Ask Captain Lim

Dear Captain,

As a child I loved flying. But somehow when I entered adult hood I suddenly became anxious about it. I am most frightened during turbulence, even the mild stuff, when the plane rattles and makes noise. I wonder if something is falling apart!

Why does the aircraft make that noise? And when should I become concerned?

Sharon

Hi Sharon,

As a child you loved flying because you were not influenced or affected by the media on air accidents and terrorism. You became anxious as an adult because everyday brings news of stepped-up airline and airport security and occasionally, an air accident somewhere in the world. You should now focus on the good news of life, especially that the British or US Airlines are some of the safest airlines in the world. I continue to remind visitors to my site that about 41,900 (latest figures) people die in highway accidents every year in the US and very few seem to wonder about it!

Turbulence seems to be one of the most fearful weather phenomena of air travel from the many emails that I have received. In fact, turbulence happens to be relatively innocuous provided you heed the warnings to be seated and fastened to your seat belts every time. Of course, injury can happen in severe turbulence when the plane can jostle you if you are standing up! You can also read quite a few of the FAQ touching on this subject in my site and also an article on why people are fearful of flying.

Planes do rattle a little because of vibrations on loose articles in the galley or luggage not properly secured. In turbulences, the wing tips do flex a little and they are designed to do so to absorb the vibrations. Do you want to know how much the wings can bend before they fall apart? During the development stages of the Boeing 777, the wings only broke down after it was stressed and bent about 24 feet at the tips at the test rig!

In addition to the noise from the vibrations, you can also hear some reduction of noise if you are sitting near the engines when the power is reduced slightly as the airplane enters turbulence. Rest assured that, although turbulences are scary to some, being shaken a little is normal for air travel. You only need to be concerned when you are not fastened to you seat belts during turbulences or when you did not properly secure your luggage at the overhead bins!

I wish you a safe and turbulence-free journey the next time you travel in the air!