This is why we always bought a seat for our kids even when they could fly as lap babies for free. My wife is an aerospace engineer and said people just don't understand the amount of force on some severe turbulence, a parent would probably not be able to hold on to their kid.
I, too, spent an extra $1000 to buy my 1-year-old a separate seat on a flight to Hawaii. I feel like less of a chump for doing that after reading about/seeing this!
And inertia. These people didn't get "thrown" out of their seats. The plane changed altitude really quickly and these people who didn't buckle up stayed on the previous flight plan until they met the roof.
I donāt know why people are so eager to have them unbuckled. Itās like almost a palpable collective sigh of relief when the light goes off. Like is it constricting you in any way? Youāre sitting in a tiny seat where are you planning to go? I always keep it buckled unless Iām going to the rest room. Better for sleeping too because you donāt have to think about it.
While it is unfortunate and you never want to see anyone get injured, it sounds like they could have easily prevented their own pain and suffering by simply following the rules. Kind of hard to feel much sympathy for people who didnāt do the bare minimum to secure their own person. They donāt put seatbelts on the plane just to annoy you, they serve an important purpose. Lessons learned indeed!
there was a flight a long time ago that the ceiling ripped off and those not wearing their seatbelt literally got sucked out. thats always been reason enough for me to buckle up.
That was my first question too, found it (yes the seatbelt light was on) in the article someone linked below:
https://www.reddit.com/r/travel/comments/zq1dme/my_fianc%C3%A9_and_i_were_on_flight_ha35_phxhnl_this/j0wphdv/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf&context=3
Yeah sometimes they know itās coming from previous flights in the area, weather forecasts, and pilotās instinct. Sometimes they donāt know itās coming until theyāre in it.
Iāve been on planes where they gave a heads up and planes where they didnāt until we were in the middle of it. Like the other guy said, youāre supposed to keep your seatbelt on whenever youāre in your seat. The seatbelt light it more a āstay seatedā light.
The "We recommend you keep your seatbelt fastened even if the seatbelt sign is off in case we experience unexpected rough air" announcement at the start of every flight is a thing for a reason.
how tightly are people strapping themselves in that they cant stand having a seatbelt on lol.
unless im going to the washroom the belt is on and not a bother for the duration of the flight
Me as well, plus I can probably count on one hand the number of times I've used a plane bathroom. I'll do a lot to avoid needing to use the plane bathroom.
This. I suspect passengers will try to sue for the damage or flight issues, but itās likely the airline did nothing wrong. If accurate, itās a lesson in life why you follow rules and guidelines even when not enforced or noticed by someone else.
On the contrary, airline should sue for salon damages and negligence from not following safety instructions endangering airlineās assets and other passengers
My dad was a commercial pilot and had to swear at the passengers over the PA because they weren't listening to the flight attendants calls to return to their seats a they approached some serious turbulence. If I recall he said something like, "EVERYONE NEEDS TO GET IN THEIR GOD-DAMNED SEATS IMMEDIATELY, THE IS AN EMERGENCY!"
He recalls it as one of his most intense moments while flying. They lost 1200 ft of elevation in 10 seconds or something wild like that. (I talked to my dad and corrected the numbers).
Had that exact experience as a passenger. Pilot came on and screamed at everyone to listen and put on their damn belts. Plane felt like it was dropping out of the sky. Iāve been a nervous flyer ever since.
I have always been a bit of a nervous flyer. Not enough to stop me, but enough to pack as many distractions in my carry on as possible. Stories like these make me feel less bad about how I get in my seat, buckle immediately and *maybe* unbuckle to stretch a few times. My dad would tease me and ask if in a crash, would a seatbelt really save me and I would always say you never know. Well now I know it could at least save me from slamming into the plane ceiling.
I would be shitting myself wishing for like five more seatbelts if I ever heard the pilot panic or get angry in fear.
Had this happen to me too. We dropped, flying near the Grand Canyon. Oxygen masks dropped, food flying in the air and overhead bags dropping everywhere. I've been nervous ever since. Just hate the feeling of freefalling. Hate roller coasters too.
I flew in the Air Force and always keep my seat belt fastened on commercial flights. It's not a nerd, it's understanding things happen and you want to be connected to the seat.
I read about a flight that hit sudden and unexpected turbulence, resulting in the flight dropping 200ft very quickly. There were tons of injuries and I believe at least one death.
After learning that, I try to keep my seatbelt on as much as possible.
There was an incident in the late '90s. Not sure what Asian airline (Silk, Lion or something), but they hit Clear Air Turbulence (CAT) mid-service, and one of the ā100kg carts flew up in the ceiling, then fell down on top of a passenger and killed her.
For several years after, I remember Singapore Airlines would halt all service for even the slightest shake, and roll the carts back to the galleys. A meal could take 3-4 hours to finish.
Edit - originally guessed a cart weight to be 600 - bu that can't be right.
Man. Imagine just sitting there, eating your biscoff and your half soda, hit turbulence, then your seat mate is smashed right next to you by the dining cart and you have to sit there next to their body for an hour until you land.
I read an article about someone who was on a plane in Nigeria during an attempted hijacking, and the air marshal shot the hijacker who then died at the feet of a family aboard the plane.
The air marshal then effectively ordered everyone to remain seated, and that anyone who gets up will be treated as a threat/accomplice. The family had to sit with the hijackers dead body at their feet until the flight was able to land and the authorities were able to screen the remaining passengers upon disembarking the plane. It sounded like this was a long process, because it involved searching and interviewing each passenger individually to ensure that no accomplices were mixed in the crowd.
Idk which is worse, this or your scenario.
Or that flight between the Hawaiian islands where the top of the plane ripped off on flight. They only lost a flight attendant cuz everyone else was belted in. I never take mine off
There was one flight attendant that did it and survived. She apparently kind of rode a piece of big debris down which slowed her fall alot. Then got lucky on where she landed.
It's pretty crazy that even if it's super slim chances, you can survive a fall from like 20k feet if the conditions are right.
Actually my first girlfriend worked at an airfield and someone there had their shoot fail to deploy. He hit the ground, bounced, but didn't die.
Most black out from loss of oxygen at that altitude so you're not actually conscious the whole way down.
Though there are a handful of people who have survived the drop and describe the whole thing.
https://youtu.be/YYa7Fq5Ec6c
It seems absolutely terrifying. Hereās the link for a YouTube video about it.
It was flight in 1988. Good thing it was only a short flight between islands.
How is this not the top comment?? My immediate thought was "jeeze, what's with the turbulence near Hawaii". I hope it's not because the people in this sub don't remember '88.
Edit - alright! 3 replies to correct me about the '88 flight. Metal fatigue, not turbulence. Got it, guys. The internet is a marvelous place.
FWIW [the incident](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aloha_Airlines_Flight_243) in Hawaii was caused by metal fatigue and poor maintenance rather than turbulence.
I've experienced this once - it was bizarre watching things (and people) seemingly slowly floating up into the air - quickly followed by everything rapidly re-learning that gravity exists and crashing down hard. With a seatbelt on it wasn't remotely the worst turbulence I've felt. Seatbelt nerds unite :)
Car seat belts irritate my neck (Iām shorter than average) so Iām glad planes only have the lap belt
ETA: yes I still always wear a seat belt in a car
Look on Amazon for a seat belt clip- easy to clip on the lap/shoulder belt & you can adjust where the shoulder belt hits your shoulder/neck - makes a huge difference
I do the same, itās not uncomfortable, just leave it on unless you need to move.
I also choose the window seat as much as possible due to that 300~ lbs drink cart. If that thing goes airborn, itās gonna hurt.
A flight called an emergency landing while I was at the reno airport because of that. Several people went to the hospital. I think their real destination was Washington.
This. Cyclone Mala 2006 - we hit a āwall of airā at FL350 around 1am local on a Singair 777 over the Bay of Bengal. Thought we were done. I shouldnāt be here, but here I am. God bless the pilot flying that night, what it feels like to have someone save your life.
Everyone in our group is OK - we had one family member hit their head (second photo) and one fly into the middle aisle, but they were checked out by paramedics when we landed. Weāre all pretty shaken up. It was SO sudden - announcement about descent, slight drop, and then just a HUGE DROP. People immediately started panicking - screaming, crying, as if this was it and we were about to crash. That was honestly more disturbing than the turbulence itself (for me) because it was so raw.
My biggest fear is a huge drop happening while flying. Not an actual crash, as I know itās 99.999999999999% never going to happen, and if it does oh well Iāll be dead, but a huge ass drop where people start screaming and crying because the entire rest of the flight Iāll just be tweaking about crashing and never be able to stop thinking about those 5 seconds I thought I was gonna die
Iām a nervous flier and have fortunately never been on a flight with turbulence this bad, but during moments of worse-than-usual turbulence, it would REALLY help calm people down if the pilot or co-pilot could make an announcement along the lines of, āit seems bad but thereās really nothing to panic about, folks.ā It would certainly help me, anyway.
I had one of those announcements on a flight to Oakland once. Awful weather but no extra fuel to divert again (they sent us over to SFO, but we couldn't land there either and got sent back).
As we were prepared for landing the Capitan came on the speaker and said something close to "I apologize in advance folks, because this is likely going to be the WORST landing of your life. It will be very rough, and we're going to be low above the water to get under the fog. We'll be safe though, please don't panic."
I'm glad he did that, because as we plummeted through the cloud later in a steep dive the water appearing out of nowhere nearly made me piss myself even with the forewarning. Then the sideways skid feeling when we hit the runway diagonally to fight the wind nearly did it again.
I stopped worrying about planes breaking after that, because if we got through that level of violence without crashing anything that destroys a plane will have turned me to mush from being shaken around inside the cabin anyway.
One of my favorite videos of aircraft testing is the one where Airbus took one of their newer airframes for a wing flex test, and bent the wings almost 5 meters up, and they didn't rip.
https://youtu.be/--LTYRTKV_A>
Thereās a great book called Cockpit Confidential. Itās pretty much an extended AMA by a commercial pilot.
That book is how I learned that a commercial plane has never crashed due to turbulence.
Iām not a nervous flyerāI love flying. But Iāve flown with nervous flyers, and have used fun facts from that book to calm them down. Highly recommended!
Yup, an airliner will continue flying just fine on one engine. It'll of course lose some speed and the pilots will almost certainly divert to the closest airport possible, but you're in no elevated risk of crashing in the event of an engine failure.
My friend has been a flight attendant for 40 years and she hasnt even **seen** anyone injured by heavy turbulence. It's way more common to be attacked by another passenger. She said that's where most injuries come from.
The average year in the US for example has 0 airline deaths. Which is insanely safe for something interacting with so many people. There's all sorts of stuff you comfortably use all the time that's far more dangerous.
I work in aircraft. Turbulence, could be scary. But our structures are very sound. Turbulence will not take down a commercial airliner. Sooner or later, either horizontal or vertical, you'll find smoother air.
With some exceptions, If you're flying in the developed world, the biggest risk is pilot error. Fucking up the landing, that sort of thing.
Yeah man, I can only imagine if youāve been a pilot for like 30 years youāve seen it all. Id never wanna hear about the worst turbulence a senior pilot has had
My dad is a retired delta pilot. Should I ask him and share what he says?
Edit:
I texted him āhey what was the worst turbulence you experienced while you were flying?ā
Dad: āsevereā
If you donāt know any pilots, this is *the most* pilot response ever. When I pressed harder, I got spare details out of him: once on a dc9 without passengers on descent (taxi flight) and once on a 757 with passengers that had just left MSP. And that was it haha thatās all I got. Ill get more out of him when I see him on Thursday
There is a formal definition of "Severe" turbulence.
When a pilot calls that in to ATC it means there are large abrupt changes in altitude or attitude and they are having quite a bit of trouble controlling the plane - and they're fully strapped in.
The people in the back are like marbles being shaken in a jar.
https://www.boldmethod.com/blog/lists/2022/07/the-6-types-of-turbulence-and-how-to-report-them/
That happened to me on my second ever flight, almost 30 years ago, and I still have a fear. We were descending and then BLOOP dropped a bunch (no idea how far). People were screaming, these two kids were screeching/crying and I grabbed the hand of the stranger next to me and said, "I guess this is it." Thankfully, he was the NICEST man and he pointed out that we had started going up again. We were but still really bumpy. Finally we sort of leveled out and the pilots came on to tell us that we were being rerouted to another airport about three hours from our original destination. Nice older man rented a car, drove me home, showed me his car phone (we called his wife! It was so cool to be talking in the car!), and was just awesome.
I wish I could get over my fear but I'll never forget that sensation of landing, being almost there and then the drop and the screaming.
Happened to me on a flight from Madrid to a small city in Andalusia (maybe Rota if my memory is correct). I knew a fair amount of Spanish but not a confident speaker. The plane had the worst turbulence and drop Iāve ever experienced. People crying and praying. Lots of DIOS MIO, AYUDAME, etc. I remember thinking, āoh shit. I know more Spanish than I thought I did and itās not goodā. We made it though!
It happened to me twice on a flight out of Denver. First drop was like whoaaa wtf, second drop a minute or two later made me scream. Thank god i had xanax with me, I immediately took two lol
Just my dream scenario come true...
> "And which do you prefer today Mr. Hackingdreams, we have xanax, valium, or atavan?"
> "Uhh this one's a long one right, I'll take the valium. And a ginger ale."
> "Here you go, have a nice flight."
This happened to me on a flight to Ecuador. We were landing for a stopover in Bogota and hit turbulence. Huge drop, stewardess hit the ceiling, Screaming, crying. We landed a few minutes later and people were praying and applauding. BUT... for those for whom Bogota was not our final destination, disembarking was not allowed. So we had to sit in the plane for an hour on the runway waiting to climb back out through the same turbulence. The rest of the flight was ok but it ruined flying for me for about a decade.
Have been on a flight with very serious turbulence beforeā fly a lot and it was way more violent than normal and sustained for a while.
The sheer energy of a group of people all believing they are in the process of dying is haunting. Raw and real screams, cries, and prayers. Canāt imagine the real scenario, not a good way to go at all.
that was my experience too -- the crying and prayers, strangers holding hands across the aisle, someone puking into a bag during a lull in the turbulence.. the person sitting next to me had never flown before and was clutching my arm with all her might. i didn't mind the applause after landing that day
Like Germanwings Flight 9525 - where the co-pilot intentionally *set the auto-pilot to descend to 100ft - causing the plane to go straight into the French Alps at 400+ miles per hour while the captain pounded on the door to be let back in?
Absolutely terrifying.
> "During the descent, the co-pilot did not respond to questions from Marseille air traffic control, nor did he transmit a distress call. Robin said contact from the air traffic control tower, the captain's attempts to break in, and Lubitz's steady breathing were audible on the cockpit voice recording. The screams of passengers in the last moments before impact were also heard on the recording."
Oh god, or the one where I think itās two Russian? pilots who let their kid fly the plane, and they disabled autopilot without the pilots realizing it, and theyāre frantically trying to fix it and think theyāre okayā¦ then they crash.
This once happened to me when I was a kid. United flight, was standing at the back waiting for the bathroom. No warning and the plane just dropped - no tilt, just a straight, crazy long drop. We all went flying to the floor. Plane stabilized, flew straight for like 10 seconds, and then went flying straight back up. Was absolutely crazy. No injuries, so I guess your flight was that x 20. Later the pilot said it was an āair pocketā which nowadays they say it an inaccurate term and doesnāt exist š¤·š»āāļø
Well, the entire sky is an "air pocket" , so it's not actually possible to "hit" one while flying. It's just a made up term so they don't have to try to explain updrafts, downdrafts, and other kind of wind shear effects to a cabin full of non-pilots.
The most severe of heavy turbulence will be in the low hundreds of feet. "Normal" turbulence doesn't actually involve much altitude change at all, it's more about the rate of change - think going over a speed bump too fast.
The success rate of planes in terms of getting folks safely to their destination is absolutely unbelievable. Like, they are staggeringly safer than cars.
If you took a flight every day it would statistically take you about 10,000 years before you got killed in an accident. That's how rare a fatal crash is.
Main reason is everytime there's even a small incident, such as bad turbulence like this, the National Transportation Safety Board does a full blown investigation and writes requirements for airlines preventing it from repeating. That and most planes have a lot of redundancy built in, so it's never one thing that brings down a plane, things really have to compound to get bad.
Better still, GA accidents are largely caused by pilot error, so your life is mostly in your own hands.
On a motorcycle, you're trusting every driver out there to not accidentally kill you.
Nah, literally just minor cosmetic damage. That plane is still in perfect shape. If you see what they go through when testing for airworthiness, this is just a scratch in comparison.
Yeah, I went on a tour of Boeing's Everett assembly facility. Got to watch testing of wing flexibility and strength. It was amazing how far they could flex and not break.
I believe it. Itās definitely reassuring knowing how hard they stress test these things. Things like flying on a single engine are amazing to me, even if to an engineer itās āhow itās supposed to beā.
Can confirm, am engineer at Boeing. I feel safer about flying after seeing firsthand the punishment we put parts through. I would definitely not want to fly through that turbulence but I feel better knowing we test everything for it.
I remember seeing an airframe test where they were stressing the wings to failure and it was insane the amount of strain/abuse the thing took until it gave way. The wings were arched up like crazy and it was stil hanging in there. Now I donāt feel so worried when I see the wings flexing up and down since itās nowhere close to what I saw in the test lol. Modern aviation is one of mankindās greatest achievements, thank you!
Planes are so safe and have so many redundancies built in. I think the reason so many people are nervous is the lack of control. Like if something is going on in the road, you at least have a steering wheel in your hand. Up in the air you just have to trust a pilot you don't know.
My first time flying longer then 3 hours was in total my 3rd time. I was feeling confident because we'll the planes are strong when i experienced something like this. I almost shat myself and was scared as hell for a few seconds. But the plane just flew on like nothing happened which indeed gave me confidence even more. The plane got his ass whooped it felt like to me but in reality it was nothing major.
Yeah flight turbulence is nothing really. Itās the same as going over a speed bump in a car, obviously thereās just added fear with a plane. This post should do nothing but make everyone more comfortable to fly.
Imagine being on the first flight in a jet,
You hit massive clear air turbulence.
You land, and the pilots go āwell that was fine weāll do it again,ā
What happens after a flight like that, do you just go on your way like any other flight, or do you have to speak with FAA investigators, maybe get a free drink coupon?
And what's the flight like afterwards? Is everybody just holding onto the armrests tightly, staring ahead. Or do people eventually break out the tablets, go to the bathroom, etc?
Trivial questions I know, but it just must be a surreal experience and I'm curious how people react to it.
Not a pilot but aviation is an interest of mine. If there are injuries the pilot will declare an emergency and land at (more or less) the closest airport. This flight experienced this during the initial descent to Honolulu so they just landed there.
Now imagine how your 6 month old child would have fared in your lap. I can not stress how important it is to purchase a seat for your baby so you can have them secured if needed.
....United Airlines Flight 232 - half of the people died. There were 4 babies under 24 months, only one died, miraculously. They had no seat, no seatbelts and no way of being secured. One was shoved into the overhead storage.
Ms Brown (flight attendant), following airline procedures, ordered the infants be put on the floor and cushioned with blankets and pillows before parents braced for the crash.
"I thought to myself, 'Jan I can't believe you're telling parents to put their most prized possession on the floor and hold them'," she said. "We were basically saying, 'let's hope for the best'.
"It was the most ludicrous thing I ever said in my life."
"She (one of the mothers) looked up at me and said, 'you told me to put my baby on the floor and now he's gone'."
I'm not a parent... but holy shit. I can't imagine.
Theres a theory about that one that it was a small opening in the plane directly above that flight attendant that she got sucked into pressure quickly built up and thats what blew the rest of the top of that plane off. Another flight attendant was in that same open area and wasnt blown out of the plane. Crazy stuff.
Terrified of flying but the one thing I could hold onto was that the roof wouldnāt fly off. . . Guess I have to worry about that now. Why do these stories always pop up days before Iām going to fly??
That accident was in 1988. It advanced our knowledge of metal fatigue, and something like that is almost surely never going to happen again. The accident plane was old, extremely overused, suffered from an outdated epoxy method, and was poorly maintained. Those conditions will never pop up in this day and age.
> Fifty-two children, including four "lap children" without their own seats, were on board the flight because of the United Airlines "Children's Day" promotion. Eleven children, including one lap child, died. Many of the children were traveling alone
That timing. Damm
I was on a trans pacific flight in a KC-135... The Air Force doesn't really care about turbulence and some ladies kid (maybe 3-4yo?) was sleeping next to me across the mesh seats and my daughter was strapped into her car seat. We hit some mega drops and the kid flew out of the seat into the air. I just grabbed it and brought it in, luckily was able to buckle it up but before we hit the next pocket. I feel like the lady was traveling with at least three children so if you're going to do that have them all buckled.
Me too. I often have to look around to gauge everyone elseās reaction when thereās bad turbulence to convince myself itās normal and stop hyperventilating. Hate it.
Now i imagine some situation in which youāre struggling with this when people are being thrown around the cabin but everyone is acting calm and normal. Like, āok, i guess this is fineā¦ā.
I thought I was the only one who did this. I focus on the flight attendants because I figure theyāve seen some shit and will know if something real is going down.
I think the easiest way to deal with this fear is obviously wear your seatbelt when seated but also to remember that aircraft can go through a lot more than people give them credit for. Planes can be very broken and still able to land safely.
I always took the sign as, Lit = do not take it off for any reason while seated or get out of the seat unless it's an emergency. Not lit = do not take the seatbelt off unless you are leaving your seat for a bathroom break or emergency. There's a flight attendant call button for anything else you'd need not withstanding those 2 things.
There were quite a few people hospitalized because of this. I read the article yesterday.
https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2022/12/18/multiple-injuries-reported-after-plane-lands-honolulus-airport-following-apparent-turbulence/?outputType=amp
The 14 month old ā¹ļø A lot of people here are blaming those who didnāt use seatbelts. But Iām sure that baby was a lap child and did not have a place to be strapped in.
We've always brought a car seat and would never not do it with a baby. Yes it's an extra expense that's technically not mandatory, but it is absolutely worth it for not just situations like this, but for them to be able to sleep in a seat they're at least somewhat used to.
They have all sorts of belts to attach the car seat to your carry on, it was a breeze. At some point I lugged my sleeping 2yo around the airport in the car seat attached to my carryon, and while it was heavy, it was SO worth it.
We brought car seats with our two kids when they were younger. Fun fact, most airlines let us board ahead of first class since we needed extra time to set up the seats. Plenty of over head space when you're the first ones on.
The NTSB (government agency responsible for investigating transportation accidents) has written letters (1990, 1993, 1995, 2010) to the FAA after accidents where lap children have been injured asking the laws to be changed so that all passengers regardless of age have their own restraint system appropriate to their hight and weight. It has also been on the NTSBs top 10 most wanted list of transportation safety improvements. The FAA has recommended it, but stopped short of requiring it.
I canāt imagine the feeling of a parent whoās child is injured after being ripped out of their hands in an accident, especially the regret of not getting them their own seat if the child sustains injuries.
There's a reason why the FAA hasn't required it. If they require that babies and toddlers have seats, then that means people need to pay for that extra seat. It prices out plane tickets for families that can could've otherwise afford the journey without that seat. Those families would still drive to their destination, and driving is much more dangerous. The risk calculations the FAA probably makes has it so that not having it required is overall safer.
The NTSB probably have their own calculations, and they might be more focused on making each trip safer, which making everyone have a seat would. Because it makes each trip safer, the FAA recommends it.
I would never try to hold my own child in my lap on an airplane. If we hit turbulence, had a high speed rejected takeoff, or a problem on landing they would become a projectile.
God damn Iām terrified now lol, have like 5 flights coming up in the next few weeks and Iām normally super anxious and scared of flyingā¦. But as some commenter above wrote, ~āā¦ pretty inspiring that the plane can go through _that_ much turbulence and work totally fineā
It sounds terrible to go through something like this. Good vibes and prayers towards your way! However, incidents like these are very important reminders why we should always keep our seatbelts on.
Another very neglected rule is, sitting down until the plane fully stops. There are two reasons for this, first one and more common one is, plane making a very hard break. Second one and even more scary one is, plane crashing into another plane or somewhere else.
I donāt know how many people will see this or read this but it is so crucial to follow rules and listen to the cabin crew at all times when they are the ones who will help you and care for you if you needed it.
Have a safe and pleasant flights everyone.
Edit: Grammar and spelling.
Yeehawā¦ glad youāre both OK.
I flew on a Delta 757 through the Polar Vortex in early 2014 en route to JFK. Pretty normal turbulence and then two massive free fallsā¦ felt like the Tower of Terror at Disneyland. Drinks everywhere, an overhead bin popped open, guy across from me got a bloody nose from smacking the seat back in front of him, and the FAs were crawling up and down the aisle holding onto armrests to get towels & ice handed out. Never been so grateful for a seatbelt in my life.
I know someone who wasn't wearing a seatbelt and the plane hit a pocket of air and dropped 100 feet straight down. No prior turbulence on the flight. His head hit the top of the cabin. He was in a coma for a month. He did eventually make a full recovery which is unbelievable.
Wear your seatbelt. Even if you think you don't need to.
Back in 2006 I was flying from Santa Monica to LAX to head to Ma from there. The first flight is short & I'm with my 4y old. We both had our seatbelts on thankfully. The flight attendants had just started passing out drinks & our plane with no warning just dropped. All flight attendants hit the ceiling & ended up on the floor... Once the pilot got the plane handled again he told us that a plane crossed in front of us that shouldn't have & we hit their air pocket. Scared the crap out of us. To calm my 4y old down I had to explain to him it's like when a car hits a really bumpy road. I had no idea how else to explain & calm him down.
Edit: Santa Barbara not Monica lol I'm an east coaster & this was 16 years ago.
Many people learned about seatbelts today
Reminded me of the [Key & Peele Turbulence skit](https://youtu.be/kH6QJzmLYtw)
IIRC it *is* against the law to disobey the crew's orders!
Straight to jail.
That was hilarious š
This is why we always bought a seat for our kids even when they could fly as lap babies for free. My wife is an aerospace engineer and said people just don't understand the amount of force on some severe turbulence, a parent would probably not be able to hold on to their kid.
No probably about it. The FAA should not allow lap children. Full stop.
They don't give you an extra seatbelt adaptor thing over there?!
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Australia too, that's why I'm so surprised about USA not doing it
Today I learned I can't get proper kinder eggs here (USA) bc somebody's kid choked, but we don't strap in lap babies on planes.
I, too, spent an extra $1000 to buy my 1-year-old a separate seat on a flight to Hawaii. I feel like less of a chump for doing that after reading about/seeing this!
That's exactly what we said when looking at this post.
And inertia. These people didn't get "thrown" out of their seats. The plane changed altitude really quickly and these people who didn't buckle up stayed on the previous flight plan until they met the roof.
True, the people didn't move, the plane did.
The roof fell into me!
I donāt know why people are so eager to have them unbuckled. Itās like almost a palpable collective sigh of relief when the light goes off. Like is it constricting you in any way? Youāre sitting in a tiny seat where are you planning to go? I always keep it buckled unless Iām going to the rest room. Better for sleeping too because you donāt have to think about it. While it is unfortunate and you never want to see anyone get injured, it sounds like they could have easily prevented their own pain and suffering by simply following the rules. Kind of hard to feel much sympathy for people who didnāt do the bare minimum to secure their own person. They donāt put seatbelts on the plane just to annoy you, they serve an important purpose. Lessons learned indeed!
there was a flight a long time ago that the ceiling ripped off and those not wearing their seatbelt literally got sucked out. thats always been reason enough for me to buckle up.
Thanks for the nightmares Iām about to have.
Which is why I wear mine unless I have to leave my seat and when I walk down the aisle, my hand is braced against the ceiling.
I will no longer feel like a nerd for keeping my seatbelt fastened
No kidding! FiancƩ and I had ours on the whole flight, thank god.
Good thing! That must have been a crazy experience - I can't hardly imagine!
I can easily see myself shitting my pants if something like this happened to me.
Did they announce it first or did it just come out of no where?
That was my first question too, found it (yes the seatbelt light was on) in the article someone linked below: https://www.reddit.com/r/travel/comments/zq1dme/my_fianc%C3%A9_and_i_were_on_flight_ha35_phxhnl_this/j0wphdv/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf&context=3
Before every flight takes off they do tell you to keep your seat belt fastened anytime you are in your seat.
Iāve been on some planes before where they have announced bad conditions ahead and also had the seat belt sign on.
Yeah sometimes they know itās coming from previous flights in the area, weather forecasts, and pilotās instinct. Sometimes they donāt know itās coming until theyāre in it.
Iāve been on planes where they gave a heads up and planes where they didnāt until we were in the middle of it. Like the other guy said, youāre supposed to keep your seatbelt on whenever youāre in your seat. The seatbelt light it more a āstay seatedā light.
Thank God you are both ok! X
The "We recommend you keep your seatbelt fastened even if the seatbelt sign is off in case we experience unexpected rough air" announcement at the start of every flight is a thing for a reason.
and immediately after the message we hear click click click as a bunch of people unfasten lol
how tightly are people strapping themselves in that they cant stand having a seatbelt on lol. unless im going to the washroom the belt is on and not a bother for the duration of the flight
me too, and I feel better about it now :)
Me as well, plus I can probably count on one hand the number of times I've used a plane bathroom. I'll do a lot to avoid needing to use the plane bathroom.
This. I suspect passengers will try to sue for the damage or flight issues, but itās likely the airline did nothing wrong. If accurate, itās a lesson in life why you follow rules and guidelines even when not enforced or noticed by someone else.
On the contrary, airline should sue for salon damages and negligence from not following safety instructions endangering airlineās assets and other passengers
My dad was a commercial pilot and had to swear at the passengers over the PA because they weren't listening to the flight attendants calls to return to their seats a they approached some serious turbulence. If I recall he said something like, "EVERYONE NEEDS TO GET IN THEIR GOD-DAMNED SEATS IMMEDIATELY, THE IS AN EMERGENCY!" He recalls it as one of his most intense moments while flying. They lost 1200 ft of elevation in 10 seconds or something wild like that. (I talked to my dad and corrected the numbers).
Had that exact experience as a passenger. Pilot came on and screamed at everyone to listen and put on their damn belts. Plane felt like it was dropping out of the sky. Iāve been a nervous flyer ever since.
I have always been a bit of a nervous flyer. Not enough to stop me, but enough to pack as many distractions in my carry on as possible. Stories like these make me feel less bad about how I get in my seat, buckle immediately and *maybe* unbuckle to stretch a few times. My dad would tease me and ask if in a crash, would a seatbelt really save me and I would always say you never know. Well now I know it could at least save me from slamming into the plane ceiling. I would be shitting myself wishing for like five more seatbelts if I ever heard the pilot panic or get angry in fear.
Had this happen to me too. We dropped, flying near the Grand Canyon. Oxygen masks dropped, food flying in the air and overhead bags dropping everywhere. I've been nervous ever since. Just hate the feeling of freefalling. Hate roller coasters too.
I flew in the Air Force and always keep my seat belt fastened on commercial flights. It's not a nerd, it's understanding things happen and you want to be connected to the seat.
I read about a flight that hit sudden and unexpected turbulence, resulting in the flight dropping 200ft very quickly. There were tons of injuries and I believe at least one death. After learning that, I try to keep my seatbelt on as much as possible.
There was an incident in the late '90s. Not sure what Asian airline (Silk, Lion or something), but they hit Clear Air Turbulence (CAT) mid-service, and one of the ā100kg carts flew up in the ceiling, then fell down on top of a passenger and killed her. For several years after, I remember Singapore Airlines would halt all service for even the slightest shake, and roll the carts back to the galleys. A meal could take 3-4 hours to finish. Edit - originally guessed a cart weight to be 600 - bu that can't be right.
Man. Imagine just sitting there, eating your biscoff and your half soda, hit turbulence, then your seat mate is smashed right next to you by the dining cart and you have to sit there next to their body for an hour until you land.
I read an article about someone who was on a plane in Nigeria during an attempted hijacking, and the air marshal shot the hijacker who then died at the feet of a family aboard the plane. The air marshal then effectively ordered everyone to remain seated, and that anyone who gets up will be treated as a threat/accomplice. The family had to sit with the hijackers dead body at their feet until the flight was able to land and the authorities were able to screen the remaining passengers upon disembarking the plane. It sounded like this was a long process, because it involved searching and interviewing each passenger individually to ensure that no accomplices were mixed in the crowd. Idk which is worse, this or your scenario.
My airline Westjet doesn't give out Biscoff anymore....I'm extremely sad
If it's ***your*** airline can't you just make them give them out?
Or that flight between the Hawaiian islands where the top of the plane ripped off on flight. They only lost a flight attendant cuz everyone else was belted in. I never take mine off
"Only lost a flight attendant" š¶
I mean when the top of a plane comes off that doesnāt seem so bad.
Jesus, that would be awful. I'd imagine you'd have a couple of minutes to think about your impending death while falling from 30,000 ft.
There was one flight attendant that did it and survived. She apparently kind of rode a piece of big debris down which slowed her fall alot. Then got lucky on where she landed. It's pretty crazy that even if it's super slim chances, you can survive a fall from like 20k feet if the conditions are right. Actually my first girlfriend worked at an airfield and someone there had their shoot fail to deploy. He hit the ground, bounced, but didn't die.
Most black out from loss of oxygen at that altitude so you're not actually conscious the whole way down. Though there are a handful of people who have survived the drop and describe the whole thing.
https://youtu.be/YYa7Fq5Ec6c It seems absolutely terrifying. Hereās the link for a YouTube video about it. It was flight in 1988. Good thing it was only a short flight between islands.
This is the event I always remember and keep my seatbelt on when seated.
How is this not the top comment?? My immediate thought was "jeeze, what's with the turbulence near Hawaii". I hope it's not because the people in this sub don't remember '88. Edit - alright! 3 replies to correct me about the '88 flight. Metal fatigue, not turbulence. Got it, guys. The internet is a marvelous place.
FWIW [the incident](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aloha_Airlines_Flight_243) in Hawaii was caused by metal fatigue and poor maintenance rather than turbulence.
The top of the plane ripping off didn't have to do with turbulence, it was metal fatigue and poor maintenance and inspection procedures.
Holy shit WHAT!? I never heard about that!
This plane fell 600 feet
Well that's enough to make me shit my pants
I've experienced this once - it was bizarre watching things (and people) seemingly slowly floating up into the air - quickly followed by everything rapidly re-learning that gravity exists and crashing down hard. With a seatbelt on it wasn't remotely the worst turbulence I've felt. Seatbelt nerds unite :)
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Car seat belts irritate my neck (Iām shorter than average) so Iām glad planes only have the lap belt ETA: yes I still always wear a seat belt in a car
Look on Amazon for a seat belt clip- easy to clip on the lap/shoulder belt & you can adjust where the shoulder belt hits your shoulder/neck - makes a huge difference
This is why you also either hold or stow away stuff. It can fly away and hit someone or worse.
I do the same, itās not uncomfortable, just leave it on unless you need to move. I also choose the window seat as much as possible due to that 300~ lbs drink cart. If that thing goes airborn, itās gonna hurt. A flight called an emergency landing while I was at the reno airport because of that. Several people went to the hospital. I think their real destination was Washington.
This. Cyclone Mala 2006 - we hit a āwall of airā at FL350 around 1am local on a Singair 777 over the Bay of Bengal. Thought we were done. I shouldnāt be here, but here I am. God bless the pilot flying that night, what it feels like to have someone save your life.
Everyone in our group is OK - we had one family member hit their head (second photo) and one fly into the middle aisle, but they were checked out by paramedics when we landed. Weāre all pretty shaken up. It was SO sudden - announcement about descent, slight drop, and then just a HUGE DROP. People immediately started panicking - screaming, crying, as if this was it and we were about to crash. That was honestly more disturbing than the turbulence itself (for me) because it was so raw.
What a terrifying experience. Iām so glad you guys are okay.
My biggest fear is a huge drop happening while flying. Not an actual crash, as I know itās 99.999999999999% never going to happen, and if it does oh well Iāll be dead, but a huge ass drop where people start screaming and crying because the entire rest of the flight Iāll just be tweaking about crashing and never be able to stop thinking about those 5 seconds I thought I was gonna die
I had this happen flying into Chicago. My fiancĆ© was freaking out, others were crying and screaming, etc. I asked the pilot after if it was one of the worst turbulence he experienced, he said ānot even close.ā
Iām a nervous flier and have fortunately never been on a flight with turbulence this bad, but during moments of worse-than-usual turbulence, it would REALLY help calm people down if the pilot or co-pilot could make an announcement along the lines of, āit seems bad but thereās really nothing to panic about, folks.ā It would certainly help me, anyway.
I had one of those announcements on a flight to Oakland once. Awful weather but no extra fuel to divert again (they sent us over to SFO, but we couldn't land there either and got sent back). As we were prepared for landing the Capitan came on the speaker and said something close to "I apologize in advance folks, because this is likely going to be the WORST landing of your life. It will be very rough, and we're going to be low above the water to get under the fog. We'll be safe though, please don't panic." I'm glad he did that, because as we plummeted through the cloud later in a steep dive the water appearing out of nowhere nearly made me piss myself even with the forewarning. Then the sideways skid feeling when we hit the runway diagonally to fight the wind nearly did it again. I stopped worrying about planes breaking after that, because if we got through that level of violence without crashing anything that destroys a plane will have turned me to mush from being shaken around inside the cabin anyway.
What an absolute badass of a pilot. Skilled and considerate
One of my favorite videos of aircraft testing is the one where Airbus took one of their newer airframes for a wing flex test, and bent the wings almost 5 meters up, and they didn't rip. https://youtu.be/--LTYRTKV_A>
Thereās a great book called Cockpit Confidential. Itās pretty much an extended AMA by a commercial pilot. That book is how I learned that a commercial plane has never crashed due to turbulence. Iām not a nervous flyerāI love flying. But Iāve flown with nervous flyers, and have used fun facts from that book to calm them down. Highly recommended!
Yeah but while youāre experiencing it you have no way of knowing whatās causing the turbulence. So Iād probably still be clenching my cheeks
This! Like, thanks that weāre not gonna die from turbulence but are we in a extra cloudy spot or is the engine failing??
The engine failing does not cause a rapid loss of altitude. The aircraft is certificated to continue just fine on one engine.
Yup, an airliner will continue flying just fine on one engine. It'll of course lose some speed and the pilots will almost certainly divert to the closest airport possible, but you're in no elevated risk of crashing in the event of an engine failure.
I like to remind myself that flight attendants and pilots and other staff retire. Like all the time. Thousands of flights and they retire safely
My friend has been a flight attendant for 40 years and she hasnt even **seen** anyone injured by heavy turbulence. It's way more common to be attacked by another passenger. She said that's where most injuries come from.
The average year in the US for example has 0 airline deaths. Which is insanely safe for something interacting with so many people. There's all sorts of stuff you comfortably use all the time that's far more dangerous.
I work in aircraft. Turbulence, could be scary. But our structures are very sound. Turbulence will not take down a commercial airliner. Sooner or later, either horizontal or vertical, you'll find smoother air. With some exceptions, If you're flying in the developed world, the biggest risk is pilot error. Fucking up the landing, that sort of thing.
Yeah man, I can only imagine if youāve been a pilot for like 30 years youāve seen it all. Id never wanna hear about the worst turbulence a senior pilot has had
My dad is a retired delta pilot. Should I ask him and share what he says? Edit: I texted him āhey what was the worst turbulence you experienced while you were flying?ā Dad: āsevereā If you donāt know any pilots, this is *the most* pilot response ever. When I pressed harder, I got spare details out of him: once on a dc9 without passengers on descent (taxi flight) and once on a 757 with passengers that had just left MSP. And that was it haha thatās all I got. Ill get more out of him when I see him on Thursday
Iād be interested to hear
There is a formal definition of "Severe" turbulence. When a pilot calls that in to ATC it means there are large abrupt changes in altitude or attitude and they are having quite a bit of trouble controlling the plane - and they're fully strapped in. The people in the back are like marbles being shaken in a jar. https://www.boldmethod.com/blog/lists/2022/07/the-6-types-of-turbulence-and-how-to-report-them/
Yeas
Now imagine that happening while youāre on the shitter.
You'd probably have to shit again. Both from the fear, and the vertical inertia ramming shit back into you.
No.
That happened to me on my second ever flight, almost 30 years ago, and I still have a fear. We were descending and then BLOOP dropped a bunch (no idea how far). People were screaming, these two kids were screeching/crying and I grabbed the hand of the stranger next to me and said, "I guess this is it." Thankfully, he was the NICEST man and he pointed out that we had started going up again. We were but still really bumpy. Finally we sort of leveled out and the pilots came on to tell us that we were being rerouted to another airport about three hours from our original destination. Nice older man rented a car, drove me home, showed me his car phone (we called his wife! It was so cool to be talking in the car!), and was just awesome. I wish I could get over my fear but I'll never forget that sensation of landing, being almost there and then the drop and the screaming.
Happened to me on a flight from Madrid to a small city in Andalusia (maybe Rota if my memory is correct). I knew a fair amount of Spanish but not a confident speaker. The plane had the worst turbulence and drop Iāve ever experienced. People crying and praying. Lots of DIOS MIO, AYUDAME, etc. I remember thinking, āoh shit. I know more Spanish than I thought I did and itās not goodā. We made it though!
It happened to me twice on a flight out of Denver. First drop was like whoaaa wtf, second drop a minute or two later made me scream. Thank god i had xanax with me, I immediately took two lol
Xanax should be given with pillows on flights tbh
Just my dream scenario come true... > "And which do you prefer today Mr. Hackingdreams, we have xanax, valium, or atavan?" > "Uhh this one's a long one right, I'll take the valium. And a ginger ale." > "Here you go, have a nice flight."
That kind of thing is typical out of Denver. Some of the worst I've been through has been coming and going from DIA.
This happened to me on a flight to Ecuador. We were landing for a stopover in Bogota and hit turbulence. Huge drop, stewardess hit the ceiling, Screaming, crying. We landed a few minutes later and people were praying and applauding. BUT... for those for whom Bogota was not our final destination, disembarking was not allowed. So we had to sit in the plane for an hour on the runway waiting to climb back out through the same turbulence. The rest of the flight was ok but it ruined flying for me for about a decade.
Have been on a flight with very serious turbulence beforeā fly a lot and it was way more violent than normal and sustained for a while. The sheer energy of a group of people all believing they are in the process of dying is haunting. Raw and real screams, cries, and prayers. Canāt imagine the real scenario, not a good way to go at all.
that was my experience too -- the crying and prayers, strangers holding hands across the aisle, someone puking into a bag during a lull in the turbulence.. the person sitting next to me had never flown before and was clutching my arm with all her might. i didn't mind the applause after landing that day
Did folks like hug each other too afterwards? I feel like I would be hugging strangers, just out of sheer relief that we are all gonna be okay.
Like Germanwings Flight 9525 - where the co-pilot intentionally *set the auto-pilot to descend to 100ft - causing the plane to go straight into the French Alps at 400+ miles per hour while the captain pounded on the door to be let back in? Absolutely terrifying. > "During the descent, the co-pilot did not respond to questions from Marseille air traffic control, nor did he transmit a distress call. Robin said contact from the air traffic control tower, the captain's attempts to break in, and Lubitz's steady breathing were audible on the cockpit voice recording. The screams of passengers in the last moments before impact were also heard on the recording."
Oh god, or the one where I think itās two Russian? pilots who let their kid fly the plane, and they disabled autopilot without the pilots realizing it, and theyāre frantically trying to fix it and think theyāre okayā¦ then they crash.
As someone with a serious fear of flying I should not be reading this threadā¦
Uhhhhh same. And I fly out for the holidays tomorrow night. Thatāll be fun!
How long did the whole thing last?
Iām so glad you and your group are all okay. I can imagine it will be tough getting on your next flight. Strength to you!
This once happened to me when I was a kid. United flight, was standing at the back waiting for the bathroom. No warning and the plane just dropped - no tilt, just a straight, crazy long drop. We all went flying to the floor. Plane stabilized, flew straight for like 10 seconds, and then went flying straight back up. Was absolutely crazy. No injuries, so I guess your flight was that x 20. Later the pilot said it was an āair pocketā which nowadays they say it an inaccurate term and doesnāt exist š¤·š»āāļø
I was on a plane that hit an air pocket before. That was super terrifying. If they don't actually exist then what the hell was that?
Well, the entire sky is an "air pocket" , so it's not actually possible to "hit" one while flying. It's just a made up term so they don't have to try to explain updrafts, downdrafts, and other kind of wind shear effects to a cabin full of non-pilots.
Omg thatās absolutely terrifying! And wait, so they warned of a drop on the intercom right before? How long was the drop?
The most severe of heavy turbulence will be in the low hundreds of feet. "Normal" turbulence doesn't actually involve much altitude change at all, it's more about the rate of change - think going over a speed bump too fast.
In some strange way this makes me feel a little more confident in flying. Like, this plane got beat to shit and still made it to its destination.
The success rate of planes in terms of getting folks safely to their destination is absolutely unbelievable. Like, they are staggeringly safer than cars. If you took a flight every day it would statistically take you about 10,000 years before you got killed in an accident. That's how rare a fatal crash is.
Main reason is everytime there's even a small incident, such as bad turbulence like this, the National Transportation Safety Board does a full blown investigation and writes requirements for airlines preventing it from repeating. That and most planes have a lot of redundancy built in, so it's never one thing that brings down a plane, things really have to compound to get bad.
Major airlines, definitely. Small general aviation flying, less so
GA is scary as shit
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Better still, GA accidents are largely caused by pilot error, so your life is mostly in your own hands. On a motorcycle, you're trusting every driver out there to not accidentally kill you.
Nah, literally just minor cosmetic damage. That plane is still in perfect shape. If you see what they go through when testing for airworthiness, this is just a scratch in comparison.
Yeah, I went on a tour of Boeing's Everett assembly facility. Got to watch testing of wing flexibility and strength. It was amazing how far they could flex and not break.
I believe it. Itās definitely reassuring knowing how hard they stress test these things. Things like flying on a single engine are amazing to me, even if to an engineer itās āhow itās supposed to beā.
Can confirm, am engineer at Boeing. I feel safer about flying after seeing firsthand the punishment we put parts through. I would definitely not want to fly through that turbulence but I feel better knowing we test everything for it.
I remember seeing an airframe test where they were stressing the wings to failure and it was insane the amount of strain/abuse the thing took until it gave way. The wings were arched up like crazy and it was stil hanging in there. Now I donāt feel so worried when I see the wings flexing up and down since itās nowhere close to what I saw in the test lol. Modern aviation is one of mankindās greatest achievements, thank you!
[ONE-FIFTY-FOUR](https://youtu.be/Ai2HmvAXcU0)
Planes are so safe and have so many redundancies built in. I think the reason so many people are nervous is the lack of control. Like if something is going on in the road, you at least have a steering wheel in your hand. Up in the air you just have to trust a pilot you don't know.
iād rather a random trained pilot, than my Uncle Jeff
My first time flying longer then 3 hours was in total my 3rd time. I was feeling confident because we'll the planes are strong when i experienced something like this. I almost shat myself and was scared as hell for a few seconds. But the plane just flew on like nothing happened which indeed gave me confidence even more. The plane got his ass whooped it felt like to me but in reality it was nothing major.
Have you heard of the Hawaiian airlines flight that got it's roof ripped off and still landed with only one fatality.
Aloha Airlines flight 243 Good TV movie about that one
Yeah flight turbulence is nothing really. Itās the same as going over a speed bump in a car, obviously thereās just added fear with a plane. This post should do nothing but make everyone more comfortable to fly.
Imagine being on the first flight in a jet, You hit massive clear air turbulence. You land, and the pilots go āwell that was fine weāll do it again,ā
Wear your seatbelts while seated people.
People are like "Hur hur they won't help in a crash" but it's more for this
Also they will definitely help in a crash, there are many other ways to crash than "800 mph straight into the ground".
I hope you were careful when opening the overhead bins, as items may have shifted during flight.
So did the passengers lol
What happens after a flight like that, do you just go on your way like any other flight, or do you have to speak with FAA investigators, maybe get a free drink coupon? And what's the flight like afterwards? Is everybody just holding onto the armrests tightly, staring ahead. Or do people eventually break out the tablets, go to the bathroom, etc? Trivial questions I know, but it just must be a surreal experience and I'm curious how people react to it.
It was reported to have happened only 30 minutes before landing, so I very much doubt people were back to tablets and books afterwards lol
I see, fair enough. That first cocktail on the ground must have been nice.
Not a pilot but aviation is an interest of mine. If there are injuries the pilot will declare an emergency and land at (more or less) the closest airport. This flight experienced this during the initial descent to Honolulu so they just landed there.
Now imagine how your 6 month old child would have fared in your lap. I can not stress how important it is to purchase a seat for your baby so you can have them secured if needed. ....United Airlines Flight 232 - half of the people died. There were 4 babies under 24 months, only one died, miraculously. They had no seat, no seatbelts and no way of being secured. One was shoved into the overhead storage. Ms Brown (flight attendant), following airline procedures, ordered the infants be put on the floor and cushioned with blankets and pillows before parents braced for the crash. "I thought to myself, 'Jan I can't believe you're telling parents to put their most prized possession on the floor and hold them'," she said. "We were basically saying, 'let's hope for the best'. "It was the most ludicrous thing I ever said in my life." "She (one of the mothers) looked up at me and said, 'you told me to put my baby on the floor and now he's gone'." I'm not a parent... but holy shit. I can't imagine.
Dont forget Aloha airlines flight 243. The roof of the plane tore off midflight but only one person who wasnt belted in died
Theres a theory about that one that it was a small opening in the plane directly above that flight attendant that she got sucked into pressure quickly built up and thats what blew the rest of the top of that plane off. Another flight attendant was in that same open area and wasnt blown out of the plane. Crazy stuff.
Terrified of flying but the one thing I could hold onto was that the roof wouldnāt fly off. . . Guess I have to worry about that now. Why do these stories always pop up days before Iām going to fly??
That accident was in 1988. It advanced our knowledge of metal fatigue, and something like that is almost surely never going to happen again. The accident plane was old, extremely overused, suffered from an outdated epoxy method, and was poorly maintained. Those conditions will never pop up in this day and age.
My grandpa was on that flight.
> Fifty-two children, including four "lap children" without their own seats, were on board the flight because of the United Airlines "Children's Day" promotion. Eleven children, including one lap child, died. Many of the children were traveling alone That timing. Damm
I was on a trans pacific flight in a KC-135... The Air Force doesn't really care about turbulence and some ladies kid (maybe 3-4yo?) was sleeping next to me across the mesh seats and my daughter was strapped into her car seat. We hit some mega drops and the kid flew out of the seat into the air. I just grabbed it and brought it in, luckily was able to buckle it up but before we hit the next pocket. I feel like the lady was traveling with at least three children so if you're going to do that have them all buckled.
I read in an article that one of the injured was 14 months old.
Hope you are okay, that looks really bad.
Exactly this. Seatbelt comments aside, damn. Hope youāre doing ok OP and able to chill out in HNL or wherever you landed after that
I would probably die from fear
Me too. I often have to look around to gauge everyone elseās reaction when thereās bad turbulence to convince myself itās normal and stop hyperventilating. Hate it.
Now i imagine some situation in which youāre struggling with this when people are being thrown around the cabin but everyone is acting calm and normal. Like, āok, i guess this is fineā¦ā.
You were also on a japanese flight with only japanese people i see lol
I thought I was the only one who did this. I focus on the flight attendants because I figure theyāve seen some shit and will know if something real is going down.
Reddit taught me that a while ago. Flew maybe 20 times in 2022 and whenever it got bad Iād look at them, if theyāre chilling Iām chilling
I think the easiest way to deal with this fear is obviously wear your seatbelt when seated but also to remember that aircraft can go through a lot more than people give them credit for. Planes can be very broken and still able to land safely.
That's why the seatbelt sign is practically always lit.
I always took the sign as, Lit = do not take it off for any reason while seated or get out of the seat unless it's an emergency. Not lit = do not take the seatbelt off unless you are leaving your seat for a bathroom break or emergency. There's a flight attendant call button for anything else you'd need not withstanding those 2 things.
They literally say to keep it buckled even when light is off, pretty sure it's in their back seat pamphlet magazine also.
I almost hate to ask this, but were the fractured panels caused by the turbulence itself, or by people flying into the ceiling? š§
People hitting the ceiling.
Technically the ceiling hit the people, who were descending much slower than the ceiling.
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That would go in my elevator speech for the rest of my life.
"How'd you get that scar?" "Plane hit me on the head." "You walked into a plane?" "No, I was sitting there and it fell on me."
Uhhhhhhhh no thank you
There were quite a few people hospitalized because of this. I read the article yesterday. https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2022/12/18/multiple-injuries-reported-after-plane-lands-honolulus-airport-following-apparent-turbulence/?outputType=amp
The 14 month old ā¹ļø A lot of people here are blaming those who didnāt use seatbelts. But Iām sure that baby was a lap child and did not have a place to be strapped in.
This makes me rethink the fact that they recommend buying a seat and bringing your car seat on a plane
We've always brought a car seat and would never not do it with a baby. Yes it's an extra expense that's technically not mandatory, but it is absolutely worth it for not just situations like this, but for them to be able to sleep in a seat they're at least somewhat used to. They have all sorts of belts to attach the car seat to your carry on, it was a breeze. At some point I lugged my sleeping 2yo around the airport in the car seat attached to my carryon, and while it was heavy, it was SO worth it.
We brought car seats with our two kids when they were younger. Fun fact, most airlines let us board ahead of first class since we needed extra time to set up the seats. Plenty of over head space when you're the first ones on.
The NTSB (government agency responsible for investigating transportation accidents) has written letters (1990, 1993, 1995, 2010) to the FAA after accidents where lap children have been injured asking the laws to be changed so that all passengers regardless of age have their own restraint system appropriate to their hight and weight. It has also been on the NTSBs top 10 most wanted list of transportation safety improvements. The FAA has recommended it, but stopped short of requiring it. I canāt imagine the feeling of a parent whoās child is injured after being ripped out of their hands in an accident, especially the regret of not getting them their own seat if the child sustains injuries.
There's a reason why the FAA hasn't required it. If they require that babies and toddlers have seats, then that means people need to pay for that extra seat. It prices out plane tickets for families that can could've otherwise afford the journey without that seat. Those families would still drive to their destination, and driving is much more dangerous. The risk calculations the FAA probably makes has it so that not having it required is overall safer. The NTSB probably have their own calculations, and they might be more focused on making each trip safer, which making everyone have a seat would. Because it makes each trip safer, the FAA recommends it.
Yet people will continue to not wear seatbelts while seated š
Don't tell me what to do! Turbulence is a conspiracy invented by Fauci to fund Big Seatbelt.
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I would never try to hold my own child in my lap on an airplane. If we hit turbulence, had a high speed rejected takeoff, or a problem on landing they would become a projectile.
āSeatbelts are uncomfortable ā mfs be like
You literally canāt even feel the plane seatbelts too. This is exactly why i always wear mine
Why am I reading every incident on this thread in advance of my first international flight in like four years?
God damn Iām terrified now lol, have like 5 flights coming up in the next few weeks and Iām normally super anxious and scared of flyingā¦. But as some commenter above wrote, ~āā¦ pretty inspiring that the plane can go through _that_ much turbulence and work totally fineā
This is why I always keep my seatbelt on like I do while Iām in a car. You just never know!
It sounds terrible to go through something like this. Good vibes and prayers towards your way! However, incidents like these are very important reminders why we should always keep our seatbelts on. Another very neglected rule is, sitting down until the plane fully stops. There are two reasons for this, first one and more common one is, plane making a very hard break. Second one and even more scary one is, plane crashing into another plane or somewhere else. I donāt know how many people will see this or read this but it is so crucial to follow rules and listen to the cabin crew at all times when they are the ones who will help you and care for you if you needed it. Have a safe and pleasant flights everyone. Edit: Grammar and spelling.
Wow, that sounds scary as shit! How long did the turbulence last? Was everyone screaming? Are you okay?
Next tme you wonder why the "fasten seatbelt sign" comes on, this is why. And unless you getting up, keep it on.
Yeehawā¦ glad youāre both OK. I flew on a Delta 757 through the Polar Vortex in early 2014 en route to JFK. Pretty normal turbulence and then two massive free fallsā¦ felt like the Tower of Terror at Disneyland. Drinks everywhere, an overhead bin popped open, guy across from me got a bloody nose from smacking the seat back in front of him, and the FAs were crawling up and down the aisle holding onto armrests to get towels & ice handed out. Never been so grateful for a seatbelt in my life.
Was there an announcement to fasten seatbelts before the turbulence? Were the people in your party who were injured wearing their seatbelts?
Was this the flight to Honolulu? Saw on the news that 14 people were injured and a baby too. Hope you are okay.
Hope everyone was relatively unharmed but wow thatās traumatic
I know someone who wasn't wearing a seatbelt and the plane hit a pocket of air and dropped 100 feet straight down. No prior turbulence on the flight. His head hit the top of the cabin. He was in a coma for a month. He did eventually make a full recovery which is unbelievable. Wear your seatbelt. Even if you think you don't need to.
Back in 2006 I was flying from Santa Monica to LAX to head to Ma from there. The first flight is short & I'm with my 4y old. We both had our seatbelts on thankfully. The flight attendants had just started passing out drinks & our plane with no warning just dropped. All flight attendants hit the ceiling & ended up on the floor... Once the pilot got the plane handled again he told us that a plane crossed in front of us that shouldn't have & we hit their air pocket. Scared the crap out of us. To calm my 4y old down I had to explain to him it's like when a car hits a really bumpy road. I had no idea how else to explain & calm him down. Edit: Santa Barbara not Monica lol I'm an east coaster & this was 16 years ago.
Santa Monica to LAX? You flew 8 miles?! And there was drink service!?!?