By Aeruxo � Licensed flight dispatcher (study guide) | 15+ Years in Airline Operations “So the airplane autopilot basically flies the whole thing, right? The pilots just sit there?” I have heard this question more times than I can count�from friends, family, and passengers who assume that modern automation has made pilots redundant. The short … Read more
\n\n\n\n\n By Aeruxo � Licensed flight dispatcher (study guide) | 15+ Years in Airline Operations \n\n The pilot’s voice came over the radio, calm but clipped: “Incheon Tower, we had a bird strike on takeoff roll. Continuing departure. Will advise.” I checked the flight tracking display. The aircraft was climbing normally. Altitude, speed, heading�all exactly … Read more
By Aeruxo � Licensed flight dispatcher (study guide) | 15+ Years in Airline Operations You have seen the videos. A commercial aircraft approaching a runway sideways, nose pointed 20 degrees off the centerline, wings rocking, the whole thing looking like a controlled disaster. Then�impossibly�the pilot straightens out at the last second, plants the wheels on … Read more
By Aeruxo � Licensed flight dispatcher (study guide) | 15+ Years in Airline Operations It is 9:45 PM. Your flight to Bangkok departs at 10:30 PM. You are at the gate, boarding pass in hand. The aircraft is there. The weather is clear. Everything looks normal. Then the gate agent picks up the microphone: “Ladies … Read more
By Aeruxo � Licensed flight dispatcher (study guide) | 15+ Years in Airline Operations Cabin pressure airplane effects begin the moment the doors close. You are cruising at 35,000 feet. Outside your window, the temperature is -56�C. The air pressure is roughly one quarter of what it is at sea level. The oxygen level would … Read more
By Aeruxo � Licensed Flight Dispatcher | 15+ Years in Airline Operations After my turbulence article was published, the most common question I received was simple: “So where should I actually sit?” After my safety article, the question became: “What is the safest seat?” After my airplane sounds article: “Where is the quietest seat?” Every … Read more
By Aeruxo � Licensed flight dispatcher (study guide) | 15+ Years in Airline Operations It is 2 AM. The OCC is quiet. Most of the day-shift dispatchers have gone home. But on my screens, dozens of aircraft are crossing the night sky�Seoul to Bangkok, Incheon to Manila, Gimhae to Tokyo. Night flights are in the … Read more
By Aeruxo � Licensed Flight Dispatcher | 15+ Years in Airline Operations Here is a secret from 15 years inside the Operations Control Center: the tools I use to track your flight professionally are not that different from the tools you can use yourself. The professional systems have more data and faster updates, but the … Read more
By Aeruxo � Licensed flight dispatcher (study guide) | 15+ Years in Airline Operations The ACARS message appeared on my screen at 22:47: “PAX MEDICAL EMERGENCY. CPR IN PROGRESS. REQUEST NEAREST SUITABLE.” Twelve words. No context. No diagnosis. No time for questions. A passenger on our Incheon-to-Manila flight was in cardiac arrest somewhere over the … Read more
By Aeruxo � Licensed flight dispatcher (study guide) | 15+ Years in Airline Operations A friend once texted me mid-flight: “There’s a loud thunk under the plane. Are we going to die?” I texted back after she landed: “That was the landing gear. You were never in danger. You were hearing the airplane doing exactly … Read more