a case of the sniffles after landing.

Lightning can crash an airplane.

True

False

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On average, every airplane is struck by lightning at least once per year. But don't let that statistic deter you from flying. While lightning used to be a real threat to airline safety at the turn of the century, planes today are better engineered to not conduct electricity and to channel any energy from a lightning strike away from the plane.

That said, there's still a very slight chance that lightning could bring a plane down, but the last time that happened was in 1963.

The incidence rate of birds colliding with airplanes is on the rise.

True

False

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In 2009, US Airways Flight 1549 had to make an emergency landing after the plane encountered a flock of Canada geese in its airspace. Birds and planes have an uneasy relationship, and the incidence rate for collisions has gradually risen in recent years.

Since 1990, the number of planes colliding with large birds has jumped 62 percent. Over a span of 15 years, airplanes at John F. Kennedy airport in New York had around 80 reported avian run-ins that caused substantial damage to aircrafts. Most large jet engines can't withstand a collision with a bird weighing more than 4 pounds. Consequently, the increasing bird-airplane crashes are of immediate concern to the Federal Aviation Administration.

It's safer to fly in a plane than drive a car.

True

False

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Although it might not be practical to take a plane ride to the grocery store or to work every morning, statistics show that flying is indeed safer than driving. The University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute concluded that driving is far more dangerous than flying. According to their calculations, driving the equivalent distance of a flight poses a 65 times higher injury risk than flying in a commercial airplane. By that estimation, the common fear of flying is mathematically unfounded.

Fear of flying is recognized as a psychological disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

True

False

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Anywhere from 10 to 25 percent of the general population has some sort of fear of flying. Although fear of flying isn't classified as a disorder unto itself, it does meet the criteria in the DSM for a specific type of phobia, one overarching category of mental disorders. It's also treatable with clinical intervention and gradual exposure to flying. A few in-flight cocktails probably don't hurt either.

If you can remain calm for the first 90 seconds of a plane crash, you have a better chance of survival.

True

False

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Referred to as the "golden time," those first 90 seconds are actually the most crucial for surviving a plane crash. Experts say that if passengers can remain calm during that window, they have a much higher likelihood of staying safe than if they revert to panic mode.

In fact, panicking is the worst thing that you can do when something goes wrong on a flight. Even something as simple as remembering how to unlatch your seat belt might escape you if you begin to panic. For that reason, pay attention to the preflight safety information and keep your wits about you while in the air.

Correct

Sounds like it's time to book that next vacation!

Correct

Practice makes perfect! You will get past these turbulent skies in no time.

Correct

Great Job! You have soared to new heights.