Why Do They Make Us Close The Window Blind on Night Fight?

Last December I was flying from France to Japan and somewhere over northern Siberia in the dark of night I decided to open the window blind and have a look.

I sat there for a few minutes looking out into the dark sky when the plane started abruptly banking to the right and then there was a bright light coming in the direction of the plane. I thought then that we were avoiding another planes flight path but looking at it for awhile it didn't look like the lights of a normal plane. There was a single glowing white light that came towards the plane from the left at about a 30 degree angle towards the front of the plane slightly above our altitude, to guess about 300 meters above the airliner.
At this point the plane banked even more off course almost to avoid what ever this was.
I tried to rationalize this even more and saying to myself that it must be a star but it was just too damed bright to the point it was causing a glare on the window. Then a flight attendant tapped me on the shoulder and insisted that I close the blind as I was upsetting the other passengers trying to sleep.

I looked around to see most of the people that could even see my window were either fast asleep or watching in flight movie, I laughed a bit to myself and shut the blind and the attendant scurried off back to the front of the cabin.

I wish I had taken some pictures or something of it but. oh well there you go take it or leave it.

I don't claim to know what it was only to be sure that it wasn't a plane and not a star.

I don't remember the flight no. but it was an AF flight to Fukuoka in December 07. I will try to find out more.

Originally posted by ANTHONY33
Last December I was flying from France to Japan and somewhere over northern Siberia in the dark of night I decided to open the window blind and have a look.

... the plane started abruptly banking to the right and then there was a bright light coming in the direction of the plane.

I don't claim to know what it was only to be sure that it wasn't a plane and not a star.

Was it an air-to-air missile?

[edit on 12-4-2008 by In nothing we trust]

reply to post by In nothing we trust


Ant it missed? LOL

Interesting theory brewing here, thanks for posting your story.

Do they ask the shade to be pulled down for a different reason then they are stating? I never thought about this until your post.

I immediately googled trying to find a list of rules, information about this particular rule and came up with a few interesting little tidbits...



www.iht.com...

I see you were also aboard an Air France flight like the person who wrote the above article.

I also found a number of questions on yahoo questions, not worth posting, of similar passenger complaints all having to do with the question "Why did they make me close my window shade during take off, during the daylight" etc

Things that certainly make you say "hmmmm" and thanks for the post and thanks for describing your experience.

[edit on 12-4-2008 by LateApexer313]

Yes it was an Air France flight. This is not the first time that this happened to me and frankly I'm getting a bit pissed off about it.

Due to Wingtip Strobe light discharge bugging the cr#p out of passengers trying to sleep>

Originally posted by mizzu
Due to Wingtip Strobe light discharge bugging the cr#p out of passengers trying to sleep>

May be but I was sitting before the wings so I didn't see that at all.

reply to post by mizzu


That doesn't explain why they would ask you to pull the shade down during the day as the man stated in the article I found.

I don't fly very much but I can't recall ever being asked to pull the shade down once, day or night, during take off or landing or for any reason, including the time I flew to the UK during a night flight. On that night flight most did pull their shades down but no one asked us to.

I don't know why they make you close your blinds, but I can guarantee it isn't to hide UFOs from the passengers. My neighbor and my uncle both fly (uncle is in the airforce, neighbor does passenger planes) and neither have said anything...and we talk often.

At night, moonlight at altitude is brighter (at least it always seems so to me when I fly at night), because you're above the pollution. That light, plus the strobes reflecting into the windows annoys people.

During the day, people want to watch movies. With the shades open there's too much glare to be able to do that, even with seat back monitors sometimes. If you're on an older plane that doesn't have them, even one shade open can keep you from getting a good look at the screen ahead of you.

[edit on 4/12/2008 by Zaphod58]

Originally posted by xBRINGxONx2012x
I don't know why they make you close your blinds, but I can guarantee it isn't to hide UFOs from the passengers. My neighbor and my uncle both fly (uncle is in the airforce, neighbor does passenger planes) and neither have said anything...and we talk often.

Not leaning in any direction but how can you guarantee that?

[edit on 12-4-2008 by ANTHONY33]

Originally posted by Zaphod58
At night, moonlight at altitude is brighter (at least it always seems so to me when I fly at night), because you're above the pollution. That light, plus the strobes reflecting into the windows annoys people.

During the day, people want to watch movies. With the shades open there's too much glare to be able to do that, even with seat back monitors sometimes. If you're on an older plane that doesn't have them, even one shade open can keep you from getting a good look at the screen ahead of you.

[edit on 4/12/2008 by Zaphod58]

All that seams correct but it doesn't explain my experience.

reply to post by ANTHONY33


I have no idea what you saw, but that's the answer to your question. There are a couple of possibilities that I know of, but without a lot more information I'm not gonna speculate.

reply to post by Zaphod58


Thanks for your opinion. To be honest it was a while back and I couldn't care less about what it was as I may never find out so we can speculate the cows home on that.

By the way I like your signature

I fly, fly all the time. International and within the United States. Never had anyone tell me to put my window shade down, except for one time when a glare was bothering a passenger, and then it was only the passenger that asked and not the crew.

And I have even fown through some pretty sensitive areas too, lol.

Just about every time I fly, day or night, international or domestic, they ask us to close the shades at some point during the flight to be courteous to other passengers.

I fly frequently from New Zealand to Europe and its only during daylight that you've been asked to put the shades down because other passengers want to sleep.But they insist to have them OPEN while starting and landing.

Ya know, nobody else mentioned this, but do you not realize that the window shades should be UP during take-off and landing? Not always enforced by the crew, since day in, day out, routine with no emergencies....

But to be able to assess conditions, from inside the cabin, in the event of an emergency would be most appropriate at one of the exits, anyway...

Of course, the view outside is so limited, it helps to have as many windows looking out as one can.

Back to inflight....strobes flashing at night, especially if you're in the clouds (hey, it annoys the pilots too, sometimes we turn them off)

There is no nefarious scheme, regarding window shades, sorry. Unless you think the cabin crew are the Gestapo?

WW

Should have told her to "bugger off! Show me a rule or regulation that I need to close this here shade at your request, and I will."

Something to that effect, stated in a calm manner, and with a smile. Then ask for her employee number.

Hmmm... this reminds me of an event that happened
to me a couple of years ago.
I was flying to O'Hare, Chigaco from Heathrow UK and
after the lights had dimmed and the plastic shields were
lowered, the passengers settled down for a nap.

After about an hour, I rubbed my eyes, sat up and
glanced around the plane. Folk were busying themselves
with reading, checking out the movie channels or snoring
quietly under their meagre blankets.

Then I squinted my eyes as I pulled the blind up slightly.
It was only a few centimeters and I was shocked by what
I saw.

The sky was dark, the clouds below me were dirty grey and
I could see the lone strobe-light from the wing blinking in the
freezing air.
Then two men walked past, one with a ladder and the other
with a bundle of wires! I distinctly remember that both men
had ear-pieces and micro-phones on their heads.

Then a hand alighted on my shoulder and the hostess stood
over me and hissed "I wouldn't do that if I was you"...
I closed the blind.

Later I suffered with Wing-Tip Strobe Discharge, but with a
small tube of Virex, it disappeared.

I sometimes wonder, late at night, who were those guys?