(CNN) -- Take a glass, fill it with marbles and shake. That's what it can feel like inside an airplane hit by turbulence.
Recent United Airlines and American Airlines flights have both been hit by unexpected turbulence that resulted in injuries.
A United flight bound for New York's LaGuardia Airport last month experienced turbulence shortly after takeoff from Houston, sending five crew and passengers to the hospital. And five people were taken to a hospital Tuesday after an Aruba-to-Miami flight encountered turbulence during its initial descent, an American Airlines spokesman said.
Since 2007, there have
been 58 reported incidents of turbulence on U.S. airlines, according to
the Federal Aviation Administration. These incidents resulted in 64
serious injuries and 97 minor injuries, according to the FAA.
Commonly experienced as
bumpiness in flight, "turbulence is rapidly varying or overturning air
motions occurring across short distances in the atmosphere,"
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University meteorology professor Curtis James
said.
Turbulence can occur at any time on a flight, according to Bonnie Schneider,
a meteorologist who appears on CNN and HLN and is the author of
"Extreme Weather: A Guide to Surviving Flash Floods, Tornadoes,
Hurricanes, Heat Waves, Snowstorms, Tsunamis and Other Natural
Disasters."
There are several common
types of turbulence. Convective turbulence can occur when an aircraft
passes over an unstable air mass (perhaps near a thunderstorm) and
experiences rapidly rising or descending air, according to Schneider.
Mechanical turbulence can occur when an aircraft passes over a mountain
range, hills or even large buildings. They bring "waves" of uneven
airflow. Wind shear or clear air turbulence can occur without warning
due to changing movements and speeds of air at different heights.
"Because the air can be
more unstable at lower altitudes, it may more typically occur as a plane
is climbing upwards from taking off or descending to land," Schneider
said. "Also, since summer thunderstorms tend to occur often in the
afternoon, you may find less 'bumpy' flights in the early morning
hours," but it can happen any time, even at night, Schneider says.
Capt. Chuck Hogeman isn't
worried about what turbulence will do to his plane. Planes are designed
to withstand the pressure of the atmosphere in flight, even when it
feels really bumpy, says Hogeman, chairman of the Air Line Pilots
Association air safety committee and a United Airlines captain with more
than 20 years of flight experience. He does worry about passengers and
loose galley items flying around during unexpected turbulence.
One of the trickiest
things pilots have to figure out is "when to turn that seat belt sign
off after there's been some turbulence and it's been smooth for a period
of time," he said. "There's no guarantee you're going to have a smooth
ride, and the onset of turbulence can be very quick. Passengers really
do need to rely on the judgment of the men and women up front."
We've all heard the
flight attendant announcements to fasten our seat belts on board
airplanes, even when the seat belt sign isn't illuminated. That offers
added protection to passengers, who can choose to follow the rules and
buckle up.
Pilots often order
flight attendants to sit down if they know turbulence is coming or it's
already hit; otherwise, the flight attendants are moving about the
airplane cabin to prepare the airplane for in-flight service and
landing.
You may not feel
particularly fortunate in your cramped coach seat with not even a bag of
peanuts to calm you down, but you're luckier than the flight attendant
pushing a drink cart during an unpredicted bout of clear air turbulence.
That cart weights
several hundred pounds, and the flight attendant has to secure it before
buckling up, says Corey Caldwell, an Association of Flight Attendants
spokeswoman. Bruises, sprains and even broken bones are common among
flight attendants, she says.
So do what James does on a flight: "I just wear my seat belt, because I know it can happen at any time."
Source: http://www.cnn.com
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