Nothing presents more of a barrier to those who do not like flying than turbulence. The mere mention of the "T" word is enough to trigger sleepless nights leading up to a flight. I know this because I work with people on a fear of flying website who are afraid of flying - and deathly afraid of turbulence. Hence the two title words above which usually elicit a smile, rather than cold sweats.
Whatever you call them, the bumps are just a part of the business. To date, no one has figured out how to see air and most of the turbulence experienced by airline passengers is Clear Air Turbulence (CAT). Often, Pilots only know about turbulence ahead from Pilot reports from planes ahead of them. In the last decade, we have learned a lot about what atmospheric conditions cause most instability in the atmosphere. Southwest uses a great system pioneered by Northwest Airlines that helps predict when and where the bumps might be. Predictions don't make it smoother, they just help the Crews get themselves and their passengers through the sky safer.
The reality is, this 2006-2007 winter is the bumpiest winter I can recall in my near 30 years in aviation. Nearly every Pilot and Flight Attendant I have talked to this year agrees that the rides offered by Mother Nature have been among the worst in recent memory. One of our renown pioneer SWA Pilots, when asked about the ride at altitude in his area, once responded by saying, "It's rougher than a stucco bathtub..." I was reminded of his comments as I rode through a trough line over Memphis this week. For forty five minutes out of our four-hour flight, it was not fun.
The key to this post for everyone is this: Fun or not, as long as everyone heeds the FASTEN SEATBELT sign and stays seated, everyone makes it through the flight just fine. People who ignore this safety rule put not only themselves at risk, but anyone they might fall on or be tossed into during an extreme turbulence encounter. Those who violate the FAA mandate to comply with Crew instructions and commands do so at their own peril.
Flying is the safest means of transportation yet devised. It has become that way because we have learned from our mistakes and used judgment built on years of experience to remove as much risk as possible. Yet some passengers always think they know better.
Your Pilots will go out of their way to give you the best ride possible but when their best efforts are no match for what Mother Nature has thrown in their path, it's best to have "battened down the hatches" well in advance. That is why the seatbelt sign is often on even though the ride is currently smooth: The Pilots expect bumps ahead. Smart passengers will heed this warning and remain seated. The same goes for passengers and Crew moving about the cabin. An old axiom of aviation reflects the caution that has made aviation safer: "I'd rather be down here wishing I was up there than up there wishing I was down here."
Comments
Explanation of turbulence from an five year old boy: "Does God have gas?"
Go figure. Wonder who pulled the finger?
Jenny Frasco
The smoothest flight I have ever flown (out of 13 flights, one flown privately by my brother) was the Southwest Airlines flight from Ontario to Nashville. No flight experience has ever come close to that.
"That was just about as bad as a botched landing in Memphis...."
And the alternatives with another plane landing ahead of yours who failed to make an exit in front of yours were....? I'd say hitting it would have earned the "botched" moniker.
A do-over (Go-Around) is a much safer alternative in my book!
Ray
I fly every week from LAS to either LAX or BUR. During the summer, the turbulence can be downright nasty. Once we were at cruise altitude heading to BUR and we hit some rough air; the aircraft dropped, my drink flew into the air, and a F/A was thrown into the seats. Luckily, I had my seatbelt on! Anyways, I just have a few questions: First, in such situations, does the aircraft typically drop a few feet, a 100 feet, 100s of feet? Second, could turbulence be compared to rough seas? In other words, those of us who have taken cruises know that the sea can be rough; nevertheless, the ship never loses course and will never capsize or break up. (Passengers, however, can feel miserable.) Is this the same for aircraft? Thanks for the feedback.
Hi Ray,
You'll be glad to know that aircraft manufacturers are looking into ways of detecting clear air turbulence, as well as alleviating the consequences when you fly through them.
There are a number of trials on the go using LIDAR (Laser used in the same way as a radar) to provide a view of the conditions of the mass of air in front of an aircraft, that could potentially allow CAT detection.
There is also some research being carried out into modifications of the autopilot to counter turbulence, as the autopilot coupled with fly by wire controls offers a much faster response time to counter sudden drops/increases in attitude than could otherwise be achieved.
This is very much at an early stage of research, but hopefully, by the time the next generation of commercial aircraft arrive, the ride will have got smoother!
Southwest can pride itself of having a recent fleet that is regularly upgraded to the latest standard, and should therefore be amongst the first to benefit!
:o)
I had a nice bumby flight from STL to OMA . There were scattered thunderstorms around OMA, One bump we took felt like we dropped a couple of hundred feet real fast. My arms came off my lap, it looked like my drink came out of the glass and back into it. Noone was ready for the bumps to be that bad because it was a smooth ride over half way to OMA. One of those you say, GOOD MORNING ARE YOU AWAKE NOW!!!
Once, when I was flying home from DC, my plane hit an airpocket. All of a sudden, it went straight down, & I didn't know what it was. I asked a flight attendant, & she told me. Of course, I had my seat belt fastened, but it was still scary! This was not on Southwest, unfortunately, but I was flying back from DC & not BWI.
I was flying out of Dullas one day back in the 90's and the plane just "dropped" and it seems about 500 feet. It even scared the FA's. The look on their faces! The drink cart dropped too. It was really scary! That was just about as bad as a botched landing in Memphis. We were about to touch down and zoom, back up into the sky and another attempt. That was too weird. I think we were avoiding another plane! ugh. And neither of these flights were on SWA! of course................ :)
Chris,
Unfortunately, it is not unheard of to have collisions between planes on the ground. Weather conditions, pilot inattention, conflicting instructions from Ground Control can all lead to situations that are likely to give you a pretty good jolt even when taxiing. I also know of airports where you land on one runway and then cross another one to get to the terminal.
It is pretty unlikely, but again, why take the chance? Another two minutes of wearing the belt seems like "better safe than sorry" to me!
Happy flying,
Kim
Well Chris, I usually tell folks "You wouldn't take your seatbelt off, three blocks from your house!", but the reality is there is LOTS that can happen, on your way to the gate.
A car or tug on the ramp can cross the aircraft's path = sudden stop.
Same for windy days, luggage cart = sudden stop
And there have been accidents, involving airliners that got too close to eachother taxiing = scrape, sudden change of direction
There are other examples, but the point is, "What's your hurry?" I'm not going to open the door any earlier. Why ruin a perfectly safe flight by tempting Murphy's Law?? Frequently, we're early, so we owe you the whole ride, anyway.
Fly SAFE!!!
Will Browne
MDW F/A