# Airplane lands -\> Passengers cheer...?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-lands-passengers-cheer/275847
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [November 20, 2004, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-lands-passengers-cheer/275847 "2004-11-20T18:19:06Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2004, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-lands-passengers-cheer/275847/1 "2004-11-20T18:19:06Z")
I recently flew from San Juan, Puerto Rico to Orlando, Florida. The flight was as smooth as any I’ve ever experienced (I fly maybe once every year or two). Anyway, when we landed, the plane errupted in cheering/applause/etc.
So what’s up with that? Is it a post 9/11 phenomena? Is it a Puerto Rican custom (the majority of people on the flight had spanish as a first language). Did I sleep through an announcement that we were possibly gonna crash into the ocean? Is it a common custom that I never witnessed previously?
BTW…I speak very little spanish. While in the Dominican Republic I tried to tell a shopkeeper that I enjoyed my meal and her baby was pretty. She laughed and told me (in English) that I told her that I would enjoy eating her baby!
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### Author:  [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2004, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-lands-passengers-cheer/275847/2 "2004-11-20T18:25:25Z")
I’ve heard the same thing in Russia, India, Yemen (might have been Syria), Columbia and Tunisia. The first time was at least ten years ago. My opinion is that it’s there is a large group of nervous, first time fliers who are just glad the flight is down safely.
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### Author:  [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2004, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-lands-passengers-cheer/275847/3 "2004-11-20T18:38:17Z")
Beats the alternative.
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### Author:  [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2004, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-lands-passengers-cheer/275847/4 "2004-11-20T18:38:33Z")
Well, the nervous first time flyers hypothesis makes some sense. The drink cart was _very_ busy indeed!
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### Author:  [@ccwaterback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccwaterback)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2004, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-lands-passengers-cheer/275847/5 "2004-11-20T18:58:37Z")
I used to fly a lot for work. It seems like whenever we had a perfect, smooth landing we would get some applause. Landings typically involve a lot of somewhat erratic movement followed by a thump-thump. When those things don’t occur, and all you notice is the engines revving in reverse, you are just thankful there was no amusement park ride before the landing.
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### Author:  [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2004, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-lands-passengers-cheer/275847/6 "2004-11-20T19:04:28Z")
It is a mainly cultural thing. Italians do it. I took several Alitalia flights a few weeks ago and the Italians always clapped and cheered when the plane landed. There was a joke flash cartoon about Italians posted in MPSIMS a few days ago and that was one of the jokes.
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### Author:  [@Martha\_Medea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martha_Medea)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2004, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-lands-passengers-cheer/275847/7 "2004-11-20T19:13:23Z")
It’s supposed to be a Latino thing but I’ve experienced it in other places too.
I find those last few moments after the plane touches down almost the most hair-raising: I don’t feel home and dry until it’s evident the brakes/reverse thrust have done the trick. Maybe it’s something to do with the fact that both ends of the runway at Gibraltar airport jut out into the sea? It’s not the world’s most terrifying airport but pilots consider it one of the tricky ones, with 1,300 feet of sheer rockface just a few hundred yards to the south of the runway. :eek:
Applauding the moment the plane touches down always seems a little premature to me. I’m not a particularly nervous flyer, but all the same.
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### Author:  [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2004, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-lands-passengers-cheer/275847/8 "2004-11-20T19:13:33Z")
Well, we cheered when we left the Middle East, but that’s understandable. This other phenomenon, cheering after landing, is one that I have never experienced.
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### Author:  [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2004, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-lands-passengers-cheer/275847/9 "2004-11-20T19:33:27Z")
I once encountered that twice. Once was a short hop from Chicago to Dayton. It was, however, a tiny commuter plane and nothing but non-stop turbulance, then a very rough landing. The applause came when the seatbelt sign was finally off, and the flight attendent joking asked us _why_, after that bad of a flight, we were applauding the pilot.
The second time was on a grotesquely delayed flight: we were supposed to depart Baltimore (destined for Cinncinatti) at about 6 PM. Instead, the plane got to BWI at about 11 PM, and then we sat on the tarmac for about another hour waiting for…something. STill don’t know what.
On a good flight? Probabaly just nervous passengers.
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### Author:  [@rjk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjk)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2004, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-lands-passengers-cheer/275847/10 "2004-11-20T19:43:32Z")
> [@Martha](#):
>
> It’s supposed to be a Latino thing but I’ve experienced it in other places too.
>
> I find those last few moments after the plane touches down almost the most hair-raising: I don’t feel home and dry until it’s evident the brakes/reverse thrust have done the trick. Maybe it’s something to do with the fact that both ends of the runway at Gibraltar airport jut out into the sea? It’s not the world’s most terrifying airport but pilots consider it one of the tricky ones, with 1,300 feet of sheer rockface just a few hundred yards to the south of the runway. :eek:
>
> Applauding the moment the plane touches down always seems a little premature to me. I’m not a particularly nervous flyer, but all the same.
I once talked to a pilot who told me about the old Hong Kong airport. He said it almost looked like you were flying straight at the mountain _between_ the office buildings and then at the last minute had to make a sharp turn (30 degrees, IIRC) to line up on the runway. I’ve also heard that a takeoff from one airport (maybe Butte, Montana) involves going over the edge of a cliff just after leaving the ground. I’d cheer too!
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### Author:  [@St\_Ides](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/St_Ides)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2004, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-lands-passengers-cheer/275847/11 "2004-11-20T19:59:02Z")
I’ve only experienced this phenomenon once.
It was a flight from Thunder Bay to Hamilton (Both in Ontario, Canada). When we took off, we were told that landing in Hamilton might not be possible, due to weather conditions (fog), and we might proceed to Ottawa (the flight’s next stop, where we would be stuck for a minimum of 6-8 hours, if not an overnight stay… And this was an early morning flight)
About 10 minutes, we were told that the weather at Hamilton had improved so that it was hovering right at the limit,(the fog had moved away from the airport)however, we would only be making one attempt at landing in Hamilton.
Thankfully, they brought us in smoothly and safely. (Despite the fact that the fog had moved back to the airport, and you couldn’t even see the terminal from the runway)
Much cheering ensued… I believe it was Thanksgiving, and most people’s destination was Hamilton, so everybody was glad that they wouldn’t be stuck in an airport in Ottawa, and miss a good turkey dinner.
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### Author:  [@Martha\_Medea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martha_Medea)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2004, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-lands-passengers-cheer/275847/12 "2004-11-20T20:03:57Z")
> [@rjk](#):
>
> I once talked to a pilot who told me about the old Hong Kong airport. He said it almost looked like you were flying straight at the mountain _between_ the office buildings and then at the last minute had to make a sharp turn (30 degrees, IIRC) to line up on the runway. I’ve also heard that a takeoff from one airport (maybe Butte, Montana) involves going over the edge of a cliff just after leaving the ground. I’d cheer too!
The old Hong Kong airport is generally agreed to be the most harrowing experience as far as major international airports go. There are some gutwrenching takeoffs and landings in the Peruvian Andes, for example. Come to think of it they also seem to have their fair share of accidents too.
I’ve landed in a playing field in central Nicaragua, where the baseball game has to disperse to let the plane land. More recently my plane landed on a gravel airstrip in northern Haiti. No-one told me until we were just about to touch down.
The applause thing probably has a lot to do with nervousness and perceived risk. My impression is that Latin Americans are nervous fliers, compared to say, Europeans. The worst cases that I know are men: A male colleague of mine would fail to board planes at the last moment on a regular basis. Another colleague’s husband has to drink a fair amount of booze before he can psych himself up to get on to a plane. My sister in law’s ex-husband is the same. So much for Latin machismo!
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### Author:  [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2004, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-lands-passengers-cheer/275847/13 "2004-11-20T20:28:34Z")
> [@NinjaChick](#):
>
> Cinncinatti
Okay, that’s not even close.
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### Author:  [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2004, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-lands-passengers-cheer/275847/14 "2004-11-20T20:40:16Z")
I fly into and out of Mexico quite a bit, and I don’t mean touristy places with planes full of Americans. I’ve never witnessed this cheering done at all. So, I’m just refuting the latino generality.
On the other hand, I seem to notice a lot of Mexicans – my wife included – tend to cross themselves (crucifix themselves? You know, that Catholic finger sign) as the plane starts accellerating for takeoff.
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### Author:  [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2004, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-lands-passengers-cheer/275847/15 "2004-11-20T23:12:24Z")
This happened last year on my flight to Cancun. It was filled with American tourists who (I think) figured the vacation began as soon as they stepped off the plane.
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### Author:  [@Argo84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argo84)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2004, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-lands-passengers-cheer/275847/16 "2004-11-20T23:26:50Z")
About 1988 or so I was on a Piedmont Airline flight from Newark to Baltimore, a flight scheduled to take about 40 minutes. After about an hour and a half, the pilot announced that there was a problem with the hydraulic system and that he was going to make an “abnormal” landing at Dulles because the runway was longer than BWI and that allowed for “a greater margin of error”. The flight attendants coached us through the emergency landing procedures, glasses and ties off, pens out of pockets. After circling the airport for about 45 minutes to burn off fuel we safely landed at BWI. I was one of the passengers cheering and clapping.
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### Author:  [@Berkut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Berkut)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2004, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-lands-passengers-cheer/275847/17 "2004-11-20T23:33:24Z")
> [@Balthisar](#):
>
> On the other hand, I seem to notice a lot of Mexicans – my wife included – tend to cross themselves (crucifix themselves? You know, that Catholic finger sign) as the plane starts accellerating for takeoff.
I’m Mexican, and I sometimes do that myself.
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### Author:  [@Emperor\_Penguin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emperor_Penguin)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2004, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-lands-passengers-cheer/275847/18 "2004-11-21T00:06:46Z")
> [@Argo84](#):
>
> “a greater margin of error”.
Things you never want to hear your pilot say #36
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### Author:  [@MrFantsyPants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrFantsyPants)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2004, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-lands-passengers-cheer/275847/19 "2004-11-21T01:19:43Z")
> [@Emperor Penguin](#):
>
> Things you never want to hear your pilot say #36
On my last flight, the pilot actually said before takeoff “… thank you for flying Northwest Airlines, and I hope you have an exciting flight.”
WTF, I thought. The guy holding the stick wants our hearts pounding?
Back to the OP, I’ve been on flights a few times with cheering involved, but usually at the end of a really long flight (Anchorage to Hong Kong)
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### Author:  [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2004, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-lands-passengers-cheer/275847/20 "2004-11-21T01:38:17Z")
I’ve been on flights that applauded on landing twice. Once was for a picture-perfect smooth landing; the plane absolutely kissed the ground, no bump at all. A round of applause was the least the pilot deserved for that one.
The other was after a very rough flight through a line of thunderstorms over Texas. When we finally touched down, the applause was spontaneous, unanimous, and heartfelt.
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