When Does Air Turbulence Become Dangerous?
2024-05-23
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1If you have flown on an airplane before, you might have experienced turbulence.
2Turbulence is a sudden movement of air.
3It can move the plane around and force sudden changes in height.
4Flying through mild turbulence feels like driving a car over big bumps or holes in the road.
5But passengers on a Singapore Airlines flight on Tuesday experienced severe turbulence.
6Several people were injured and one person, a 73-year-old British man, died.
7The exact cause of the man's death is still unclear.
8While turbulence-related deaths are rare, injuries have increased over the years.
9Some weather and aviation experts have noted increasing reports of turbulence.
10They say climate change may be behind the increase.
11Turbulence is unstable air that moves unpredictably.
12Most people link it with heavy storms.
13But the most dangerous kind is clear-air turbulence.
14This often happens with no warning signs in the sky ahead.
15Clear-air turbulence happens most often in or near rivers of air called jet streams.
16The cause is something called wind shear. That is when two huge air masses near each other move at different speeds.
17If the difference in speed is big enough, it breaks into circular movements.
18Thomas Guinn is an aviation science expert at the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida.
19He said, "When you get strong wind shear near the jet stream, it can cause the air to overflow. And that creates these chaotic motions in the air."
20The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) reported that more than one-third of all airline incidents in the U.S. from 2009 to 2018 were related to turbulence.
21Most of them resulted in one or more serious injuries to passengers, but no damage to the plane.
22Between 2009 and 2022, the NTSB said 163 people were injured seriously enough during turbulence events to require hospital treatment for at least two days.
23Most of those injured were flight attendants.
24They are especially at risk because they are more likely to be out of their seats during a flight.
25Singapore Airlines said its plane dropped about 1,800 meters in about three minutes last Tuesday, after hitting severe turbulence over the Indian Ocean.
26In addition to the one death, six or seven passengers were severely injured. Several others suffered less serious injuries.
27Larry Cornman is a scientist at the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research.
28He has studied turbulence for many years.
29He said, "It's not uncommon to have turbulence encounters that cause minor injuries up to, say, a broken bone,... But fatalities are very, very rare - especially for large transport aircraft."
30Stuart Fox is with the International Air Transport Association.
31He said, until Tuesday, it had been 27 years since a passenger died following clear-air turbulence on a major airline.
32Pilots use several methods to avoid turbulence, including using weather radar images. Sometimes they can simply see and fly around the storms.
33But clear-air turbulence can happen unexpectedly.
34Doug Moss is a former airline pilot and safety expert.
35He said air traffic controllers will warn pilots after another plane runs into clear-air turbulence.
36Many pilots also look at the upper-level jet streams along their flight path for signs of wind shear.
37They can plan to move above, below, or around those areas, he added.
38Some scientists note that reports of turbulence encounters are on the rise.
39There are several possible explanations for that. But several researchers have pointed to climate change.
40Guinn, of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, explained that some experts predict climate change could change the jet stream and increase the wind shear.
41This would drive up turbulence in the air.
42Paul Williams is a professor of atmospheric science at Britain's University of Reading.
43In a statement Tuesday, he said there was "strong evidence that turbulence is increasing because of climate change."
44Williams said his research team recently discovered that severe clear-air turbulence in the North Atlantic has increased by 55 percent since 1979.
45The team estimated that severe turbulence in the jet streams could double or triple in the coming years under current conditions.
46Other experts note that an increase in air travel could be the reason for the increase in turbulence encounters.
47Turbulence can be hard to predict.
48But experts note that the first line of defense in the air is keeping seat belts fastened whenever possible.
49"Wear your seat belt," Guinn said.
50"That's just a really quick fix to prevent injury."
51I'm John Russell.
52And I'm Ashley Thompson.
1If you have flown on an airplane before, you might have experienced turbulence. Turbulence is a sudden movement of air. It can move the plane around and force sudden changes in height. 2Flying through mild turbulence feels like driving a car over big bumps or holes in the road. 3But passengers on a Singapore Airlines flight on Tuesday experienced severe turbulence. Several people were injured and one person, a 73-year-old British man, died. The exact cause of the man's death is still unclear. 4While turbulence-related deaths are rare, injuries have increased over the years. Some weather and aviation experts have noted increasing reports of turbulence. They say climate change may be behind the increase. 5What is turbulence? 6Turbulence is unstable air that moves unpredictably. Most people link it with heavy storms. But the most dangerous kind is clear-air turbulence. This often happens with no warning signs in the sky ahead. 7Clear-air turbulence happens most often in or near rivers of air called jet streams. The cause is something called wind shear. That is when two huge air masses near each other move at different speeds. If the difference in speed is big enough, it breaks into circular movements. 8Thomas Guinn is an aviation science expert at the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida. He said, "When you get strong wind shear near the jet stream, it can cause the air to overflow. And that creates these chaotic motions in the air." 9How common are turbulent-related injuries? 10The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) reported that more than one-third of all airline incidents in the U.S. from 2009 to 2018 were related to turbulence. Most of them resulted in one or more serious injuries to passengers, but no damage to the plane. 11Between 2009 and 2022, the NTSB said 163 people were injured seriously enough during turbulence events to require hospital treatment for at least two days. Most of those injured were flight attendants. They are especially at risk because they are more likely to be out of their seats during a flight. 12Singapore Airlines said its plane dropped about 1,800 meters in about three minutes last Tuesday, after hitting severe turbulence over the Indian Ocean. In addition to the one death, six or seven passengers were severely injured. Several others suffered less serious injuries. 13Larry Cornman is a scientist at the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research. He has studied turbulence for many years. He said, "It's not uncommon to have turbulence encounters that cause minor injuries up to, say, a broken bone,... But fatalities are very, very rare - especially for large transport aircraft." 14Stuart Fox is with the International Air Transport Association. He said, until Tuesday, it had been 27 years since a passenger died following clear-air turbulence on a major airline. 15Can pilots avoid turbulence? 16Pilots use several methods to avoid turbulence, including using weather radar images. Sometimes they can simply see and fly around the storms. 17But clear-air turbulence can happen unexpectedly. 18Doug Moss is a former airline pilot and safety expert. He said air traffic controllers will warn pilots after another plane runs into clear-air turbulence. Many pilots also look at the upper-level jet streams along their flight path for signs of wind shear. They can plan to move above, below, or around those areas, he added. 19Does climate change lead to more turbulence? 20Some scientists note that reports of turbulence encounters are on the rise. There are several possible explanations for that. But several researchers have pointed to climate change. 21Guinn, of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, explained that some experts predict climate change could change the jet stream and increase the wind shear. This would drive up turbulence in the air. 22Paul Williams is a professor of atmospheric science at Britain's University of Reading. In a statement Tuesday, he said there was "strong evidence that turbulence is increasing because of climate change." 23Williams said his research team recently discovered that severe clear-air turbulence in the North Atlantic has increased by 55 percent since 1979. The team estimated that severe turbulence in the jet streams could double or triple in the coming years under current conditions. 24Other experts note that an increase in air travel could be the reason for the increase in turbulence encounters. 25How can travelers stay safe? 26Turbulence can be hard to predict. But experts note that the first line of defense in the air is keeping seat belts fastened whenever possible. 27"Wear your seat belt," Guinn said. "That's just a really quick fix to prevent injury." 28I'm John Russell. 29And I'm Ashley Thompson. 30Wyatte Grantham-Philips reported this story for The Associated Press. Hai Do adapted the story for Learning English. 31______________________________________________ 32Words in This Story 33aviation - n. the business and practice of flying airplanes, helicopters... 34unstable - adj. having a physical state that can change easily 35chaotic - adj. in a state of complete confusion or disorder 36encounter - n. an occasion when you deal with or experience something 37fatality - n. a death that results from a disaster, accident 38triple - v. to cause something to become three times as many 39fasten - v. to close and attch something