Too fast

One of Virgin Atlantic flights reached speed 1290 kilometers per hour On a flight from Washington Dulles International Airport to London Heathrow Airport on Saturday. This is greater than the speed of sound in air, which is 1236 kilometers per hour. As a result, the plane landed 45 minutes earlier than planned.

In general at least Three commercial airliners caught in a strong jet stream The wind speed reaches 426 kilometers per hour, and the average speed of the jet stream is approximately 177 kilometers per hour.

This rapid flow was caused by extremely cold temperatures in the northeast and much warmer air in the south. The message from the United States National Weather Service states that the wind that day was the second strongest in the entire history of observations conducted since the mid-20th century.

Fortunately, This did not cause any problems on any aircraft.. As you know, flying against jet streams can increase flight time, increase fuel consumption and cause turbulence. However, if the current blows “from behind”, on the contrary, it adds speed to you.