What Causes Turbulence & How to Deal With It

[AFF Editor]

Canonical URL

https://www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au/turbulence/

Turbulence: What Causes It & How to Deal With It is an article written by the AFF editorial team:

Turbulence: What Causes It & How to Deal With It

If you don't enjoy turbulence when flying, understanding its causes and choosing your seat carefully can help you to get through it.

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

You can leave a comment or discuss this topic below.

 

[Beano]

I just tighten my seat belt--hard!

 

[foften]

We were flying from Washington to New York in a prop plane during a storm. The gallows humour amongst the passengers was hilarious. I turned to my mother and said “you do realise you are the executrix of our will?”

There is little you can do so you might as well treat it like an amusement ride.

 

[Beano]

We were flying from Washington to New York in a prop plane during a storm. The gallows humour amongst the passengers was hilarious. I turned to my mother and said “you do realise you are the executrix of our will?”

There is little you can do so you might as well treat it like an amusement ride.

Unfortunately not all of us are gifted with the same stoicism. I was on a bumpy flight during a landing in an ATP and the lady across the aisle was in tears and shaking. I tried to comfort her. I hope it did some good. We landed safely.

 

[smiliemonster]

Like most frequent flyers I've certainly encountered bad turbulence over the years, and yet nothing has ever compared with landing at Vagar airport on the Faroe Islands. The pilot announced they were expecting "several minutes of extreme turbulence." He should have added, "and you will be pounded like you're inside a washing machine." You know it's pretty bad when even the cabin crew scream. I was at a window seat and wore bruises for a week or so. I've never had an inclination to clap on landing before, but in this instance, I wanted to give the pilot a whole parade!

Like @Beano I just tighten my seatbelt. It didn't stop me hitting the side of the plane in this instance, yet it definitely stopped me from hitting the bulkhead and overhead bins.

 

[anzen]

I have been flying regularly for over 30 years and I still clench the sides of the seat the moment we start bouncing around.
I think the size of the plane really makes a difference and I go out of my way to find flights on a larger plane (i.e if I have to travel Melbourne to Auckland, I will go via Sydney to go from a 737 to a 330).
One trick I find is helpful, is the next time you are a passenger in a car, close your eyes for a short while. You will quickly realise how many bumps and turns you experience and don't think about. Most turbulence in a plane is much calmer.
Otherwise, mine is a large scotch please.

 

[Ozchorlton]

I once got the last flight out of Cairns before a cyclone hit (VA).
The roughest flight ever, until we got above the clouds

 

[RnD]

When the plane taxi's I take note of the bumps, from the outside of the plane you don't see these but while sitting in it you are bumping along. MOST turbulence feels like this, however on the few times it gets hectic I tighten the seatbelt turn up the music and find bouncing my legs a bit helps to even it out in my head.