I have to say the thought of severe turbulence is the one thing that puts that never fails to put the ****s up me even though I know the chances of encountering it (as a non-frequent flyer) are slim. I don't know if it's a myth or not, but sitting in the centre of the aircraft seems to help and of course avoiding flights on small regional jets! I don't fly that often - perhaps 20 legs each year - here are three probably inconsequential events that I remember beginning with the most recent:
1) Yesterday departed from NCE on a FR flight..after takeoff we ascended into thick cloud after about 1 minute. The plane was rolling left/right quite a bit for a further 10 minutes or so and scared the hell out of me and my fellow pax. Everyone was belted in so no problems with people/objects flying around the cabin.
2) Last Feb descended into BHX in a Force 7 - two female pax behind me screamed all the way down (I couldn't quite compete here
) Am I right in thinking landing in strong winds is always more uncomfortable than taking off?
3) Last year on a flight across the pond to JFK on an A330. Cabin service had to be stopped about three hours in - turbulence didn't last too long but it wasn't a pleasent experience.
It is during these moments that I take my hat off to cabin crew & pilots!