I recently flew to Barbados for my daughters wedding. We went with Virgin Atlantic. Turbulence started about 1 and a half hour into the flight. We were shaking from side to side, going up and down and I was terrified. I have flown a lot, do not like it at all but have never had a flight like this before.
My family was trying to calm me down but I cried for most of the flight as it was like it for most of the way. The pilot said "Cabin crews remain calm" which actually made me worse. Just after this announcement he told the cabin crew to be seated. I really felt like we were close to crashing and fear that I will never fly again.
Why did the pilot not give us an announcement which I feel would have helped, and why would he tell the crew to remain calm? Were we in danger of crashing? My family told me when we were back in England that they were terrified as well but didn’t want me to know whilst we were flying because I was in such a state.
Sue
Hi Sue,
Flying in turbulence is a very normal part of a journey in the air. Whenever turbulence is expected, the captain would switch on the “Fasten Seat Belt” signs. This itself is an indication of some impending bumpiness – so all passengers should fasten their seat belt immediately!
Some turbulence are “light” in nature where service is the air may be continued without disruption. However, like anything unforeseen in life, it may suddenly become moderate even in clear air. In such a situation, the captain would make a further announcement for the “crew to remain seated”, (not “crew to remain calm”), in which case, all service would be discontinued.
I would endeavor to make an announcement to explain about the bumpiness most of the time in flight whenever I feel the turbulence is strong enough to cause concern to my passengers and warrant an few calming words. In fact, just a week ago on my flight to London, a passenger wrote to my airline to say how happy she was with my explanation as it had comforted her a lot. Well, I was only doing my normal duty as every captain would have done.
You can read all about air turbulence in my site as I believe I have written a lot on it. You can also watch a video by a retired airline captain about Air Turbulence and another two about in flight explanation on a Virgin Atlantic Airbus A340 below.
I am suffering from a flight fear. I travel a lot but when I experienced a terrifying flight going to New York. We're about to land in JFK when we experienced a major drop down! It's like a roller coaster ride. I got scared when my daughter cried and yelled that she's scared. As a mom i need to be strong but deep inside i really wanted to faint. The flight attendant told me that it's normal because of the weather and season. When i arrived JFK it was windy and cloudy.I will go back to Manila this saturday and I'm seeking for an advice from an expert so i can feel secure and i can relax in my 14 hrs flight.
