Alice

Why Planes Avoid Flying over the Pacific Ocean

You'd think this is a safety issue at first. After all, the Pacific is the largest and deepest ocean on Earth—if a plane got in trouble over such a vast expanse of water, how's a pilot supposed to find a safe place to land? Alaska's not exactly crawling with international airports, but it sure beats being stranded in a watery nowhere. That seems like a pretty iffy tourism slogan, though: "Alaska: At least it's not sinking!" Sorry, Alaska.