The Inquisitr is a registered trademark. Get Boldmethod flying tips and videos direct to your inbox. One of the earliest known proponents of the Hollow Earth theory was John Symmes, who proposed a theory of concentric spheres and polar void., According to Symmes, the Earth is hollow and habitable within, containing a number of solid concentric spheres, one within the other, and that it is open at the poles 12 or 16 degrees.. No airline has yet taken it upon themselves to put such freedom to the test in and around the South Pole, but many come near. 17.03.2022 Back in 1983, Finnair was the first airline to fly non-stop from Europe to Japan, flying over the North Pole so operating in the polar region is not new to Finnair. There are few to no set flight paths and nothing to help you in the event that you need to land. For modern airliners, flying over the North Pole has become a relatively mundane affair. To solve these issues, RACGAT (Russian-American Coordinating Group for Air Traffic) was formed in 1993. In 1979, Air New Zealand Flight 901 crashed into the side of Mt. [9][10], United States Boeing B-52 aircraft operated in the Arctic Ocean region almost continuously in the 1960s as part of Operation Chrome Dome and in later decades as part of readiness exercises. However, bigger aircraft also fly to the continent, but they don't stop. neither of those flights is "over the north pole". |A+AA-, Captain Nivedita Bhasin, Executive Director, Flight Safety, Air India (Photo | Ashish Krishna). Andree and two doomed crew members launched from Svalbard, an archipelago in the North Atlantic. Many flights from North America to Europe and North America to Asia, and vice versa, cross the North Pole in an effort to cut flight time And in 2011, the U.S. relaxed regulations on how far twin-engine planes can operate from a nearest airport in case of an emergency. The magnetic North Pole has, at least historically, not really been very close to the actual North Pole. It is safe to say that that window would be slim to nonexistent when flying over Antarctica. To avoid the possibility entirely, aircraft are advised to give the pole a wide berth, even though modern gyrocompasses do not suffer from this problem. Surprisingly, flying over the North Pole isnt just for relatively northern departures and arrivals either. That was a validation flight by Air India aimed at proving to various regulators its prowess to fly over the the northernmost point on the planet. Way back in 1985 itself, we had flown the worlds first all-women crew flight ,""she said. This has led to airlines avoiding Russian airspace when flying to certain destinations, including Eastern Asian cities from the US and Europe and vice versa. In addition, the isolated nature of the area can make it difficult for planes to communicate with flight controllers. Hollow Earth conspiracy theorists claim that testimony by the few people who have seen the hole at the North Pole and entered the inner Earth are being [6] Most of these international airlines were operating earlier model Boeing 747 aircraft on the route at this time, although Sabena and SAS were instead operating McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 aircraft on their respective polar route services via Anchorage. Indian women have always been big achievers in aviation since 1966 when we had our first pilot Captain Durba Banerjee. The 7,839-mile route from Perth to Buenos Aires would, however, probably not head straight for the South Pole and would instead skirt the shore and take advantage of the strong easterly winds that circle the continent. In addition, there are several navigational concerns, as well as a lack of infrastructure. Even compared to Arctic flight, there are fewer diversion airports within a reasonable distance. It is claimed that he went into hiding to avoid lawsuit following an allegation that the material in his book Cosmic Manuscript, was plagiarized. Quiz: Do You Know What These 5 ATC Phrases Mean? Many flights from North America to Europe and North America to Asia, and vice versa, cross the North Pole in an effort to cut flight time and save fuel. First, the Southern Hemisphere is less populated and has much less land mass. In February United Airlines questioned the suitability of Goose Bay, in Newfoundland, as a diversionary airport after passengers were stranded at the Canadian airport for 16 hours in freezing temperatures. User Michael Shen of York University asked this originally under the article. Hong Kong, for example, is east of New York. The southernmost flight route with plausible airports would be between Buenos Aires and Perth. For example, an Airbus A350 has been awarded a higher ETOPS value than a Boeing 737, meaning it can fly further from land towards its destination, and therefore on a straighter, more efficient route. It is fair to say that there isnt much infrastructure on Antarctica at all, let alone towers and airports and other structures which can help airplanes take off, land, and navigate. In 1952, the Scandinavian carrier SAS flew a Douglas DC-6 from Los Angeles to Copenhagen in an experimental flight. Hypothetically, flights between South Africa and New Zealand, or between Perth, Australia, and certain destinations in South America (including Buenos Aires and So Paulo), would overfly Antarctica, but no airline has scheduled such flights. The age of ultra long-haul travel has dawned with more and more globe-trotting flights making the world seem smaller and smaller with every passing year. At the Pole, an airplanes compass changes from a due-north heading to due south, and that change of course could potentially lead to problems with earlier-generation autopilot systems. These can make it difficult for planes to navigate because the polar areas interfere with magnetic navigational tools. Aircraft like the Boeing 747-400, 747-8, 777-200ER, 777-200LR, 777-300ER, 787-8, 787-9, and 787-10, as well as the Airbus A340, A350, and A380, with ranges of around 13,000 kilometres (8,100mi; 7,000nmi) or more, are required in order to travel the long distances nonstop between suitable airports. [citation needed], During the Cold War, Anchorage International Airport (ANC) in Alaska was a technical stop for a number of airlines flying the polar route between western Europe and Tokyo. New York John F. Kennedy International Airport, "To Tokyo with a DC-7 over the North Pole", "Perhana, se tulee suoraan kohti. The distance covered was 8,811 kilometres (5,475mi). Historically, flying close to or over the South Pole was ruled out by Extended-range Twin-engine Operational Performance Standards rules. The same is true of early gyrocompasses flying directly over the pole. If this route becomes operational, a Buenos Aires Singapore return flight would possibly be the fastest circumnavigation available with commercial airliners, although Perth Buenos Aires return would be faster but without passing the Equator. Jet A grade with a maximum freeze point of 40C (40F) is used in the U.S., while Jet A1 grade with a maximum freeze point of 47C (53F) is used elsewhere. His missing diaries from the late 1940s, according to conspiracy theorists, contain an account of his journey in the inner Earth covering about 1, 700 miles, during which he saw lush vegetation, lakes, mountains and animals, such as woolly mammoth. He told Coast to Coasts Art Bell that the hollow Earth has cavern systems and caves that traverse the whole mantel.. While Antarctica is a no-fly zone due to extreme weather conditions, navigational problems, visibility and more, the Arctic is also generally off-list when it comes to flying. 60nautical miles (nm) away. Please review our, You need to be a subscriber to join the conversation. Why do you think these are no fly/no film zones? I dont even know who could establish such as thing as the North Pole is in international waters a Moreover, even in cold weather conditions elsewhere, there is already a very short window of timeonly a few minutes after de-icing a planein which it is safe to fly. [39] They will not fly over the South Pole, but around Antarctica taking advantage of the strong winds which circle that continent in an easterly direction. Do airliners adjust altitude for latitude? Has 90% of ice around Antarctica disappeared in less than a decade? 6 Reasons Why Planes Dont Fly Directly Over the North Pole 1. If the restricted area is "cold" or not being used, and you have a legitimate reason to fly through the airspace, you might get approval. Two years later, after receiving approval from American aviation authorities, the company began ferrying passengers up and over the pole between those two cities. Sign up for our newsletter and be in the know. Yet. Yes, you can fly over the north pole, NASA suggests that 5,000 flights do this each year. But Agnew resigned before the date due to business issues. But transpolar flight wasnt always so common, or so safe. By contrast, this is not the case with Antarctica, meaning a flight there would largely leave pilots and flight controllers flying blind. However, fuels produced at the refineries are often better than the spec values; for example, it is not uncommon to find Jet A fuels that have measured freeze point better (colder) than the specified maximum of 40C (40F). [25] The airspace bans also forced cargo airlines to change their course, with some changing their polar routes.[26][27]. with the appropriate two longitudes? Most flights transport research personnel and supply the bases. Quiz: 7 Questions To See How Much You Know About VFR Sectional Charts. First and most obviously, Antarctica does not exactly have the most welcoming climate for human activity of any kind. More recently in 2002, Dallas Thompson, from Bakersfield, California, became convinced, after a car accident in which he nearly lost his life, that the Earth is hollow and that there is a hole in the North Pole that leads to the inner Earth. Fortunately, that is not an issue with the latest generation of long-haul aircraft, such as the Boeing 777s we fly, whose source of navigation is the extremely precise Global Positioning System (GPS). By way of my qualifications to respond to you, I have lived at the South Pole for 13 months. Quiz: Could You Pass An Instrument Checkride Today? NASA, according to conspiracy theorists, quickly delete from their websites all images showing a massive hole at the North Pole when, occasionally, they are uploaded unintentionally. The first flight of the summer season was scheduled for October 28th. His car had plunged down a ravine but he survived miraculously. The views expressed in comments published on newindianexpress.com are those of the comment writers alone. By the 1950s, though, improved navigational technologies and better maps made flying over the top of the world a lot easier, opening up the possibility for commercial routes. The lack of such an infrastructure can make flying over Antarctica like flying over the sea. @Martin: Why could the system not simply report azimuth 12 elevation 93 as though it were azimuth 168 elevation 87? "Not at all. its 777 aircraft can fly a maximum 330 minutes away from the nearest diversion airport), an increase from its previous 240-minute ETOPS rating, to operate their new route between Auckland and Buenos Aires-Ezeiza which ended in 2020. Conspiracy theorists claim to have stumbled upon NASA images that prove the controversial Hollow Earth theory. Even with these high ETOPS limits, parts of the airspace above Antarctica are still out of reach. However, Japan Air Lines dropped the service in 1969. Did you know there are approximately 500 restricted areas in the skies over the USA? A human can easily solve the problem by turning the telesocpe as fast as possible and reacquiring the target on the far side, but an electronic system would have lost the target by the time it finished rotating. They are common in navigation, sailing, and aviation. [citation needed], Another Soviet pilot Valery Chkalov and his crew were the first to fly non-stop from Europe to the American Pacific Coast. Improve your pilot skills. If the restricted area is active and has not been released to the controlling agency (FAA), the ATC facility will issue a clearance which will ensure the aircraft avoids the restricted airspace unless it is on an approved altitude reservation mission or has obtained its own permission to operate in the airspace and so informs the controlling facility. Aviation Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for aircraft pilots, mechanics, and enthusiasts. Losing track of their position while airborne is extremely dangerous. claimed to have been introduced to the idea as a teenager while employed at a farm in New Mexico. "We have made it today because of rigorous training, safety risk assessment and mitigation efforts. This is because the failure of one engine on such a plane is potentially far more serious than for one with three or four. However, at least flying over a sea or ocean typically has far better visibility and prior flight paths, giving pilots a sense of where to go via maps. [32] In 2015, government regulators approved Air New Zealand's twin-engined Boeing 777-200ER aircraft for a 330-minute ETOPS rating (i.e. The routes flown by Emirates from Dubai to US cities on the West Coast pass within a whisker of the North Pole. However, there is a high level of radiation at the poles so doing so regularly would be dangerous for those onboard. Bhasin already has her name etched in Indian aviation's history books. Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, and our products. Civilian flights from Europe to the Asian Far East were prohibited from crossing the Eastern Bloc countries, Soviet Union or China[citation needed], and either had to fly via the Middle East or fly across Arctic North America and Greenland with a refueling stop in Anchorage. @reirab I don't know. "Since radiation is harmful to health, it is imperative to ensure that it is at a minimum. This service began in 1983 and was flown with a McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30ER wide body jetliner between Tokyo and Helsinki. [ citation needed ] In 1936, Levanevsky and navigator Victor Levchenko completed a more Why does "no aircraft cross directly over the pole"? Bhasin said, "The polar region is very remote, inhospitable and always under ice cover. For example, while polar flights are rare and often not recommended, they nevertheless have been conducted in the past, meaning there are models for flight paths over the region which flight controllers can look to as models when planning and guiding an Arctic flight. Has Microsoft lowered its Windows 11 eligibility criteria? Then there is the fact that Antarctica isnt the place with the best visibility in the world, either. Hollow Earth conspiracy theorists claim there is a hole at the North Pole, as well as at the South Pole, through which the inner Earth can be accessed. Restricted air space over the Soviet Union limited flight during much of the Cold War. Many carriers take advantage of what is sometimes called Santas Shortcut as a way to cut flight hours and fuel costs. Just wearing a warm coat and a few layers wont do. By the way, because of the limitations of older navigation systems, none of the polar routes we fly crosses exactly over the North Pole. In 1978, Korean Air Lines Flight 902 operated with a Boeing 707 was shot down over the USSR by a Soviet Air Force fighter aircraft after the flight crew made gross navigational errors attempting to fly the assigned polar route. But suddenly, and inexplicably, Thompson disappeared after posting to his Yahoo Group on January 11, 2003. 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