Can a plane door be opened mid-flight, why are there no parachutes on board... and why must window blinds be up for landing? Your top aircraft safety questions answered by pilots

For millions of passengers around the world, the thought of flying fills them with dread. And in some extreme cases, can prevent them from travelling altogether.

From querying the odds of the plane crashing, to wondering why aircraft don't provide parachutes, the questions surrounding flying are seemingly endless.

So for those who have always wanted to know the whys and wherefores about taking to the skies, MailOnline Travel put the most common plane safety questions to pilot and British Airways' head of flight and technical training Captain Dave Thomas.

Here's what he had to say... 

Captain Dave Thomas revealed the answers to common plane safety questions and debunks many flying myths

Which is the safest seat in the plane?

Captain Thomas explains: 'All seats are stressed and tested to very high tolerances and are incredibly safe, and of course commercial air travel is the safest mode of transport in the world.'

The same question was posed by a documentary called The Plane Crash for Channel 4 back in 2012. Producers deliberately crashed a Boeing 727 into the Sonoran Desert in Mexico, with dummies - complete with breakable 'bones' - on board.

Despite being the pricier seats, it was the first 11 rows - often reserved for first class and business passengers - that took the brunt of the force. And the further back passengers were sitting, the more likely they were to survive. 

Experts estimated that none of the first class passengers would have survived the impact. But 78 per cent of the other travellers would have escaped with their lives. 

​Why do commercial airplanes fly at 36,000 feet?

Accoridng to Captain Thomas: 'This sort of altitude is a good compromise between engine efficiency and aerodynamic efficiency for jet aircraft. 

'The jet (or gas turbine) engine works more efficiently higher up than a turboprop (mix of gas turbine and propeller) aircraft which will typically fly lower at around 20-25,000 feet. 

'Of course, the more efficiently we fly the more fuel we save, which is good for the environment and allows us to keep fares low for our customers.'

Is flying getting safer or less safe today compared with 10 or 20 years ago?

Following a series of tragic incidents, from the Germanwings disaster in March to the loss of Malaysian Airlines MH370 last year, as well as the shooting down of flight MH17 over Ukraine, there is understandably a lot of fear surrounding air travel.

Captain Thomas says: 'Flying on modern commercial jet aircraft is now incredibly safe and has been getting safer over the years. 

'The industry statistics show that the number of accidents per million flights has reduced by a factor of just under four since 2009 alone. 

'Everything we do is motivated and governed by safety which is always the first consideration.'

Turbulence is rarely dangerous, but to avoid minor injuries flyers must follow safety procedures

Should you worry when turbulence is announced?

It is one of the key worries for nervous travellers, that bumpy movement mid-flight and the announcement to fasten seatbelts. But Captain Thomas reassures passengers that it really isn't anything to worry about.

He says: 'No, turbulence is uncomfortable but not dangerous, but it is always best to follow the safety advice and strap in to avoid potential minor injuries. 

'British Airways pilots will advise customers if any turbulence is expected during the flight as an additional safety measure.'

What are the odds of the plane crashing?

'Flying is incredibly safe. You are at greater risk getting in your car and driving to an airport than you’ll ever be getting on a plane,' explains Captain Thomas.

'International Air Transport Association statistics show the number of accidents in global aviation each year are an incredibly small fraction of the millions of flights that take place annually. 

'We are never complacent though and work tirelessly to make flying as safe as possible and safer every year.'

Simulators help train pilots with certain airports that need additional skills and procedures for particularly difficult approaches

What is the most risky bit, the take-off or the landing?

'Both take-off and landing manoeuvres take a level of skill to achieve safely so that is why we have rigorous recruitment standards and why we train our pilots in state-of-the-art simulators to ensure their skills are finely honed,' says Thomas.

'Certain airports need additional skills and procedures for particularly difficult approaches and departures but the fidelity in modern simulators makes that job much easier than it used to be.'

Is there CCTV on flights? If not, why?

'Some aircraft have cameras that look outside to show the pilots the taxiway ahead to make taxiing around the airport easier and a small number of aircraft have cameras that look into the passenger cabin, but this is quite rare.'

It is thankfully impossible to open the door during a flight as they act like a bath plug and when shut they are bigger than the opening in which they sit

What would happen if someone opened the emergency exit mid-flight?

Thankfully, Captain Thomas explains that it would not be possible to open the door mid-flight. 

'The exits on modern aircraft are normally referred to as "plug doors",' he explains. 

'That means that with the use of clever door mechanisms, the doors themselves, when closed, are tapered like a bath plug so in effect they are bigger than the openings in which they sit. 

'This stops them opening outwards and the pressure inside the cabin is equivalent to between two to three tons of pressure, which stops them opening inwards.'

Why do planes not provide parachutes?

Captain Thomas has a short and sweet answer to the question: 'We train our pilots to land aircraft in the case of malfunctions, this is a far safer and more practical option!'

STILL TERRIFIED OF FLYING? 

British Airways offers a range of courses ran by experts, for those scared of travelling on a plane. 

Flight Safety Awareness Course - for those who want more information about flight safety including practise emergency evacuation technique, learning the correct way to go down the emergency slide, use of emergency exits and the correct brace position. Visit www.ebaft.com for more information. 

Flying with Confidence Course - for nervous flyers. More information can be found on www.flyingwithconfidence.com 

Do you fly over war zones?

'British Airways liaises closely with the government and many security agencies to ensure we do not fly over any areas that would put our customers at risk,' says Captain Thomas.

Of course, as has been covered in news stories following the shooting down of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 in July last year, killing 298 people, airlines do fly over conflict zones after taking an assessment of the risks.

Local aviation authorities make assessments and recommendations issued as a Notam (notice to airmen) which airlines can then choose to follow. 

What happens when you flush the toilet?

According to Captain Thomas: 'The contents of the toilet are whisked away with a reassuring whoosh and end up in a tank in the fuselage which is emptied when the aircraft lands.'

Orange is the new black! The plane recording device sits in an orange box on board

What exactly is the black box and how often is it updated?

'The "Black Box" is in fact an orange box containing a recording device. 

'British Airways aircraft also have what we call QARs or Quick Access Recorders that record even more information that we find useful and it is these that we download on a much more regular basis to help us monitor day to day safety and efficiency of our aircraft.' 

Why are we told to raise our window blinds for landing?

According to Captain Thomas: 'This is actually required by regulation so you get accustomed to the amount of light outside the aircraft if you ever had to disembark in a hurry. 

'This is the sort of "just in case" approach we take to the safety of our customers to ensure flying is as safe as we can possibly make it.'

Oxygen masks are dropped via a button on the flight desk, or when the cabin pressure triggers the sensor

What makes the oxygen masks drop?

'The masks are really clever, there is a mechanism that detects the need for them by monitoring cabin pressure and automatically deploying them, and there is a button on the flight deck that does the same thing,' says Captain Thomas.

How often do pilots get retrained?

'As a professional pilot you are in one of the most highly regulated professions, if not the most highly regulated,' says Captain Thomas.

'Pilots have two days training and are checked in a simulator every six months. They are also checked during a live flight once a year. 

'A training course to fly a new type of aircraft can take anything from three weeks to three months depending upon how similar the new aircraft is to the one a pilot was flying previously. 

'We invest heavily in training at British Airways as safety is always our highest priority and drives everything that we do.'