Why do they dim the lights?

Why do most (perhaps all) airlines dim the cabin lighting during nighttime
takeoffs?

Seems to me, in the unlikely event of a crash, they would want as much light as
possible for the passengers to see by while evacuating or to be seen by rescue
parties.

Jerry in LAS

Jaybee727 wrote:

Why do most (perhaps all) airlines dim the cabin lighting during nighttime
takeoffs?

Seems to me, in the unlikely event of a crash, they would want as much light as
possible for the passengers to see by while evacuating or to be seen by rescue
parties.

If there is a crash, there probably won't be cabin lighting.
If the lights were bright and your were plunged into darkness, it would
take a while for your eyes to adjust to the darkness and it would be
harder to see. This is why we used red lighting in the Navy, otherwise
it would be difficult for lookouts and others to see very well when they
went outside at night.

On Thu, 18 Sep 2003 05:16:05 GMT, mrtravel
wrote:

Jaybee727 wrote:

Why do most (perhaps all) airlines dim the cabin lighting during nighttime
takeoffs?

Seems to me, in the unlikely event of a crash, they would want as much light as
possible for the passengers to see by while evacuating or to be seen by rescue
parties.

If there is a crash, there probably won't be cabin lighting.
If the lights were bright and your were plunged into darkness, it would
take a while for your eyes to adjust to the darkness and it would be
harder to see. This is why we used red lighting in the Navy, otherwise
it would be difficult for lookouts and others to see very well when they
went outside at night.

That makes sense. Some airlines say they're going to dim the lights
during takeoff "to give you a better view of the city". I guess that
sounds so much better than saying its in case they crash.

I think it's to make it harder for the passengers to see the flight
crew, with parachutes on, zoomng down the aisles towards the exits.
C.


On 18 Sep 2003 04:46:37 GMT, (Jaybee727) wrote:

Why do most (perhaps all) airlines dim the cabin lighting during nighttime
takeoffs?

"Citronella" wrote ...
I think it's to make it harder for the passengers to see the flight
crew, with parachutes on, zoomng down the aisles towards the exits.

*LOL*

"Thur" wrote in message
...
"Citronella" wrote ...
I think it's to make it harder for the passengers to see the flight
crew, with parachutes on, zoomng down the aisles towards the exits.

*LOL*



For the same reason that you turn off the inside lights in your car when you
are driving at night. The peripheral vision of the pilots when taxiing is
lowered by the light escaping from the windows being reflected back by the
particles in the air be it rain , fog or just normal (?) smog.

backscatter of side window illumination is SO minimal as to be non-existant.
Now,OTOH, landing lights and blinkers cause a LOT of scatter in fog/clouds

"Don Howe" wrote in message
...

"Thur" wrote in message
...
"Citronella" wrote ...
I think it's to make it harder for the passengers to see the flight
crew, with parachutes on, zoomng down the aisles towards the exits.

*LOL*



For the same reason that you turn off the inside lights in your car when
you
are driving at night. The peripheral vision of the pilots when taxiing is
lowered by the light escaping from the windows being reflected back by the
particles in the air be it rain , fog or just normal (?) smog.

Why do most (perhaps all) airlines dim the cabin lighting during nighttime
takeoffs?


I actualy like it when they dim the lights, I was a bit concerned the first
time they done it, but it allows for you to see the city lights as you take
off, making for a much nicer goodbye to where you have been. Nice and
Romantic lol, the lihgts out also keeps the kids quiet and helps people to
go to sleep.
On my latest return from MCO - LGW the lights were dimmed immediately after
the safety demo - which no one ever watches!. and it was good to see the
terminal fade into the distance as we roared towards the sky on our 747.

"mrtravel" wrote in message
news
If there is a crash, there probably won't be cabin lighting.

Some cabin lighting is battery powered or has battery backup. The most
visible example are the emergency spotlights built into the door panel of
many Boeings. There are even certification requirements about how much
lighting must remain operational after the fuselage breaks into a certain
number of sections.

Ken Ishiguro

On 18 Sep 2003 04:46:37 GMT, (Jaybee727) wrote:

Why do most (perhaps all) airlines dim the cabin lighting during nighttime
takeoffs?

To enhance the appearance of the cabin crew? ;-)
*boom boom*


Cheers,

Jason.