Planes like to take off into the wind, because it’s the only thing in aviation that’s free and provides lift. When air flows over the wings, flight happens, and the wind helps with that during take off.

Wind direction Pilots prefer to take off and land facing into the wind. This has the effect of reducing the aircraft’s speed over the ground (for the same, given airspeed) and hence reducing the length of runway required to perform either maneuver.

planes will be able to fly in from any direction, giving the pilot greater control over where to fly, and where to avoid flying.

1. Headwind is preferred for takeoff and landing. Headwind is wind blowing towards the aircraft. Pilots prefer to land and take off in headwind because it increases the lift.

With the wind flowing over the wing, the airplane has additional lift to help it become airborne. It allows pilots to land in a shorter distance as opposed to landing with the wind. To recap, pilots take off into the wind because it reduces the required ground speed.

An aircraft taking off with the wind. When taking off with a headwind it slows down the plane in its acceleration respect to the ground, but increases the flow of air over the wings, allowing to take off in a shorter distance and climbing in a greater angle in order to clear any obstacle.

The four forces are lift, thrust, drag, and weight. As a Frisbee flies through the air, lift holds it up.

“Without wind, the plane has to accelerate to a groundspeed of 180 mph to lift off, but when you have a 30 mph headwind, the plane only has to accelerate to 150 mph, thanks to the extra boost it gets from the headwind.”

Strong winds can cause some ‘exciting’ take-offs and landings. At lower levels, wind can cause the aircraft to sway back and forth, but the pilots are well trained for this. As always, airlines and airports will have wind speed limits. If the wind is too strong they will choose not to land or take-off.

In short, pilots are not worried about turbulence – avoiding it is for convenience and comfort rather than safety. In the best circumstances, pilots can forecast where turbulence is and steer clear of it. “We use met data and forecasts for jet streams to avoid potential areas,” the pilot said.

In general, the answer is yes. In addition to the fact that modern aircraft are designed to perform well in very high winds, pilots around the world must be able to demonstrate skill at flying in windy conditions in order to become licensed.

For all intents and purposes, a plane cannot be flipped upside-down, thrown into a tailspin, or otherwise flung from the sky by even the mightiest gust or air pocket. Conditions might be annoying and uncomfortable, but the plane is not going to crash.

2. Pilots often sleep with the stewardesses. One time, the flight attendant recalled a pilot sleeping with an air hostess mid-flight. Next: Sometimes those stewardesses are much younger than the pilots.

How Many Planes Have Crashed Due to Turbulence? Between 1980 and 2008, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recorded 234 turbulence accidents. The accidents resulted in 298 injuries and three fatalities. Two of those fatalities involved passengers who were not wearing their seat belts.

The movement of air as it’s warmed by the sun causes turbulence. The most important thing to know is that turbulence isn’t dangerous. It might be a bit uncomfortable, but your plane is built to handle the worst. Even in the most severe turbulence, your plane isn’t moving nearly as much as you think!

Warmed air rises. Cooled air descends. When a plane encounters varying airflow, we can feel what we call an “air pocket” today. The term, if misunderstood, can lead to fear that an “air pocket” — a place devoid of air — could be big enough to cause a plane to plunge to the ground or go out of control.

Turbulence can be frightening. However, the reality is that turbulence is no cause for concern! It’s a common part of flying that many people experience each day. Even when it’s at its most severe, turbulence is rarely dangerous.

Flying in Heavy Rain Rain is not actually dangerous to aircraft, and you can often fly through rain with no issues at all. The main problem is that heavy rain often leads to poor visibility.

It is pretty safe to fly on a flight during thunderstorms. Firstly, the flight will depart at the best suitable time. Just in case the weather is really bad, there are chances that the flight gets delayed & will takeoff just as soon as it’s possible.

The wings and engines of today’s aircraft work together to produce “lift,” which moves the plane upward off the ground by changing the direction and pressure of the air. In general, rain does not impede this process—in the majority of cases, the answer to whether planes can fly in the rain in a resounding “yes.”

Jet aircraft can safely fly over thunderstorms only if their flight altitude is well above the turbulent cloud tops. The most intense and turbulent storms are often the tallest storms, so en route flights always seek to go around them.

Aluminum leads current. Lightning will usually hit a protruding part of the plane, such as the nose or the tip of the wing. The aircraft then flies through the lightning flash, which travels along the body, having chosen the path of least resistance.

During winter airplanes frequently fly in snow, and from the cockpit it looks like you are jumping into hyperspeed! So snow can of course be ingested into the engines during flight without any impact on the performance. Although snow usually melts once inside it, in some situations snow can cause a flameout.

It is difficult to say what flights will be cancelled during a snowstorm. The airport does not shut down completely often but rather landings/take offs are slowed and then the airlines make decisions on which flights to cancel to accomodate the slowdown.

As others have stated when you are talking about smaller amounts of snow like 1-3 inches it really depends on where it is snowing. If its Alaska, Canada or Minneapolis 1-3 inches might not give more than a 15 min delay or no delay at all. If it snows 2 inches in Dallas or Atlanta you’ve got big problems.

Snow (and cold weather, more generally) is basically safe to fly in—temperatures in the upper atmosphere, where a plane cruises for most of the flight, are around -70ºF, colder than anywhere on Earth.

Is it harder to fly in cold weather? It’s not all bad news when it comes to winter weather and flying: in fact, planes actually fly better in extreme cold than they do in conditions of extreme heat.

Because there is less convective heat during the winter, the cold dry air contains less turbulence. During summer, there are more pockets of hot air closer to the ground that escapes to higher altitudes, causing bumpiness during flight. Therefore, winter is normally the best time to fly in order to avoid bumpy air.

Answer: Though landing in icy conditions is challenging, it can be done safely. The modern jet’s anti-skid system is very good. I have landed on ice-covered runways many times using the anti-skid system to safely stop the airplane.

So why do planes perform better in cold weather? Simply, colder air is denser than warmer air, which contributes to engine performance and air lift. That extra power increases the rate of climb, reduces take off roll, gives the wings more lift, and allows the plane to take off at a lower ground speed.