Military pilots are taught to fly formation early in their training, and, except when there is a scarcity of aircraft for the mission, they always fly in groups of two or more for safety and efficiency.
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What is the distance for flying aircraft set by the regulations? Commercial aircraft flying below 29,000 feet must maintain a vertical separation of 1,000 feet. Any higher and the separation increases to 2,000 feet, except in airspace where Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum (RVSM) applies.
(c) Over other than congested areas – An altitude of 500 feet above the surface except over open water or sparsely populated areas. In that case, the aircraft may not be operated closer than 500 feet to any person, vessel, vehicle, or structure.
Since it is preferable to crash land on solid ground, and ideally close to an airport where emergency services are accessible, most airlines prefer to fly over land. Most flights are intended to spend as little time as possible over water, since storms are more common over the ocean than on land.
Because of its vast size, crossing the Pacific Ocean requires a staggering quantity of fuel. However, most commercial aircraft do not fly directly over the Pacific Ocean; instead, they choose what are known as 'curved paths'. These paths offers a faster, more efficient route given the curved nature of the earth.
There were difficulties navigating over the featureless expanse of water for thousands of miles, and the weather, especially in the North Atlantic, is unpredictable.
Per FlightAware, commercial aviation only comprised about 46.4% of all flights in 2021, so the total number of planes in the air at any time might actually be twice as high — somewhere in the ballpark of 15,500 to 17,500!
Approach and landing is the highest risk phase of flight, accounting for over 50 percent of all accidents at every level of aviation. Many types of accidents can happen during the approach and landing phase of flight.