Comments on New Mercies . . . each morning: Emergencies high over the Pacific

Tomcat1, Great questions! I've typed up two blog ...

2009-05-14T14:17:00.000-04:00

Tomcat1,

Great questions! I've typed up two blog entries to help answer your questions. Thanks so much for reading.

I heard Chinese and Russian air space uses the met...

2009-05-11T00:06:00.000-04:00

I heard Chinese and Russian air space uses the metric system while most other countries use the imperial system of measurement. Is it alot of trouble converting the different system of measurement? I remember a Air Canada 767 having to make an emergency landing due to running out of fuel from wrong metric conversion. That won't happen with Cathay?

Filtration? Yes and No. The bad ne...

2009-05-08T09:54:00.000-04:00

Filtration? Yes and No.

The bad news is that airliners don't scrub the air with filters, and with the size of a virus, I doubt it would be feasible outside of an operating room.

The good news is that the pressurization system is constantly pumping new air into the cabin. The air in the cabin is completely changed every several minutes (see the paragraph on how the pressurization system works). That constant recirculation can certainly help, and keep that environment cleaner than places like an office.

The cabin air is very dry (its source is the upper atmosphere) and that can dry out your sinuses and thus weaken your immune system, so keep it moist with water mists, vaseline, or other products to help keep you safe.

Thanks for reading.

Cool, I just have a question with the current swin...

2009-05-08T04:30:00.000-04:00

Cool, I just have a question with the current swine flu. Do 747s and other jetliners have filtration system to recycle and clean the air? What are the chances of you getting caught infected onboard?