Ever wonder why planes ask you not to recline your seat during take-off and landing?

Well, we recently spoke to the Royal Aeronautical Society’s Flight Operations Specialist Group who said it’s because an upright position is the most secure one for seatbelts and “reclined seats reduce the space available in the row behind for occupants to escape quickly if an emergency evacuation is required.”

Fine, fine, that’s fair enough. But what about dimming the lights when the place goes up or down too?

Well, according to pilot and YouTuber Captain Joe, that’s in place for good reason too. 

Take-off and landing are uniquely dangerous times on a plane

Taking a flight is far safer than driving, as many of us know. 

But if something is going to go wrong on a plane, aerospace safety expert and associate professor of aeronautical science Anthony Brickhouse told Business Insider that it’s most likely to happen during landing (when 49% of deaths occur) or takeoff (14%).

Captain Joe says the light-dimming rule helps to cope with one of these worst-case scenarios, especially if it happens when it’s dark outside.

“Let’s imagine the take-off is rejected due to an engine fire,” he said. “This most probably will initiate an emergency evacuation procedure.” 

You’ll be asked to evacuate the plane immediately through emergency exits. “If the cabin lights were to be fully bright, you would jump onto the slide into absolute darkness as your eyes struggle with the sudden change,” the pilot said.

That can make it hard to work out what to do once you’re free from the plane.

Is that the only reason?

No – the pilot explains that dimmed lights make exit signs much easier for both passengers and flight attendants to see in emergencies too. 

Additionally, pilot Jon Lewis told Conde Nast Traveller, the practice can place less stress on the plane’s engine during takeoff and landing. 

In fact, Lewis said that pilots do the reverse during lightning storms; they turn their lights up to max. 

“That way, if you get a big lightning flash, you aren’t flash-blinded,” he told the publication.

“What you are trying to do is utilise the outside cues.”