Air Pockets/Turbulance

[RingwaySam]

Hi guys,

Not sure if this is the correct place to put this thread, if not please move it.

Okay I love flying but I hate heights. On a recent flight from OPO/Porto we encountered a very small air pocket, which scared me abit :O and the rest of the cabin!

Anyway I was coming back from RIX/Riga the other day we were in turbulance for most, if not all of the flight and this is the first time i've been nervous of flying. Im just wondering if theres any guys on here that are the same and if so how do you get round it?

I fly to St Maarten in May and the last time I flew over the Atlantic it was quite bumpy. I don't want to stop flying because of it but I don't want to be nervous - Any help would be appreciated...

Thanks,
Sam

[thepotato232]

Well, the best way around it is just to recognize that turbulence, bumps and air pockets (as uncomfortable as they may be) pose virtually no threat to the airplane or it's passengers. Even if you feel like you're being tossed around the cabin, the plane is designed to handle it and much more. These things are stress-tested and maintained to handle weather that's like a roller coaster to passengers, and routinely come out fine. That said, turbulence isn't entirely a non-issue. When the captain says fasten seat belts, it's not just a suggestion. People have been hurt in the past by severe turbulence knocking them out of their seats. Even in these cases, the plane is completely undamaged, and properly restrained passengers are unharmed.

There are certain degrees of turbulence that can cause structural damage to the aircraft, but rest assured you'll never see them in an airliner. Turbulence associated with major thunderstorms has been known to damage aircraft, but only if they fly too close. With modern weather equipment and cautious attitudes born of experience and education, no airline pilot is going to stray into a thunderstorm any time soon. The other kind is mountain wave turbulence, which can be caused by extremely high winds blowing sharply across and down mountain ranges. I live at the base of the U.S. Rocky Mountains, and have run into these kinds of bumps before. Again, the bad air is identifiable, avoidable, and not likely to do much damage to an airliner. Routine turbulence can be intensely uncomfortable, but it's bumpy like that almost every day here in Denver. You get used to the little stuff after a while.

Well, I'm not sure what else to say, but I hope that helps. As a last-ditch desensitizer, I could take you up in a Cessna when the wind's blowing across the mountains at 80 knots. After that, I promise nothing an airliner ever does will seem scary. ;)

[RingwaySam]

thepotato,

Many thanks for your reply! :) I feel a little bit better now :O

Cheers,
Sam

[thepotato232]

Well, glad that made sense.

There's a discussion going on here at this forum about a recent encounter with some major turbulence. You'll see that, even in the event of a severe encounter, the flight crew still knows what to do before things get too bad. These guys are discussing some of the worst encounters possible, and they're still here to talk about it. Generally, when they talk about injuries due to turbulence, they're referring to passengers and cabin attendants who weren't strapped in. Some of this sounds scary, but it's proof that airline pilots are well prepared for the worst kinds of turbulence. Just keep that seat belt on and you'll be fine. An upset stomach is all you have to worry about in 99.9% of turbulence. No shame in using the sick bag if things get too bad, most of us have been there at least once.

Here's the link to that discussion, if you're interested:
http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=267511

[RingwaySam]

Thanks alot! Just had a read through. It's made me feel alot better now and more confident! :ok: Thanks!!!

[BOAC]

Ringway - just to reinforce Mr Pot's post, when the PA says "we advise you to keep your belt loosely fastened at all times" it is for good reason.

[RingwaySam]

Yeah I keep my belt fastened at all times as I know what it can do now! We were told we could could or belts off then we hit some turbulance, before the pilots had chance to tell us to put them back on we hit an air pocket, fortuently it was just a small one.

Cheers guys :ok:

[thepotato232]

just to reinforce Mr Pot's post

Hey, there's no need for name calling. I'll have you know that drug test was a false positive! :*

[11Fan]

Sounds like the potato calling the post pot. :rolleyes: