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I suppose there is a simple answer but it just confuses me - a bit like the fact we can put men on the moon but can't cure the common cold I guess.

2006-12-24 10:09:32 · 17 answers · asked by Anonymous in News & Events Current Events

17 answers

It's due to visibility from the tower

Radar is only effective above a certain height, hence why planes can fly in storms, clouds etc. Once you get below that height then radar is useless and the tower has to rely on eye contact with the plane itself.

At night there is no problem due to the lights they use, but in fog the tower can't see the planes. They therefore have to allow more time between take-offs and landings so as to be sure that the planes are out of the way and not going to collide on the runway - so instead of having a flight going up every 30 seconds, there is one going up every 2 minutes - hence why short-haul flights have been cancelled in the UK recently.

2006-12-24 10:14:15 · answer #1 · answered by gav_82 2 · 1 0

Planes can fly in the dark resultant to having little gages on the control panel which reveal the radio beacon which keeps them on course, at a particular altitude. That altitude differs by 1000 feet depending on which direction the plane is heading...that altitude is periodically checked as the planes pass over certain directional facilities revealing the ground level at that point so they always know their accurate altitude.. At a busy airport, visibility becomes a critical matter for the tower and the pilots.

2006-12-24 15:23:55 · answer #2 · answered by mrcricket1932 6 · 0 0

I'm not sure like, but you've got to remenber that it is only dark for (roughly) half the day, the fog is been here for 24 hours
the problem lies with the fact taht the gap between planes landing in poor visiblity is doubling, and with the airports at near capacity it is causing massive problems.

2006-12-24 10:13:13 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

Not all flights have been cancelled, when the fog is so bad, the airport authorities double the time between each plane landing, hence 50% of flights cancelled.

2006-12-24 10:39:02 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

In the dark the pilot can see the landing lights and other illuminated location aids. In the fog the pilot can see nothing helpful.

2006-12-24 10:12:51 · answer #5 · answered by Tony B 6 · 1 0

You can still se in the dark e.g. landing lights but not in fog. If I was flying and it was cancealled due to fog I would be grateful they are looking after my safety. It's not their fault that there is fog, it's just nature.

2006-12-24 10:38:38 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

The pilots can see the lights at night to guide them in but they can't see through fog.

2006-12-24 10:18:49 · answer #7 · answered by HHH 6 · 0 0

They can fly fine, it's ground travel and landing that's the issue. Poor visibility on the ground is a safety issue, and pilots need to see the runway before they can land.

2006-12-24 10:13:13 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

You'd have to wonder wouldn't you, this is after all the 21st century for christ's sake. The problem here is that Britain is shite when it comes to weather. If it rains hard, is a bit windy, snowy, foggy, or even just plain hot, the transport and power infrastructure collapses in this country - we're prepared for sod all.
Rant over.

2006-12-24 10:24:08 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0 1

It is because they might clip the grass verge on the runway it has nothing to do with take off or landing they fly by laser wire - if they clip the grass verge it could topple over

2006-12-24 10:14:19 · answer #10 · answered by toon_tigger 5 · 0 0

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