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Something that just popped into my head: I've been on a few easyJet and Ryanair flights where a lot of passengers clap and cheer on touchdown. Would the pilots be able to hear this?

Here's an example I found by searching YouTube:

It seems pretty commonplace... but can the pilots hear them? I guess it would be distracting.

Just something I was wondering!

Danny Beckett
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2 Answers2

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In my 10 years of flying 747s on international flights, there was no way we would know of passenger reactions upon landing unless one of the cabin staff told us, and that was rare.

Terry
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    Yeah, I would imagine that to be the case in a 747 due to where the cockpit is. I suppose that the answer to this question is really "it depends on the aircraft". – Lnafziger Mar 28 '14 at 12:27
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We can in my airplane:

Falcon 50

Quite frankly, I'm usually a little insulted when it happens.

Were they actually so fearful for their lives and are now so happy to be alive that they need to applaud the heroic pilots? Sorry, but unless it's a true emergency and we did actually just save their lives, I'm not putting them in a situation where they are actually at risk. In this case, I was just doing my job. Do you applaud the waiter or waitress who gets your order right?? :-)

As far as airliners, I'm pretty sure that the pilots can hear you too if everyone is clapping but someone with experience on that should confirm whether or not this is true.

Disclaimer: This isn't the actual airplane that I fly, but it is the same kind. Notice also that we don't have a door to our cockpit so this makes it much easier to hear what is going on in back.

Lnafziger
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    I don't know, most people thank the bus driver when they get off in the UK :) ...I don't understand it either though! – Danny Beckett Mar 21 '14 at 02:45
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    @DannyBeckett Thanking is one thing, applauding is another! :) – Lnafziger Mar 21 '14 at 02:48
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    That's a fancy airplane! Does it always come with a glass of wine :) – KORD4me Mar 21 '14 at 03:52
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    @KORD4me It actually comes with a few bottles of wine along with other liquor! :-) – Lnafziger Mar 21 '14 at 03:53
  • @Lnafziger Haha! I like the disclaimer. You had me going tho, thought for sure it was YOUR airplane. Jealousy was raging! – KORD4me Mar 21 '14 at 03:57
  • @KORD4me Ahh, no I don't own one, but I do fly one just like this! – Lnafziger Mar 21 '14 at 03:59
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    I also love the way passengers clap as soon as the wheels touch the tarmac. I'd love to know if the passengers on this flight were applauding the pilot as the plane ran off the runway onto a highway. – DJClayworth Mar 21 '14 at 17:17
  • I'm most of the owners (with some exceptions) of planes like those don't bother to fly them. – Farhan Mar 21 '14 at 20:34
  • @Farhan True, but I know that Jimmy Buffet flies his! :-) – Lnafziger Mar 21 '14 at 20:43
  • @Lnafziger Yes, that's why I wrote "with some exceptions". Larry's planes must be like that too. – Farhan Mar 21 '14 at 20:46
  • I imagine part of the reason people clap is out of respect for pilots who operate large, complex machines ... and make it look easy! – greener Mar 29 '14 at 04:05
  • @Lnafziger, I suspect people usually clap based on the perceived 'smoothness' of the landing. Or maybe if there's been some scary 'event' before (turbulence or a go-round). – Benjol Apr 01 '14 at 05:27
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    A rock band, for instance, must play really badly not to earn any single applause. I think, all crew is rewarded for a flight as such, stewards including. – h22 Oct 02 '14 at 09:57
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    I never clap myself but:

    1. Flying is perceived by some to be a dangerous and unnatural activity, people clap due to relief at still being alive.

    2. Lots of people on Ryanair flights probably only fly a couple of times a year so it's not a regular event and they are likely to be in high spirits as they are going on holiday.

    3. Re spirits, they are likely to have consumed a few of those too.

    4. Ryanair encourage this type of behaviour by playing a fanfare when they arrive "on time" and this is probably perceived by some passengers as being a fanfare to say "hey, we didn't die!".

     – davidjwest Mar 26 '15 at 15:08
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    Musicians or actors who get applauded are also “just doing their job”. If I applaud you, it doesn’t mean I thought you might fail or have difficulty, it just means you have done something that I find impressive, usually because I would find it very difficult. Isn’t it OK to see flying that way? – Peter LeFanu Lumsdaine Nov 26 '15 at 00:31
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    Frankly nowadays a good waiter/waitress would deserve applause just to separate them from their sometimes incompetent colleagues. But that is a different world, instead of applause they get a tip in order to compensate for their mostly mediocre wage... – Tobias Kienzler Jul 14 '16 at 06:26
  • Depending where you are, university students often applaud after the end of a good lecture by a professor (probably some clapping for the lecture and some clapping for the end), but not because they thought they were in danger. – WBT Jul 14 '16 at 19:54
  • @PeterLeFanuLumsdaine Well, a performer's job is to entertain, and that clapping is to give them feedback on how the did.... I suppose one could say that the passengers are giving feedback to the pilots as well, but it doesn't usually happen in other similar situations (busses, taxis, etc.) – Lnafziger Jul 17 '16 at 15:35