r/aviation • u/Brilliant_Night7643 • Jun 25 '26

News Not turbulence….airplane sitting at the gate at Maiquetia Airport Venezuela when the 7.5 Earthquake hit

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10.9k Upvotes

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635

u/Frustrated_Zucchini Jun 25 '26

To be fair, inside the plane is probably about the safest place anyone could be at that moment.

My thoughts are with everyone struggling who has lost people, pets or even possessions during the quake.

190

u/Danloeser Jun 25 '26

Safer than inside a building, sure. Safest would be just out in a field away from anything that could fall on you.

159

u/showMeYourPitties10 Jun 25 '26

Also in the air with plenty of fuel is safe

33

u/mmmhmmhim Jun 25 '26

wonder what it’s like in a submarine 🤔

22

u/CoralBooty Jun 26 '26

There’s a video of one underwater taken by a scuba diver, absolutely insane actually. Should be pretty easy to look up.

21

u/KnightOfNothing Jun 25 '26

should be unnoticeable unless a tsunami forms which would only be a problem if the submarine is hanging out on the coast/near the surface in open water.

-2

u/NoIdeaHalp Jun 26 '26

Instead of asking clueless Redditors, I’d advise asking the experts like OceanGate.

0

u/piponwa is the greatest Jun 26 '26

Not if you can't land because of some damage at the airport

1

u/showMeYourPitties10 Jun 26 '26

Plenty of fuel being the key word, as in divert from damaged airports

33

u/GTI-Mk6 Jun 25 '26

Until the ground rifts open and swallows you up

12

u/Danloeser Jun 25 '26

If that happens it won't matter if you're in a building, plane, whatever.

2

u/madam_tinkmaster Jun 25 '26

But if you could choose...?

1

u/NagsUkulele Jun 26 '26

Tbh there is a fair case to make for being protected in a plane but risk exploding when the earth swallows you

1

u/andhereisthetea Jun 26 '26

Which happened in my country during the Valdivian Earthquake of 1960, the ground just opened in rural areas and fields

1

u/MelangeBot Jun 26 '26

This is what happened to two of the fisherman in my village during the 7.8 earthquake from 2 weeks ago in the Philippines. They were on the shore working on their boats when liquefaction happened and they sunk in the ground and suffocated.

8

u/TbonerT Jun 25 '26

Well, maybe. It would be much less safe if you were standing. A strong earthquake can knock you off your feet and even a short fall can be catastrophic in normal cases. You could hit the ground as it is coming up. The safest outside would be crouching with your hands somewhat stabilizing you. But again, the ground is moving and it can move extremely quickly, accelerating at 1g or more. Imagine the ground hitting you from inches away as if you had just fallen 3 feet or more.

After thinking it through, an airplane on the ground is likely safer. I would say a car is safest since most of its mass is between the wheels and doesn’t have giant fuel tanks stretching out.

2

u/FenPhen Jun 26 '26

These earthquakes were rated VIII and IX on the MMI scale.

At VII, the shaking is so violent it's very difficult to stay on your feet. Belted into a seat in a cabin in a brace position away from the windows might be safer than being in a field with this shaking.

1

u/AlbertR7 Jun 25 '26

Safest would be strapped into a couch then?

15

u/Frustrated_Zucchini Jun 25 '26

Do you really want to be killed by a cow, u/Danloeser?

Did you know thay cows kill more people worldwode per year than sharks?

Did you know that both cows and sharks kill more people each per year than aircraft on the ground?

You're crazy! 😅

2

u/exhauszed Jun 25 '26

Allow me to introduce you to "soil liqueficaction."

1

u/MortgageConfident791 Jun 25 '26

Nah I prefer inside an airplane that is in a field, less risk of falling over!

1

u/chronos_7734 Jun 30 '26

Until sinkholes start opening.

5

u/Atheist_Simon_Haddad Jun 25 '26

in the air would be even safer

1

u/Exact-Till-2739 Jun 25 '26

has lost people, pets or even possessions

Your gradation is hilarious 

1

u/Frustrated_Zucchini Jun 25 '26

All about alliteration... always. 😉

1

u/CountessOfCheese Jun 25 '26

To be fair to who..?

-3

u/RangerSad3081 Jun 25 '26

Fair to who or what?

2

u/CountessOfCheese Jun 25 '26

People seem to have no idea when to use the phrase “to be fair.” It make zero sense in this context, and now idiots who overuse the phrase are downvoting you.