Expert: Christopher McKenna - 6/28/2009

Question
What would be the flight pattern from New York to England? Would the plane fly over the North Pole region?

Answer
Generally speaking, not over the polar region. Usually over newfoundland, greenland, Iceland, Ireland, then England. Over a long distance, planes usually fly a great circle route. This type of route consists of the largest circle that can be drawn on the globe connecting two points. The most known great circle is the equator. If you were to make the same type of circle connecting New York and London, that would be the shortest route to fly.