At what layer do most airplanes fly?

Most of the aeroplanes fly in the troposphere. It extends up to approximately 11 km above sea level. The exosphere is the outermost layer of the atmosphere and extends into outer space. The Mesosphere extends upto 85 km above sea level while the Thermosphere extends upto 1000 km above sea level.



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Commercial jet aircraft fly in the lower stratosphere to avoid turbulence and increased atmospheric drag, which are common in the troposphere below. Air is roughly a thousand times thinner at the top of the stratosphere than it is at sea level. The stratosphere is very dry air, containing little water vapor.

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Because the Earth is a three-dimensional sphere and not merely a two-dimensional flat, East-West surface. Because of this spherical shape, often times the shortest distance is flying more north and south, up over the Northern latitudes and the North Pole, rather than flying east/west over the Pacific.

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The reason planes cruise at high altitudes is that they burn less fuel and can fly faster, as the air is less dense. At 30,000 feet and higher, it is also possible for aircraft to avoid weather systems, making it more comfortable onboard.

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Thanks to the low visibility and undeveloped infrastructure, flying over Antarctica is extremely difficult. Specifically, because of the strong magnetic fields that surround the polar regions, navigating there, no matter how well-equipped the airplane is in terms of instrumentation, can be particularly challenging.

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What is the longest flight in the world by distance? The longest flight in the world by distance is New York (JFK) to Singapore (SIN) on Singapore Airlines clocking in at 9,537 miles. What plane can fly the farthest in the world?

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An aircraft would not be safe to fly over the Pacific Ocean due to the stormy weather and frequent lightning strikes that occur there. Most planes from the Americas bound for East Asia use the overland route through Canada and Alaska due to the more favorable weather conditions.

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22 October 1962: Northwest Airlines Flight 293, a DC-7C with 7 crew and 95 passengers made a successful water landing in Sitka Sound.

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Has a plane ever ditched in the ocean? 23 November 1996: Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961 (a Boeing 767-260ER), ditched in the Indian Ocean near Comoros after being hijacked and running out of fuel, killing 125 of the 175 passengers and crew on board.

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When an aircraft experiences turbulence, the plane can drop or change altitude suddenly. This is why pilots always caution passengers to buckle up and stay seated when they are experiencing flight turbulence. The sudden movements put passengers at risk.

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Severe turbulence can cause a plane to drop so suddenly that pilots temporarily lose control. But, again, that's not enough to crash the plane. That's not to say it's never happened. In 1966, human error and turbulence combined to bring a plane down over Mount Fuji.

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At times like this, pilots will slow to a designated “turbulence penetration speed” to ensure high-speed buffet protection (don't ask) and prevent damage to the airframe. We can also request higher or lower altitudes, or ask for a revised routing.

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