Turbulence is one of the most frightening aspects of air travel. Passengers often feel helpless when the plane shakes.
The pilot who controls the plane must think beyond the rattling of the engine.
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Pilot Eser Aksan E shared the terrifying truth about flying through turbulence with Sun Online Travel. He also described what it was like to be behind a yoke during bumpy flights.
She stated, “With severe turbulentence, we don’t control the airplane.
It doesn’t mean it will flip upside down, but it is still flying.
“It ends naturally at a time, then we’re back in control, and we need gain or lose altitude, or whatever the plane is in, to correct it.
“But it’s not really major, we don’t drop like thousands of feet or something like that – that just doesn’t happen. It feels that way. But it doesn’t happen.”
Pilots will, if possible, try to avoid turbulence but it isn’t always possible.
The most dangerous type of turbulence known is known as “clear air turbulence”These cannot be predicted.
This is why it’s important for passengers to always wear their seatbelts.
Eser added: “There’s clear turbulence, and that’s probably the most difficult. It is not visible. We can’t see it and we don’t know how to fly around it.
“That’s because it is impossible to predict, it just happens.
“That’s why we always remind passengers to use their seatbelts, even if there is no seatbelt sign, they still have to be on.
“There are also other types of turbulent, such as mechanical turbulence and turbulence surrounding thunderstorms.
“If you have a large thunderstorm, it’s likely to be turbulent weather, similar to big bumps.
“In mountain destinations, or mountainous arrivals, and summer weather, that gives us mechanical turbulence, but that’s something we know is in front of us, so that we can anticipate.”
Passenger safety is the main concern during turbulent conditions. Items and people are being thrown around in the cabin.
Although damage to the plane after turbulence is rare, pilots must still write it down so that someone can check it.
Eser said, “Stuff getting tossed around and people falling and things like that.” Turbulence can cause people to be in a lot of trouble.
“That’s why people get hurt. But damage to an airplane isn’t so common.
“If you have encountered severe turbulence, you need to write that down and the mechanic needs to check to see if there is some external damage as well, but most of the time there is none.”
The pilot also used jelly to explain why turbulence doesn’t seem so frightening.
Here’s how to keep calm on bumpy flights with a pen and paper
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