How much stress can an aircraft withstand?
Commercial aircraft have been in the headlines due to poor assembly and computer malfunctions. But planes are subjected to very thorough testing before being declared airworthy.
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00:00Just how much stress can an airplane withstand?
00:05Have you ever asked yourself this question when your flight runs into severe turbulence?
00:13The wings of this Airbus can bend by up to 5.2 metres.
00:24So they're well equipped to hold up against the strongest gusts of wind.
00:31An airplane can also fly with just one engine, provided it can keep the plane flying at 250 km per hour.
00:40In preliminary tests, airplane parts need to withstand as much wear and tear as they do over the aircraft's entire lifetime.
00:47That's often more than 100,000 flights.
00:53Can a cloud of water spray stall the aircraft's engines?
00:58One of a range of tests before a plane is declared airworthy.
01:08Aircraft are constructed to meet safety requirements, but not to over-fulfil them.
01:15Thicker fuselages, for example, add extra weight and therefore increase fuel consumption.
01:22Don't be alarmed or start twitching your seats here.
01:26Vertical take-offs like this prove just how agile planes can be in emergency situations.
01:32Although Boeing did this just for show.
01:38Maintenance technicians always keep an eye on plane windows, because they're a natural weak spot in aircraft.
01:48The riskiest parts of a flight are take-off and landing.
01:52To make them safer, tests are conducted to determine the optimum speed.
01:58To ease your mind, just remember, when it comes to vital instruments like the altitude indicator, an aircraft always has more than one.
02:11Plus, while several hundred people die in plane crashes every year, the stats show that more people are killed on their way to the airport.
02:20Perhaps something to bear in mind the next time you encounter in-flight turbulence.