Severe turbulence flung passengers and crew around the cabin of a Singapore Airlines flight from London to Singapore, forcingFifty-six Australians were among the 211 passengers and 18 crew on board flight SQ321 when it made the landing after falling into an air pocket while breakfast was being served. One passenger died and many others were injured, some severely.
Climate change is affecting jet streams, which are snakes of fast-moving wind that blow at the same altitude as commercial planes, and increasing upward bursts of wind known as wind shear, which inflict bouts of turbulence on aircraft.Australians commonly encounter turbulence when flying across the continent, between Perth and Sydney for example, due to blustery air surrounding jet streams over Australia.
“What an aircraft is experiencing when it’s bumping around is actually small variations in the wind that cause the aircraft to go up and down,” Lane said. Eastward travelling aircraft that ride these streams can shave off hours of flight time. But on the outskirts of jet streams, wind shear and turbulence abounds. .
“They don’t want it to be near the maximum speed because that could affect the structure of the aircraft. And they don’t want you to go into the lower part of the flyable speed because that will bring you closer to the stalling speed of the aircraft. So that next will give you a very comfortable cushion.”
Although clear air turbulence is hard to predict and avoid Lane believes our detection capabilities will improve in coming years.
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