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One of the most common complaint from air travelers that I communicate with in my Website is air turbulence. This is understandable because air turbulence is a very unnatural phenomenon to those of us who are used to the predictable stability of the earth. To some, this unnatural motion can cause discomfort to our body system that we have very little control over it.
Turbulence is basically a stream of air in irregular motion that normally cannot be seen and often occurs unexpectedly. It can be created by a number of different conditions. The most common encounter is flying in the vicinity of thunderstorm. In fact, a flight through a patch of cloud will often jostle the airplane. Flying over mountainous area with a prevailing wind is another major cause of air turbulence. Other causes come from flying near to jet streams at high altitude, in a frontal system or where temperature changes in any air mass in the sky.
Turbulence can also occur when the sky is clear of clouds. These are known as clear air turbulence or CAT. As the name suggests, CAT occur in clear air and cannot be seen on the radar. One can encounter CAT when flying from a slow moving air mass of about 10 to 20 knots into or near a jet stream with speed of well above 100 knots. Although one cannot see CAT visually, a close scrutiny of the weather charts or the forecasted turbulence factor on the flight plan, could usually warn pilots of possible affected areas on the route.
Turbulence is sometimes mistakenly referred to as ‘air pockets’ by some air travelers. A journalist coined this misnomer during the First World War to mistakenly describe air turbulence. This description has caused many anxieties to air passengers who believe that when an airplane fly through an air pocket, it would fall off the sky or drop a few hundred feet!
The severity of air turbulence can be basically described as light, medium, severe or extreme. Flying through a medium turbulence is no more dangerous than a traveling along a gravel road in a bus or coach. Severe turbulence can be very uncomfortable but it does not cause the aircraft to break up! However if you are in the cabin without your seat belts securely fastened or happen to be walking toward the rest room, you may fall or bang onto something!
I normally advise all my passengers to fasten their seat belts whenever they are seated because of clear air turbulence that are difficult to predict sometimes. This is also in compliance with the FAA notice which in 1995, had issued a public advisory to airlines urging the use of seat belts at all times when passengers are seated as a precaution against unexpected turbulence.
The FAA reported that among non-fatal accidents, in-flight turbulence is the leading cause of injuries to airline passengers and flight attendants. Each year, about 58 air passengers in the United States are injured by turbulence while not wearing their seat belts.
On December 5, 1996, 16 people suffered injuries, including a 7-month-old baby, when an American Airlines jetliner ran into clear air turbulence over Colorado. From 1981 to November 1996, there were 252 reports of turbulence affecting major air carriers. Two passengers died, 63 suffered serious injuries and 863 received minor injuries. Both fatalities involved passengers who were not wearing their seat belts.
Two third of turbulence-related accidents occurs at or above 30,000 feet. Generally, flying through turbulence of the milder nature, if prolonged, can be fairly uncomfortable to the passengers. If such turbulence were detectable by the weather radar or from weather forecast, pilots would avoid them by deviating off track
Flying through severe turbulence can result in injuries to crew and passengers if they are caught unaware and off the seatbelts. So, have your seat belts on whenever you are seated at all times!
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