Title: Why planes fly at 35,000 feet: The reason for high altitude flights
Headings: Why planes fly at 35,000 feet: The reason for high altitude flights
Why planes fly at 35,000 feet: The reason for high altitude flights
Why do planes fly so high?
The higher the better
Traveller Newsletter
How's the weather up there?
Avoiding heavy traffic
In the event of an emergency
How cold is it up there?
Is there a minimum flying height?
Well, why not fly at the minimum height required to clear any obstacles?
What about a maximum?
The Telegraph, London
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Content: Welcome to Flight One from here to there. We'll be flying at a height of ten feet, going up to 12 and a half feet if we see anything big." Well, why not fly at the minimum height required to clear any obstacles? Photo: iStock
Because there are laws that govern just that. Known as the lowest safe altitude (LSALT), the value has been applied by aviation bodies around the world, including Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA), the British Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and the US Federal Aviation Administration. "This applies much more to light aircraft than airliners, but it is illegal to fly below 1,000 feet when over a built-up area, or 500 feet over any person, vehicle or structure," said Richard Taylor of the CAA. "That is as much for environmental reasons such as noise as it is for safety." Aircraft must not fly less than 1000 feet above the "highest fixed object" beneath them and pilots must make sure that they are high enough to clear the congested area below in the event of engine failure. Obviously, these don't apply to take-off and landing when aircraft are in controlled flight paths.