Author: John Cox, Special to USA TODAY

To keep takeoff and landing speeds as low as possible, engineers include highly efficient flaps (and slats) on the wing.

While they look confusing to the layperson the pilots know exactly what each one does and how it is to be used.

Why does it seem like more aircraft are sliding off runways and taxiways?

Runway length is carefully calculated before every takeoff and landing.

With modern airplanes and well-trained pilots and ground staff, we fly safely in challenging conditions every winter.

Airlines flew nearly 4.5 billion passengers on nearly 45 million flights worldwide, both records. But there were 15 accidents worldwide.

Pilots fly many different airplanes of the same model within a fleet. While there are some differences, they fly pretty much the same.

A diversion to land at an alternate airport is often misreported as an emergency landing. There is no emergency, but there is a change in plans.

Dutch roll is a natural aerodynamic phenomenon in swept-wing aircraft, caused by having slightly weaker directional stability than lateral stability.

The A380, the largest airplane in commercial airline service, can hold nearly 86,000 US gallons of jet fuel.