| Airplane turbulence has a bad reputation for those with | | | | mountain range are variations of temperatures. |
| flying anxiety. | | | | Thinking back to science class you'll remember that |
| The reason that airplane turbulence takes the blame is | | | | warm air rises. All these variations of temperatures |
| because it touches your senses in a very real way. | | | | are moving and circulating which creates turbulence. |
| You FEEL the plane moving around differently. You | | | | Does airplane turbulence create a air safety problem? |
| SEE the coffee cup shaking. You HEAR the pilot tell | | | | You may not like mild turbulence. If you have a fear of |
| you to fasten your seat belt. | | | | flying, it may cause you to grip your armrest until your |
| What causes the turbulence and how much of a | | | | knuckles are white. Your heart may beat faster or |
| safety problem is it? | | | | your stomach may knot up in discomfort. But it does |
| As a child, did you ever lay back on a lazy day a | | | | not cause any kind of air safety issue. |
| watch the clouds drift by? I spent countless hours | | | | The chance of a flight safety problem is very slight. |
| imaging different shapes in the clouds. In fact, I still look | | | | Pilots are well trained to handle the situation because |
| up at the clouds and see a face or an animal. | | | | we practice and rehearse this very situation twice a |
| It's a different story when we fly through the clouds. | | | | year in a simulator. Hands on experience with |
| Those creamy white clouds don't seem to like getting | | | | turbulence tells us it's time to make some changes not |
| run over by an airplane. | | | | only for flight safety but also for the comfort of our |
| The bumpiness that we feel in an airplane when flying | | | | passengers. |
| through clouds is just the movement of the air. It's an | | | | When I hit turbulence, I simply check in with the air |
| updraft of going from warm air to cool air and it | | | | traffic controllers and ask if other pilots have reported |
| creates a bouncy ride. | | | | smoother altitudes. Then I'll slow down and go to the |
| You might wonder why you feel turbulence and you | | | | altitude where I'm likely to find less bumps. |
| don't even notice any clouds. | | | | So, what can you do when turbulence strikes? Stay in |
| Instead of clouds, you may see mountains. There is | | | | your seat with your seat belt fastened. We'll be |
| something called 'mountain waves' which also creates | | | | moving to a smoother air space as fast as we can. |
| turbulence. Within all the nooks and valleys of a | | | | The pilots don't want a bumpy ride either. |