Have you ever wondered what prevents large passenger planes with incredible flight ranges from flying over Antarctica today?
Flight Radar When we open the website and look at it, countless airplane icons greet us. This view we encounter every day, of airplanes It also reminds us how much convenience it provides in transportation. However, there are interesting prohibitions in this area that you have not heard before.
For example, previously over Tibet We said that it is forbidden to fly and we explained the interesting reasons for this. Now we are looking at one of the questions that causes endless confusion unless certain factors are taken into account. Why don’t planes pass through the South Pole as they constantly pass through the North Pole? Let’s say before we get to the conclusion, it’s involved more than cold there is.
Let’s get the “cold” out of the way, starting with the simplest:
Antarctica On the continent, just like in the north, there are extremely cold and very thick, ice-covered layers. In addition, due to the current surrounding and preventing the warm water from reaching the continent, the annual average temperature of Antarctica starts from -10 in some regions. -80 degrees it can go down.
So the planes are not prepared for this?
Widely used in airplanes Jet A and Jet A-1 fuels have freezing points at -40 and -47 degrees, respectively. In Antarctica, on the other hand, there is a danger of the fuel freezing, especially since it is flying high. The solution is to descend.
But they don’t have much chance of approaching it, because due to weather conditions, snowstorms prevent vision and communication, which in aviation continuous communication indispensable. Even if the plane has enough fuel when it is lost, it cannot pass through the center of Antarctica.
But before explaining the main reason for this, let’s take a quick look at two variables:
First of all, irregular at the poles magnetic field The idea that planes disrupt the navigation system is not very valid today. Because ground-direction verifications are made with the support of satellites rather than old methods. But if an old-style plane is in question, at this point where you can’t even see your way. where you are going It will be very difficult to know.
Our second variable is land structure. Dangerous we talked about Tibet high mountains The issue also applies to Antarctica. As we mentioned earlier, it is necessary to descend to prevent the fuel from freezing. But from the topography It will not be easy to land a large passenger plane in a mountainous and desert terrain that you are not sure of or that does not offer you much visibility.
Even if we surpass this in technology, pilots must also be trained in accordance with these requirements:
- Hi Fly pilot Carlos Mirpuri landed the Airbus A340 in Antarctica
In addition, the aircraft appropriate and different equipment must be installed.
Now let’s come to the real reason that prevents planes from flying over Antarctica: ETOPS
set by the UK Civil Aviation Authority as a standard ETOPS (Extended Twin-Engine Operations) determines how long twin-engine aircraft can stay in the air with a single engine. In addition, aircraft are normally required to be within 1 hour of the nearest emergency landing area.
But when this value rises, for example ETOPS180 When we look at an aircraft specified as 180, the value of 180 indicates that the aircraft can stay in the air for up to 3 hours with a single engine. In other words, ETOPS is a standard created on increasing the 1 hour time just before. If takeoff and landing zones require more than ETOPS180 that flight doesn’t happen anyway. But today, as you will notice, this range has been greatly expanded. So much so that we can now see the value of 370 in the Airbus A350 XWB model.
But Antarctica falls outside even that range:
Yes, even to reach Ushuaia airport, which is the nearest emergency landing site when you fly this plane directly over Antarctica. more than 370 minutes You will need time. Even if there is an emergency landing area on the area, it is unlikely that passengers and crew will remain in good condition until help arrives, and landing is not like standard landings.
We are not saying that this is impossible. Airline companies are not willing to make this journey, which is both costly and risky, because special clothes and resources are not ready for everyone on passenger planes. The actual air traffic in the Northern Hemisphere since there is no need for it.
Still, we know that trips have been made here. In fact, Qantas company both broke a record and shared the Antarctic landscape with its 17 hours and 25 minutes flight last year:
- From Argentina to Australia
However, since the vehicle and crew used in these journeys were prepared according to the polar conditions, no need to compare. Since scientific studies continue in Antarctica, there are also people who go there. But as we said, the vehicle and flight crew used to go here, especially preparing. But don’t be intimidated by this, you can go there directly by buying tickets from certain companies.
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In short, Antarctic flights are not impossible, but they are both unnecessary and risky. For this reason, passenger planes do not prefer this place, and the same is true for the North Pole, although it is not as tight as Antarctica. However, as we said, with specially prepared equipment, we came here. It is possible to send a plane.