11 people taken to hospital after Delta flight hits severe turbulence Story by Chanta

[Longtimer]

Seems to be happening more often or just more reports?

Delta flight hits severe turbulence near Atlanta, 11 people taken to hospital (nbcnews.com) (https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/delta-flight-severe-turbulence-atlanta-11-people-taken-hospital-rcna102495)

[jethro15]

Seems to be happening more often or just more reports?
A Dan Air Comet captain once said to me ‘As a passenger, always have your seatbelt fastened comfortably tight for take off and landing. During flight, just loosen it slightly to a comfortable level. Never, Ever disengage it’

Something I’ve always adhered to, yet I also found myself in the position of having to deal with the consequences of those who thought they knew better.

Yes, movement within the cabin is to be expected with regard to cabin staff and weak bladders. However, self-preservation comes first.

Seems to be happening more often or just more reports?

In my day, there was NO social media. Incidents happened within aviation which the general public never got wind of. These days, it’s completely different.

[Loose rivets]

Pre 9/11 I went up front of a Mexicana 727 Tx to Puerto Vallarta. Just to say Hi. All three crew were unstrapped.

It's the stunning ignorance of basic Newtonian physics that bewilders me. Perhaps I shouldn't be surprised. Some of my first DC3 skippers didn't bother with their belts, and a fellow captain on a small regional airline disapproved strongly about having to wear a seatbelt in his car.

[tdracer]

I would hazard a guess that the 'rate' is probably lower now than it was 'back in the day' because radar is better so you're less apt to hit unexpected turbulence. Way back when, I remember hearing that most cabin crew suffered lost work days due to injuries from unexpected turbulence. Something I rarely hear of nowdays.

That being said, there are a lot more flights today than 40 years ago, so the number of incidents may be the same or higher - and of course now we're more apt to hear about it.

[dr dre]

Seems to be happening more often or just more reports?

This wasn’t unexpected severe CAT in cruise.

They were on descent into Atlanta 40nm from the airport so about 10,000-15,000ft. Late afternoon in summer so big storms in the area (METAR showed storm to the northeast, their arrival direction, at the time). They were probably dodging cells on their descent, made a misjudgement and got too close to the centre of a cell and suffered the consequences.

[Pilot DAR]

I have literally ripped a seatbelt and it's fittings out of the plane I was riding in at the moment of impact. They found the seatbelt still bolted to a bit of ripped out airframe the next day. Prior to that, and still, I have very little sympathy for passengers who do not wear their seatbelts when they can and should. If a passenger is seated next to me, I'll politely ask them to buckle up if they undo. I have a lot of empathy for cabin crew members who must be unbelted for so much of every flight.

The only very historic exception to this which I was told about, an oldtimer pilot mechanic was flying four people in a Cessna 180 floatplane. They were going down into trees - it was going to be messy. The pilot yelled back to the two back seat pax at the last moment to open their seatblets. Stunned at the demand, but with no time to inquire, they complied. They were injured in the crash. But, the floats were ripped off the plane entirely. What the pilot suddenly thought about was that the back outboard seat belt fitting were bolted to the float attachment fittings. When the ripped off floats were found, the outboard seatbelts were found with them, rather than still in the fuselage. The design has been changed, and when I approved seat belt installations, I consider very carefully what part of the airframe the seatbelt fittings are attached to!

But, these days... Just wear your seatbelt!

[JEM60]

People these days just don't want to take responsibility for their own safety. Used to go to the Canaries twice a year. 45 minute journey to hotel by coach. Wife and I seemed to be the only people who bothered to put a seat belt on. Why??? Simples!.