Why is it.........

[Gavin 99]

that on coming in to land at night, airlines dim the cabin lights?To give me a better view out of the window would be a nice answer, but somehow I doubt it :-)http://online.vatsimindicators.net/916312/3.png

[mgh 89]

I'm not sure, but suggest it may be to take the load of the electrical system - in the event of an emergency involving a loss of electrical power it would be one less thing for the crew to have to deal with.

[John_Tavendale 453]

In the event of an emergency it makes it easier to adjust your eyes to outside light.. also makes it easier to see emergency lighting in the cabin

[michal 44]

John is correct.Michael J.WinXP-Home SP2,AMD64 3500+,Abit AV8,Radeon X800Pro,36GB Raptor,1GB PC3200,Audigy 2http://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/forum/747400.jpghttp://www.hifisim.com/images/asv_beta_member.jpg

[victorwest2 0]

Lights are also dimmed on take off, aren't they?

[Guest LahaskaFlyer]

It's on the card (check list).Jack WilsonDell8300Pent.R4CPU 3.0 GhzXP-Pro1.00 GB of Ram256MB DDR ATI Radeon 9800 XTSB AudigyDell 19" MonitorCable ModemCH Yoke-Pedals

[michal 44]

>Lights are also dimmed on take off, aren't they?Correct, for the same reason.Michael J.WinXP-Home SP2,AMD64 3500+,Abit AV8,Radeon X800Pro,36GB Raptor,1GB PC3200,Audigy 2http://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/forum/747400.jpghttp://www.hifisim.com/images/asv_beta_member.jpg

[Gavin 99]

Thanks for the info gents!tp://online.vatsimindicators.net/916312/3.png

[Guest enave]

In the event of an emergency it makes it easier to adjust your eyes to outside light.But even if the crew forgets to turn off the lights, in an emergency all that burning jet fuel will tend to light up the outside of the aircraft anyway.

[Guest danielwilliams]

Not entirely true, not 100% of all airliners dim the lights on take off and landing. Most do this if bad weather is ahead i.e lighting. In the case of all emergencies, on takeoff the pilot will turn off any unnecassary power if for instance engine failure occured. On landing, the same thing happens but as soon as it lands and taxis of the runway all power is shut down immediately, thats when the emergency services check things out. Sometimes they do indeed turn down cabin lights for the passengers, whether they are uncomfortable with flying or for those who enjoy the view. For those of you who have ever landed into stormy weather, you will know that if the lights are left on, they flicker on and off like a strobe, scaring the shite out of women, children and first time flyers, even when they are turned right down they go off for a few seconds then back on again. I was told that its the electricity in the clouds that surges through the absorbers, hence the loss of the Air France A340 in Toronto.On another issue........... I was looking at an article about these things and apparently, if an aircraft is struck by lightning it sends the flight computers wild because of the extra quick serge of electicity, which can actually increase engine power and then shut down all power. I was quite worried about this, it actually means that if like the A340 on finals, if this happens to the aircraft, its out of the pilots hands, they cannot perform a go around and with the extra serge of power it puts the plane above the glide path, emergency back up power comes back on for hydraulics etc but by this time a crash landing is immenent. Could this be why the spoilers were not activated. Questions ???? who knows. Black box!!!!Anyway back to the point, its the pilots choice whether the lights are required or not. Passengers on long haul over night flights have the lights dimmed period, mainly for comfort and the look, have you seen the first class cabins of major airlines with dimmed lights, wow, makes you sleepy just looking at it.http://www.airliners.net/open.file/753249/M/ The next time you are on a night flight, feeling slightly sleepy, ask a stewardess if you can have the lights dimmed, almost guaranteed the pilot will be more than happy to do so. If everyones asleep, no need for the crew to worry about working too hard lol.Cheers

[Guest Paul Heaney]

Who's to say that in the event of emergency, there will be ANY burning fuel?

[Guest tallpilot]

Pilots do not have control of cabin lights. Controls are located in the cabin and the flight attendents dim the lights at night for takeoffs and landings for safety reasons as others have posted. Pilots do have control of the exterior lights, landing lights, position lights, strobe lights, ice lights,etc. Most pilots will turn the strobe lights off when in the clouds as they are very distracting and affect night vision. Most pilots will also turn the white cockpit lights on when operating near lightning or on long night overwater flights when in cruise on autopilot. The landing and or ground flood lights are used at lower altitudes both day and night to help to be seen by other aircraft.Everthing you ever wanted to know about aircraft lighting but were afraid to ask. :-)Ed Weber a.k.a Cap'n Tall

[Guest Divergent Phugoid]

Not entirely true, not 100% of all airliners dim the lights on take off and landing. Most do this if bad weather is ahead i.e lighting.

Its the otherway around for lightning, you turn the lights up so that you can continue to read the instruments easily, even after a flash has ruined your night vision (takes only a few secs to undo night vision, and about 30 mins to develop it).