Why is flying like swimming with sharks?

The answer lies with people who clap on planes

Do you like flying? I’m fairly nonplussed about the whole thing, but something happens at the end of a flight that has always intrigued me. Just after the plane lands a ripple of applause shoots around the cabin. This begs the question, why do people clap when a plane lands? And how might we find the answer by thinking about swimming with sharks?

First things first, why is the round of applause so interesting? Well, landing the plane is exactly what the pilot is supposed to do. If everything didn’t go according to plan it could lead to catastrophe.

So do people clap in gratitude at the pilot’s ability to land the plane? Or do they clap out of a sense of relief they’ve made it back safely to the ground?

The former makes no sense as you would expect the pilot to be competent enough to do their job. It is after all why they have a license to fly a plane. There’s no doubt a pilot is a highly skilled individual responsible for the lives of hundreds of passengers. But so are surgeons who perform life-saving surgery, or firefighters who risk their own lives to save the lives of others.

Are they afforded the honour of a round of applause for doing their jobs? Not in the case of firefighters, who are…