5. Virtually every plane has something wrong with it.

Much like how you may know that your car is due for an oil change but make a calculated decision to wait until next week to deal with it, airplanes have routine scheduled maintenance, and certain problems might not be dealt with until that time. The formula that determines whether and when a problem is addressed takes into account both severity and risk, whether there are backup systems for that functionality, and when the plane is scheduled for maintenance (or to land at an airport where the airline has the capacity, parts, and people to fix it). But don’t worry: If it’s a big enough problem that it poses a real threat to safety, they will take the aircraft out of service for repairs.

