Do planes smoke when landing?

Question: Captain Cox, why is smoke seen when an aircraft's landing wheels touch down onto the runway? Answer: The smoke is the result of a wheel which is not turning in flight making contact with a stationary runway. The wheel must accelerate to the landing speed very quickly.



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While No Smoking signs are certainly there as a constant reminder that smoking is not allowed on board, the signs are also because of convenience and cost. Airlines, like other private businesses, must reinforce federal laws with signage, such as No Smoking signs (via mydoorsign.com).

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The hot and humid air produced by the airplane's engine mixes with the cool and dry air outside of the airplane, resulting in the formation of contrails. In other words, contrails are condensation in the sky that manifest as white smoke.

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Pilots can and sometimes do smoke in the cockpits of business jets. These can be as large as airliners (see BBJ), but usually aren't. Even when a country and/or airline ban smoking in the flight deck, some pilots will ignore the ban and still light up.

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Fuel dumping (or a fuel jettison) is a procedure used by aircraft in certain emergency situations before a return to the airport shortly after takeoff, or before landing short of the intended destination (emergency landing) to reduce the aircraft's weight.

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Most airplanes leave behind a white smoke trail, though some may leave behind a black smoke trail. Black smoke trails aren't caused by condensation in exhaust gases. Instead, they are caused by an incomplete combustion processes. Just like cars and trucks use combustion to produce power, so do airplanes.

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The bathrooms on airplanes are, of course, fitted with smoke detectors. If someone ignores the rules and decides to light up anyway, the smoke alarm will detect their actions and the flight crew will be alerted.

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Contrails (/'k?ntre?lz/; short for condensation trails) or vapor trails are line-shaped clouds produced by aircraft engine exhaust or changes in air pressure, typically at aircraft cruising altitudes several miles above the Earth's surface. Contrails are composed primarily of water, in the form of ice crystals.

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But extending the flaps also increases drag and slows the plane down, thereby reducing the control over the aircraft that you want. So to counteract that, pilots will throttle up to maintain speed and control.

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By landing into a headwind, the airframe is pushed back and slows down faster, allowing pilots to reach taxiing speeds much faster and without wearing out their brakes early. Moreover, the landing speed is also reduced, allowing for a safer entry off the runway.

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Airlines find that fuel dumping can actually be cheaper than not dumping in certain circumstances. But it's not something pilots do on a routine basis. We spoke with Alison Duquette, spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), who assured us that it doesn't happen very often.

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You may smoke on a cruise ship, but only in designated smoking areas. On most ships operated by U.S. cruise lines, all indoor public spaces are off-limits with the exceptions being the casino (or part of the casino), a cigar lounge (if the ship has one) and one or two other lounges.

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Under the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) 's direction, ashtrays must be on the bathroom doors of all airliners. The reason is that ashtrays are there for the passengers who do smoke. Despite warnings and laws prohibiting inflight smoking, some stubborn customers continue to disobey the rules.

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If you own a private jet or have the owner's permission to smoke tobacco on board, as long as the aircraft complies with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) rules for passenger and crew compartment interiors, then smoking is permitted.

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Commercial pilots will be allowed tattoos in some airlines as long as they are covered. This means if a pilot has a sleeve-type tattoo on their arm, they must wear a long sleeve shirt to cover it. Most major airlines do not allow tattoos that cannot be covered.

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