Reasons Why Airplanes are Sprayed with Water

A water cannon salute, for those of who don’t know what it means, is nothing but expelling plumes of water from the Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting (ARFF) trucks to form a series of arches under which the aircraft slowly passes.

It’s a beautiful sight to see & symbolically, the procession looks similar to a bridal party walking under a wedding arch. Usually 11,300 liters of water is used by a single ARFF vehicle/ firetruck for a single water cannon salute in about 2 minutes.

It is usually given as a mark of respect to either the pilot flying the aircraft or the aircraft itself. Categorically these can be:

1. Induction of new aircraft in the fleet.This can be while inducting a new aircraft in a fleet, welcoming the crew & passengers to the airport.

2. Special occasions like Longest commercial flight:

Welcoming an aircraft after its longest commercial flight for example Qatar Airways from Doha & Auckland, New Zealand.

3. Shutting down of operationsFor example, Last flight of Air Berlin after which they shut down their operations permanently in 2017.

4. Farewell of a retiring captain on his last flight.

5. Water salute is also given when the aircraft is carrying a fallen service member.

6. Water cannon salutes are also used to test the fire fighting equipment to ensure everything is working properly, as the use of water cannon is rare.

7. In military environment, after an aircraft flies or hovers over saltwater, water cannon salute is given primarily to wash the aircraft to prevent corrosion.

Keep others on the know, share. Follow, Like amd Share.

Content created and supplied by: ThePureAfrican1 (via Opera News )