Pilot shares grim reason why plane windows are rounded – and it's not what you expect

Ever wondered why the windows on passenger are rounded and not square as you gaze out into the sky outside? pilot, Captain Steve (@captainsteeeve), has taken to to explain the dark science behind it.

In a video to his 49,000 followers, he revealed the design was implemented in the 1950s following a series of disasters. "Some of the airliners [then] were designed with square windows and over in Europe as aeroplanes started to climb higher and require more pressurisation, they discovered a problem," he said.

"The lost a few planes in mid-air - they literally came apart," he added, explaining this was due to the square windows creating a "little hairline crack" right in the edge.

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"Enough of those cracks created because of the stress on the airframe from the pressurisation - the airframes actually came apart," he detailed. The solution? Make the windows round - this made them stronger, reduced the risk of cracking and there's "never been a problem since," Captain Steve concluded.

"I'm a terrified flight passenger!" one of his followers confessed. "But, after watching your TT's, Captain Steve, I wasn't so terrified last week on my flights. Thank you!"

Another chimed in with gratitude: "Thanks for the explanation! The more I know, the easier it is to fly." A third shared their surprise: "And here I always thought it was just for aesthetics. That is fascinating. Thank you, Captain."

Meanwhile, a fourth expressed their appreciation: "That's good info to know, that's pretty interesting." Elsewhere in the comments section, some users pointed to the tragic history of the de Havilland Comet aircraft as a turning point in aviation history.

"I believe the British de Havilland Comet, was the early culprit," speculated one TikTok user. "By 1954, several of the Comets crashed from metal fatigue leading to explosive decompression." Another concurred: "The Comet was a beautiful design, but such a horrible fate due to those windows."

Indeed, as per The Museum of Flight, two de Havilland Comets suffered accidents resulting in wing stalls during take-off, and another was lost in a violent tropical storm after leaving Calcutta, India.

The further states: "Most significantly, in May 1953 and January 1954, two Comets mysteriously disintegrated in mid-air over the Mediterranean Sea. The fleet was grounded during an exhaustive investigation, which identified metal fatigue and failure of the cabin structure as the cause. The flaw was corrected and new Comet variants eventually entered production again."