Like a circle, the Earth has 360 degrees. Each degree is divided into 60 minutes, which in turn is divided into 60 seconds. Latitude and longitude coordinates also include cardinal directions: north or south of the equator for latitude, and east or west of the prime meridian for longitude.

About 8,000km

According to the researchers, the path from Pakistan to Russia is indeed the longest straight path possible without hitting land. It measures 19,939.6 miles, just about 5,000 miles short of the planet’s circumference.

Straight lines do not exist in nature. Some have mentioned the thread of a spider, which is technically a bunch of bumps called atoms that are arranged to approximate a straight line.

Based on the curve of the Earth: Standing on a flat surface with your eyes about 5 feet off the ground, the farthest edge that you can see is about 3 miles away.

While your body is made for walking, the distance you can achieve at an average walking pace of 3.1 miles per hour depends on whether you have trained for it or not. A trained walker can walk a 26.2-mile marathon in eight hours or less, or walk 20 to 30 miles in a day.

The furthest photographed sightline in the world is 443 km, from Pic de Finestrelles in the Spanish Pyrenees to Pic Gaspard in the French Alps, almost 100x further than what can be seen driving along the prairies and staring at the horizon.

So, how far can you see from a plane? Here is the theoretical distance you can see from a plane at different altitudes, given perfect weather conditions: at 1000 feet: 38.7 Miles (62km) at 5,000 feet: 86.6 Miles (140 km)

Eagles

4000 feet

Commercial aircraft typically fly between 31,000 and 38,000 feet — about 5.9 to 7.2 miles — high and usually reach their cruising altitudes in the first 10 minutes of a flight, according to Beckman. Planes can fly much higher than this altitude, but that can present safety issues.

Avoiding Traffic and Hazards Flying higher means planes can avoid birds (usually), drones, and light aircraft and helicopters, which fly at lower altitudes. Planes flying eastward (including northeast and southeast) will fly at odd altitudes (i.e. 35,000 feet) and all other directions will fly at even altitudes.

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.

TLDR – Modern airplanes and pilot training severely reduce the risk of a plane crash due to turbulence. When dealing with moderate to extreme turbulence, pilots slow the aircraft to regain control and fly through the shaky circumstances. Turbulence due to bad weather rarely causes modern airplanes to crash.

Large commercial airplanes had 0.27 fatal accidents per million flights in 2020, To70 said, or one fatal crash every 3.7 million flights — up from 0.18 fatal accidents per million flights in 2019.

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.

From a practical point, no, a modern airliner will not lose a wing due to turbulence. Modern airlines are very tough and designed to withstand extreme turbulence. In the 1960s, there was a Boeing 707 that encountered severe turbulence that resulted in the vertical fin separating from the aircraft.