Understanding Aircraft Noise

You've probably noticed that the noise you hear from a plane during take-off, landing and during the flight can vary. In order to help you better understand aircraft noise, we have listed the sources of aircraft noise and factors that influence it below.

Sources of Aircraft Noise

• Aircraft frame: When air gets compressed and reverberates against the aircraft’s surfaces, it makes noise. This noise is the loudest when the landing gear and flaps are deployed, such as during landing.
• Aircraft engine: Aircraft engine noise is loudest when the engines are at higher thrust settings, such as during take-off. The noise is generated by the large fan at the front of the engine and the jet exhaust.

Factors That Influence Aircraft Noise

• Aircraft altitude - The further away an aircraft is from the ground, the quieter it will be.
• Aircraft settings - Aircraft noise may become more noticeable as aircraft change engine thrust, flap and landing gear settings.
• Ambient atmospheric conditions - Aircraft noise is affected by humidity, air density and cloud cover, which impact how sound behaves.