Ok so as a genuine pilot, can I ask you to please put my mind at ease about how safe a plane is? I've flown with other pilots before as passengers who just laugh and say "Oh, if only you knew how many redundancies there were you wouldn't worry", but is it really that safe? Every time the plane goes into turbulence or the engine note suddenly drops or you see the wings bending ... it freaks me the hell out!!!
It's safe, I can assure you. What most people think is happening is usually far from the truth. Pilot training is intense and you have so many checks to pass and such extreme requirements that it's actually hurting the industry. Imagine being placed in a simulator and being given severe turbulence, a dual engine failure and hydraulic malfunction within a few feet of the ground and being forced to handle it - every few months! Then to top it off some sim instructors will add bird strikes and animals on the runway. So you can be confident your pilots know their stuff.
Most people seem to have a misconception with regards to the importance of the engines vs the gliding ability of airliners. Most airliners can glide for approximately 250 kilometres after losing all engines at cruising altitude. This is extremely rare in itself, and I don't know a single pilot personally who has experienced this irl (I lost all engines during a training flight years ago, but that was on a piston aerie and, hey, I'm still here!)
As for hydraulics and the like, you're talking about redundancies for redundancies. The Airbus A380, for example, has 8 flight computers (if I recall correctly), and can fly on the 8th one only if need be - in other words, you could lose one computer after the other and still keep on going.
The reality isn't as rosy as most make it sound though. There are frequent incidents in aviation such as airspace violations and the like, and also technical errors (usually caused by a computer). Very few of these incidents actually affect passengers though and should such an error affect safety, you're actually unlikely to be in the air when it's detected (flight delayed etc). As pilots, we take safety very seriously and there's a checklist for almost every imaginable scenario (except an alien invasion).
As for what you mentioned - turb, wing flex, or thrust reduction - these are the last things we worry about. Pilots may elect to reduce thrust to reduce speed when penetrating turbulence as turb penetration speeds aren't usually the same as cruising speeds. As long as it's not becoming dead silent, there's no reason to worry... And even if it does, what's the probability of you being in an aerie that's not within gliding distance of an airport (regulations exist with regards to this for a reason)? Likely close to 0. If aviation wasn't safe, pilots wouldn't fly - we're often some of the most conservative folk you'll ever meet.
"Redundancies for redundancies". Repeat that to yourself next time you're sweating at 39 000 feet.
There goes my spending money on this trip.
There goes my spending money on this trip.
No golden thrones???
