CAN PILOTS GET SPEEDING TICKETS FOR FLYING TOO FAST?

A ticket for speeding while driving a car is a black mark and can lead to all sorts of problems. But what happens when the flight crew exceeds a flight's speed limit? Can a pilot receive a 'speeding ticket'?

How is an aircraft's speed different from a car's speed?

Unlike driving a car, assessing how fast an aircraft is traveling is more complicated. The speed of an aircraft depends on various factors, including atmospheric environment, pressure, altitude, temperature, the weight of the plane and the freight it carries.

So, how is aircraft speed typically measured?

It is common to express aircraft speed in terms of knots or nautical miles per hour, but it could also be expressed by miles per hour (mph). Various types of airspeed exist, which are measured during different phases of flight.

Groundspeed (GS): When a plane is still on the ground, a groundspeed (GS) is commonly used to describe how fast it is moving horizontally. It describes the speed at which the plane moves relative to a fixed point on the ground. GS is measured by a groundspeed radar and is usually part of the aircraft's GPS systems. Even though groundspeed plays a vital role in precise aircraft navigation, it can be significantly impacted by the surrounding wind, which can push the aircraft along at a faster speed.

For instance, if a jet needs to develop 140 knots groundspeed for taking off but faces a headwind of 20 knots, it means that the flight crew will only need to reach 120 knots groundspeed before the plane will be able to take-off. Meanwhile, when the aircraft faces a tailwind of 20 knots, it means that pilots will need to develop a 160-knot groundspeed to be able to move the jet off the ground.