Average duration of turbulence to increase but air travel remains safe
Singapore Airlines turbulence incident: a man died and seven people were critically injured on a recent flight from London to Singapore. Photograph: Steve Parsons/PA Wire
But experts say if that is happening, the plane is in the wrong place and something else has already gone wrong. Avoiding places where turbulence is likely is a day-to-day activity for all airlines. Planes regularly divert hundreds of miles to avoid thunderstorms. He said turbulence may “feel like free falling but in my experience of crossing the Atlantic turbulence might make a plane drop 20 to 50ft before being corrected”, he said.Even a plane being struck by lightning usually has no serious consequences, he said.
He recalls a flight from Orlando in the United States to Dublin that encountered turbulence all the way. He said if the plane is very heavy, it may not be an option to fly through turbulent conditions, while going lower could use more fuel and pose a threat to the plane reaching its destination.However, when a plane encounters severe or extreme turbulence something else has already gone awry, according to pilot John Leahy.
“But the question I would be asking is why the ‘fasten seat belt’ lights were switched on only immediately before the incident,” he said.
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