Worried about seeing smoke in the airplane ventilation when flying? This expert has the explanation

Traveling by plane is a stressful experience for many people at the best of times, so seeing the cabin suddenly fill up with what appears to be smoke, or perhaps mist, at 30,000ft is unlikely to do much to reduce anxiety levels. Should that happen, however, there is usually no reason to panic, according to one aircraft mechanic.

TikTok/Instagram content creator @airplanefactswithmax has gone viral with his explanation of the foggy phenomenon, which contains an unexpected Lord of theRings-related twist (watch the video below if that’s your bag).

What really happens when the aircraft cabin fills with “smoke”

According to Max the mechanic, the “smoke” that you see is not smoke at all, rather condensation which comes from the plane’s pack bays. The pack bay is where most of an aircraft’s air-conditioning and pressurization systems are located (P.A.C.K. actually stands for Pressurization Air Conditioning Kit).

“On a hot or humid day on the ramp, that can typically cause that condensation to come into the cabin, looking a little bit like fog,” explains our expert.

So next time you see that eerie mist drifting through the cabin, don’t panic, it’s not smoke, just harmless condensation. And thanks to Max the mechanic (and a little help from Middle-earth), you’ll know exactly what’s going on.

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