If people think they won't get a chance to see, they might all crowd to one side of the plane, causing enough weight imbalance so as to cause a crash.
It's a big problem on boats, and there are countless stories of someone on a crowded boat seeing a dolphin, shouting about it, everyone crowds to one side to get closer, and the whole boat capsizes.
Regulations now require that boats stay afloat if everyone stands on one side, but the regulations aren't perfectly adhered to and that still doesn't prevent people crowding to one side enough to push/knock others overboard.
This gives me an idea. Introducing, the Brennan airplane (see: 7:20 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUYzuAJeg3M)
Banking the plane is a nice gesture to help everyone experience a special occasion.
So I was on a flight from London to Vancouver, which had us approaching Vancouver from the north. It was December but a sunny day. Half the passengers were on ski holidays. We had to delay our arrival a while so the pilot said he was going to bank the plane to the left and do a circle, which would put the Whistler-Blackcomb ski resort in view out the left side. In unison, seatbelts be damned, everyone on the right of the plane got up and moved left to get pictures. About half-way through the turn, the pilot came back: "Um, we felt that up here. When you return to your seats can you please do so slowly, at least slower than how fast you moved to the left." Pre-9/11 was a simpler time.
I doubt everyone moving side to side when the plane isn’t taking off or landing is going to automatically cause a crash.
Side to side weight balance of passengers is not a major factor in any plane I have ever read the manual for. They are too close to the centerline to impart much force. The pilots might notice it and trim it out, but I doubt they would have to do anything beyond that. Fore and aft balance is critical, but still unlikely to be an issue with passengers at cruise speed since the elevator has a lot of control authority at 500mph.
A 737 can fly fine with a completely empty wing tank on one side and a completely full wing tank on the other. The wing tanks of some models can carry 4,500 kgs of fuel in each side, so that amounts to a 9,000 kg imbalance outboard of the fuselage. That is the equivalent of about 111 "standard" passengers' weight on the wing that can be handled with trim alone, and 737s are capable of safely landing in that configuration.
Boats are different because as they heal farther and farther the righting moment diminishes (for conventional monohull powercraft at least), and the passengers are able to get all the way to the extreme.
Planes on the other hand have the same "righting moment" no matter how far over they bank since it is a function of airflow over control surfaces rather than buoyancy and gravity.
Sounds like it might be something that they should tell people about, I guess they don't because when there's enough people in an airplane people either tend to (1) behave according to rules or (2) just not be a significant amount of people to cause the plane to {{do funny things}}.
...but in any case, I can imagine being a pilot and hoping/trying to/prayin for people to stay in their seat regardless of whatever is happening outside...
...must be a scary experience...
Anyway, stories like this where strangers help everyone around them experience something great always warm my heart. Kudos to you!
Too totalitarian for me.
Have one bottle of Sudafed in your luggage and nobody will care. Have 100 bottles of Sudafed and you're going to jail for drug manufacturing.
And buy direct, don't use Amazon because of the counterfeit risks.
They are often pulling stuff like this, tax evasion, LOTS of discrimination complaints, etc https://www.timesofisrael.com/jewish-owned-bh-photo-accused-...
Their return policy isn't great by any means. I buy a $2000 49" Monitor that arrives not working and I can't return it because I opened and tried to turn it on? Yeah, ok.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/find/HelpCenter/ReturnExchange....
> Nonreturnable Items
Opened TVs, combos and monitors 37" and larger — original packaging cannot be unsealed Opened computers and computer software — original packaging cannot be unsealed Electronic software downloads Opened consumable items (e.g., film, tapes, paper, bulbs, CD, DVDs, ink cartridges, etc.) Any computers built or modified by B&H to customer specifications Select special-order merchandise, or any item indicated on the website as nonreturnable Underwater equipment that has been submerged Opened or unwrapped educational tapes and books
> A US Labor Department lawsuit filed in 2016 accused B&H, the largest non-chain photo and video equipment store in New York City, of heavily discriminating against Hispanic employees by forcing them to use separate, unsanitary bathrooms.
Man, I had no idea. Forcing an ethnic group to use separate bathrooms? Whoever thought that was a good idea?
I know some consumer protection laws aren’t as strong as others – I’m blessed to live in Australia in this regard – but surely this just isn’t legal?
Retail stores aren't usually on the hook for items that arrive non-functioning from the manufacturer -- the manufacturer is.
The retailer should absolutely be on the hook. They are the ones with a working relationship with the manufacturer, and hence are best positioned to be able to hold the manufacturer accountable.
As an Australian who lives in the US atm, they are right to be grateful for the ACCC (consumer protection watchdog). I certainly am now. In the US you have to rely on retailers who treat good consumer protection as a competitive advantage like Costco, REI, Best Buy, sometimes Amazon, etc. In Australia you can easily hold any retailer accountable (and they’re all just generally better behaved with this stuff anyway, so you rarely have to force them).
For the most part, credit card chargebacks serve a similar purpose, though of course the retailer may ban you from their store afterwards.
Absolutely agreed that the retailer is on the hook. The customer is not making a deal with the manufacturer to buy the good; the customer is making a deal with the retailer. Along the same line, I dislike it when retailers try to weasel out of shipping issues by blaming it on the parcel carrier. That's only valid if the customer went to ups.com and created and paid for a shipment themselves!
I rarely buy from box stores but when I do that and being able to test things in person is the only reason I ever go near a bestbuy/etc.
Microcenter for instance- https://community.microcenter.com/kb/articles/28-what-is-the...
> Products not eligible for return *
Opened software such as Microsoft Office, Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Windows Server, and Microsoft Windows Server clients Electronic software downloads Point of Sale Activation Cards that have a dollar value Micro Center Gift Cards (except as required by law) Products with customer-induced damage such as, but not limited to, aerial drones with damage due to pilot error. So let’s be careful out there! Microphones and microphone accessories * VR Headsets, Headphones, including AirPods, Earbuds, and Over-the-Ear Products
* Hardware items deemed defective are eligible for exchange
One of the great things about Australian consumer law: the retail store is responsible.
[0] https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1750791-REG/american_...
They flagged it for further inspection, unsurprisingly, but the agent was pretty amicable, I didn't really get any grief