Extreme Turbulence on Airplanes: How Dangerous Is It?

Turbulence during flight is dangerous. Extreme turbulence could even lead to death, according to a report.

Death and Injuries From Extreme Turbulence

In the past weeks, significant turbulence caused one death and one hospitalization on a business jet. There were also seven hospitalizations on a commercial flight, NPR reported.

One passenger died due to severe turbulence onboard a private business jet that diverted to the Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, on March 3, aviation officials confirmed to CNN.

A Bombardier CL30 jet departing from Dillant-Hopkins Airport in Keene, New Hampshire, was heading to Leesburg Executive Airport in Virginia but was diverted to the Connecticut airport around 4. p.m. Friday after "encountering a severe turbulence" that "resulted in fatal injuries" one of the passengers, according to NTSB Newsroom.

Turbulence refers to the bumpy ride mid-flight. According to Insider, seven people were injured during a Lufthansa flight, and 25 individuals experienced the same during a United flight in February.

The outlet noted that airplane turbulence is very common, and the instances when it causes serious injuries are very rare.

From 2009 to 2021, 146 people aboard Part 121 carriers - regular commercial flights - suffered severe injuries from turbulence. Of the 146 individuals, 80% were crew members, according to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) data.

FAA defined serious injuries as requiring hospitalization for over 48 hours or resulting in fractured bones, severe muscle or tendon damage, harm of internal organs, or second or third-degree burns.

The majority of the passengers who encountered severe injuries from turbulence were not wearing seatbelts because they were using the restroom or walking up or down the aisle. The damages can come from falling out luggage from the overhead bins hitting people on the head or people stumbling or being tossed or the sides of cabins or food carts ramming into people, according to the 2021 National Transportation Safety Board report.

For crew members, most encountered the injury while preparing the cabin for landing or doing cabin service like serving food or drinks or collecting trash.

Airlines are not required to report minor injuries. Thus, the number of injuries is underreported.

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What Is Airplane Turbulence?

FAA described turbulence as the movement of air created by atmospheric pressure, jet streams, the air around mountains, color or warm weather fronts, or thunderstorms. Disturbances in the air rock the plane a bit the way water will rock a boat.

The irregular air movement due to changes in altitude or angle of the plane could toss the people on board depending on its intensity. Clear-air turbulence is among the most dangerous kinds of turbulence, which gives no visible warning and occurs when pilots don't have the fastened seatbelt turned on.

According to Paul Williams, a professor of atmospheric science at the University of Reading, who studies turbulence, it is completely invisible to the naked eye, radar, and satellites. They only learn about it when the plane goes through it, so there's nothing much time to prepare, NPR reported.

Climate change causes more instability in the jet streams and makes wind speeds faster, causing more turbulence when the skies appear clear. Based on Williams' study, by 2050, pilots worldwide could encounter at least twice as much severe clear-air turbulence.