Skeptics Stack Exchange
Skeptics Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [aviation]

Typically pertains to the study of aircraft. Can relate to the theories, design, construction, behavior and use of such craft.

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Does flying a small GA aircraft use less fuel than driving the same distance by car?

This is a notable claim by Friedrich Merz, head of the CDU party and a member of the German parliament: „Ich bereue nicht, dass ich zur Hochzeit von Christian Lindner geflogen bin. Um es mal auf den Punkt zu bringen: Mit meinem Kleinflugzeug…
Polygnome
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Were the emission savings of Greta Thunberg's trip by boat outweighed by crew flights?

Greta Thunberg sailed from England to New York in a yacht. Wikipedia explains: The trip was announced as a carbon-neutral transatlantic crossing serving as a demonstration of Thunberg's declared beliefs of the importance of reducing…
Mathias711
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Does fastening airplane seatbelts reduce the risk of death and injury?

The FAA states To keep you and your family as safe as possible during flight, FAA regulations require passengers to be seated with their seat belts fastened: When the airplane leaves the gate and as it climbs after take-off. During landing…
user17967
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Was this Jet Blue airplane snowed in?

This image has been making the rounds of Twitter, which shows a Jet Blue as airplane completely snowed in, with just its tail sticking out. The image is said to have been taken at New York's JFK airport during the January 2016 snow storm. This…
Devdatta Tengshe
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Are airplanes the safest mode of transportation?

Considering the number of people that use it compared to other transports (cars, trains, boats), do you have less chances to die in a plane? Are there any studies about this?
Nikko
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Were the Wright Brothers the first to fly?

I'd say it's a commonly held belief that the Wright brothers were the first to achieve controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than air human flight, as it can be found in most history books. However, there are many who say that this might not be…
Monkey Tuesday
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Was this Indian from British India the first to strike Berlin during World War I?

This article (since deleted, backup here) came to my eye recently. The article glosses over the exploits of a citizen of British India who, purportedly, rose from utter obscurity to becoming an ace flier. A quote of some of the article is as…
Everyone
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Do commercial airline pilots make around $19,000 - $25,000 per year?

I always thought pilots were paid well. I am currently watching the movie "Capitalism, A love Story," and Michael Moore interviews some pilots, in which the pilots say they make around $19,000 - $25,000 per year as their starting salary flying…
Vinoth Kumar C M
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Airplane software crash caused by zero/negative altitude at Dead Sea

I've been told anecdotes like this several times on the interviews. Interviewers used this story as an argument in favor of defensive software development. Here is an explanation from one of the numerous occurrences on the web: This story was told…
default locale
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Can a commercial airplane fly in an inverted position as depicted in Flight?

In Flight, to prevent the plane from diving, the pilot puts it upside down before flipping it back over just before landing. This is supposed to be loosely based on flight 261 from Alaska Airlines which unfortunately crashed without survivor after…
FrenchKheldar
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Is this a photo of the result of a kamikaze attack on a ship in WWII?

A Reddit user titled this photo "Kamikaze hit on HMS Sussex" and it currently has 5,532 points (96% upvoted). Here is a cropped version of that photo: Another user cites Wikipedia: On 26 July 1945 her Task Force was attacked by two attack bombers…
geometrian
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Did an AI-enabled drone attack the human operator in a simulation environment?

According to this news article on the Royal Aeronautical Society website: ...an AI-enabled drone tasked with a SEAD mission to identify and destroy SAM sites, with the final go/no go given by the human. However, having been ‘reinforced’ in training…
Jayson Virissimo
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Does the TSA have a fail rate of 95% in breach tests?

Does the TSA fail at a rate of 95% at detecting (fake, "test") terrorists in breach tests, as reported in this news story? The best information that I have about this is a news report. Is there any official source confirming it?
Quora Feans
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Did a plane hit the Pentagon on September 11, 2001?

Is it possible that a plane hit the side of the pentagon, but did not even scuff up the grass? There are some claims of other anomalies that don't quite match the idea of a plane hitting there; like a lack of broken plane parts. Grass…
geoff
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Are safety belts in planes meant for safety?

I was travelling by air today, and I realized that there's an important difference between safety belts in cars and planes. A safety belt in a car moves from the chest on one side to the hip on the other side, while safety belts in a plane move from…
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