Such times are not planned in advance, they can be assumed, but you cannot always guess at what specific moment and in the flow of what force your aircraft will fall. The warning signs along the way may well be overlooked, and who knows why. Perhaps the point is a lack of awareness, or maybe the department of distribution of karmic lessons has a new plan, and he decided to surprise you with an unexpected change in the direction of flight. In any case, keep in mind that one day you may wake up in your chair from the feeling that some force is shaking your aircraft with incredible zeal. Some are supposed to wake up from this shaking, while others are supposed to continue flying in a state of deep slumber.
Turbulence can catch us both at the helm of the aircraft and in the back of the cabin in the passenger seat. In the first case, the softness of the flight lends itself to relative adjustment with the help of our actions, in the second, it remains only to fasten the seat belts, listen to the instructions of the captain and the aircraft conductors, and, if possible, remain calm.
Flying in a high degree of uncertainty is not an easy task, it requires endurance and is a good test for mental stability and the trust of life. The outcome of the flight partly depends on the skill of the crew, but sometimes it is impossible to control this process even by half (and can we control at least something external in our life? You can only control yourself, and even then it is not always possible to cope with it this way, as it should be). What can you do if the aircraft of your life is caught in turbulence?
Firstly, we are working to ensure that accept the fact inevitability of flight in turbulence conditions. It has already happened. Has already happened. Does something depend on you now? If so, then do what depends on you, do it in the best possible way, and then try to observe with maximum attention what is happening inside you. In the midst of raging air currents, it's time to learn how to track your own reactions to the circumstances that life offers you. Get ready to meet a new or new self, freeze and watch. Most likely, you will have to drop out of your usual way of life for a while.
Secondly, learning trust life and space around us... The problem with flying in difficult conditions is that you almost never know how long you will be stuck here or not. Who knows how long your journey will take in this very zone of turbulence? Perhaps it will last a few minutes or hours, or maybe it will shake until the end of the flight so that mom does not grieve Enjoy the flight, trust life as it is.
Thirdly, remember that we are not the first, we are not the last... They flew before us, they fly with us, they will fly for a long time after.
I can say that no matter what's ahead, turbulence zones are the best thing that can happen to you. After leaving each of them, you move on to a new stage with a good fireproof amount, as in the games from the series "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" BUT! Go to new level is possible only when serious internal work has been done, if you want to turn off the route in order to get out of this unpleasant state, then be sure that a new zone of turbulence will overtake you very soon, there is no way to hide from them
What you need to do when everyone and everything around is shaking violently is a complete immersion in yourself, observing the fears and emotions that emerge from the very depths, try very hard to find the source of peace within yourself. It is clear that the task is not easy, especially when you are in the company of highly anxious people, it is difficult when the first time you find yourself in an alteration of such a degree of complexity, it is very scary if all the usual methods of self-complacency have already been tried, and external circumstances do not change, but why isn’t you a test of creativity? thinking?) You have to occupy yourself with something interesting or especially important. For example, to be afraid, to be afraid, and then to be afraid, to get upset, to be upset, and then get tired of it, wait and wait, and then let it go, doubt, doubt, and then take and trust what is
The source of peace is within, the source of light is within, peace and harmony are also within... Everyone is already here! Turbulence zones are an excellent opportunity to assess the stability of the internal system to external influences, as well as its flexibility and adaptability to the rapidly changing circumstances of the surrounding world. Oh how!
25.04.2018 , 06:23 38598
Passengers are often frightened when the plane begins to shake, from side to side, or toss it up and down, while alarmingly flapping its wings. In the language of pilots, this is "bumpiness", in a more scientific language - turbulence. What is it? Is she dangerous? How to behave during turbulence? Let's try to figure it out.
What is turbulence
The atmosphere is constantly changing pressure, temperature, direction and speed of the wind. For this reason air masses in composition and density become heterogeneous. When an aircraft passes through them at high speed, an unpleasant vibration is generated. It can be compared to a car driving on a bumpy road.
Sometimes this phenomenon occurs with a clear sky or a small amount of upper tier clouds, it is called clear sky turbulence. Distinctive characteristic lies in the absence of obvious signs of turbulence. For this reason, it is not easy to detect it in advance, not only visually, but even using radar.
But most often turbulence occurs in cloudy conditions, while the aircraft moves through the sea and mountains. And it's easy to predict. Pilots give early warning of impending vibrations by advising passengers to take their seats and fasten their seat belts. All instructions must be strictly followed, as severe shaking can cause serious injury.
What is the difference between an air pit and turbulence?
For passengers, if the plane shakes, it means turbulence, but for pilots there are different concepts: an air hole and turbulence. What is their difference? Turbulence occurs with an increase in the flow rate of gas and waves, which are spontaneously formed. Air pockets are considered to be the pressure drops at which the aircraft enters the downdraft air flow, forcing it to reduce the vertical rate of climb. In this case, an ascending air flow follows the descending air flow and everything is repeated. About how deep you can fall into an air hole on an airplane,.
Is turbulence common?
Permanent. But, as a rule, the turbulence is so weak that the passengers are not particularly aware of it. Severe turbulence is much less common.
Could the plane crash and crash due to turbulence?
Today's aircraft are designed to withstand even the strongest gusts of wind. In this case, the body and all parts of the aircraft will remain intact.
Although, theoretically, such a danger can be, since each design has its own power limit, and the strongest wind during landing and takeoff is capable of hitting the plane on the ground. Special standards have been developed according to which the pilot will have to leave for an alternate airfield so as not to endanger passengers.
How does turbulence affect passengers?
The phenomenon of turbulence is safe for passengers, albeit unpleasant, that is, it only affects comfort. However, in order not to get injured, when predicting a zone of turbulence important: follow all the instructions of the flight attendants, observe the rules of flight safety and peace of mind. Otherwise, this can lead to sad consequences, an example is the case that occurred in May 2017. Flight SU-270 en route from Moscow to Bangkok of Aeroflot airline got into a clear-sky turbulence zone. Many passengers neglected the flight safety rules, they were not wearing a seat belt, the children were on the lap of their parents, as a result of which 27 people received injuries of varying severity, several people were hospitalized. Can the risk of injury due to turbulence be reduced?
Yes you can. For this:
- Fasten your seat belts.
- Stay belted during the entire flight.
- Place carry-on luggage on the overhead rack and close it. Otherwise, the dropped suitcase may hit someone.
- Under no circumstances keep children on your knees - it will be impossible to hold the child with a sharp jerk.
- Listen carefully to warnings and instructions from the crew.
In case of turbulence, it is important: to be in your place, not to panic and listen to the recommendations of the crew. The above tips should be followed.
How not to be afraid of turbulence?
It so happens that the fear of turbulence on the plane becomes the reason for refusing to travel. However, before you go along with your phobia, perhaps the best solution would be to get rid of it and enjoy flying in the future. For everyone who is afraid of the turbulence zone, psychologists recommend:
- Find out for yourself what turbulence is and how dangerous it is for an aircraft.
- Find out how to behave if the plane is in a turbulence zone.
- Communicate with friends, relatives or air travelers on forums who have had to get into a zone of turbulence.
- If necessary, find a way for yourself that will give you confidence during the vibrations of the aircraft. It can be a song, a melody, a memory, a prayer.
- Carry out the first flights with loved ones or relatives. A great option would be to fly with a person who travels frequently by plane.
- If you have a strong fear of flying, consult an experienced psychotherapist in advance.
It is very difficult to remain calm when you start to shake and swing in different directions. The terrible pictures from the crash sites, seen on the news, immediately appear in my memory.
The need to fasten seat belts is alarming. We will discuss the causes of the turbulence and whether the plane could crash due to it.
To answer the question of why this phenomenon is dangerous, it is important to understand what are the reasons for its occurrence. Turbulence is one of the complex properties of the atmosphere. The air is constantly changing temperature, pressure, direction and speed of the wind. Because of this, its density changes. Passing through such a zone, the plane begins to vibrate.
It is believed that this happens while passing through the cloud, but this is absolutely not necessary. The shaking also occurs in a perfectly clear sky. Most often this happens at low altitudes, 500-600 meters, or in flight under the clouds.
The exceptions are cumulus clouds (from below they look like caps from piles of snow) and thunderstorms. There is always a strong shaking in them. A high wind speed is able to properly brake and rock the plane. Such clouds usually fly around, they are perfectly visible on the radar.
The pilots choose a safer route in advance, which they compose, taking into account the reports of weather forecasters. Errors are likely only during a long flight, when the weather forecast is inaccurate. Then the pilot will bypass the cloud itself, but there is a chance to get into the turbulence of the air along the edges of the thunderstorm front.
- Do not miss:
The causes of turbulence, its presence or absence, do not depend on the experience of the crew. During the voyage, the aircraft is controlled by an autopilot. Only with very strong shaking does the pilot take control in order to take the aircraft out of the danger zone. By the way, how passengers feel shaking depends on the aircraft itself. If it is small and light, then the wind hurls it harder. Large and heavy vehicles are more stable.
Can a plane crash due to turbulence?
When designing aircraft the fact that they can get into the turbulence zone is always taken into account. Therefore, the structure can easily withstand winds of 30 m / s and even more. The body will remain intact, nothing will fall off and it will not fall.
According to statistics, over the past quarter of a century, not a single plane crash has occurred due to falling into a zone of turbulence. Although, theoretically, there is such a danger. Any design has a power limit. A gusty wind during landing or takeoff is capable of hitting the plane on the ground. True, there are special standards according to which the pilot will simply leave for an alternate airfield due to weather conditions, so as not to risk it.
Why turbulence is dangerous for passengers
But what is really dangerous about a strong "bumpiness" is the panic of passengers. The vestibular apparatus perceives small rolls and a decrease in height by a couple of meters, as the car turns around its axis and falls. Coupled with a lack of understanding of the reasons, this causes a person an attack of panic fear.
Strong shaking is mainly dangerous for passengers who neglect safety precautions during the flight. Before passing through the turbulence zone, they are always warned about the need to buckle up and not leave your seats. These rules must be strictly observed, otherwise you can seriously injure yourself on the front seats or fly down the aisle. Pay attention to the stewards, if they took their places, then shaking is expected. Better hide your phones and other gadgets, or they may fly away.
As you can see, fear has big eyes. By following the recommendations of the flight attendants, you will safely experience the slight discomfort that the bumpiness brings. We hope that now your flights will become more enjoyable for you.
The topic of turbulence inherently comes up with the mention of various flows of gases, liquids or plasma. Most of the motions of matter are turbulent.
So what is turbulence? Turbulence is the definition of disordered, non-linear motion. The concept of "turbulence" does not have a clear and unambiguous definition. In the general case, this is a vortex motion of flows caused by an increase in their speed.
When calculating aircraft of a different kind, a flow is considered turbulent with the value of the hydrodynamic Reynolds similarity criterion derived from the Novier-Stokes equation, more than 2320. Reynolds in his studies indicated the factors affecting the movement of fluid: the flow becomes turbulent with an increase in the linear velocity and flow density, diameter holes (tubes) and a decrease in the dynamic viscosity of matter.
An example of a turbulent flow is air flows, which are vortices of various sizes that occur when the wind direction changes abruptly: from vertical to horizontal and vice versa. Atmospheric turbulence leads to discontinuities in the wind, various vertical transport of steam, condensation nuclei and other particles of mass and shape, as well as energy in the form of heat from one layer of the atmosphere to another.
Turbulence in aviation
Turbulence is of particular importance during flight aircraft... Not everyone knows what turbulence in an airplane is. When vortices are superimposed on each other, aircraft are exposed to multidirectional winds, as a result of which the lift and angles of attack of the wings change. A similar situation overboard leads to shaking and vibration - the so-called "blank".
Distinguish between moderate and strong blank. At the first jolts, changes in flight altitude and rocking of the aircraft are not so significant, and pilots do not experience difficulty in controlling the aircraft.
A strong blank is a more serious situation involving frequent rolls and yawing, accompanied by a deterioration in controllability and stability in flight, as well as distortion of the readings of on-board instruments. Such a phenomenon, if appropriate measures are not taken, can create stresses in parts and individual assemblies, leading to significant breakdowns and deformations of equipment and airborne illness among crew members and passengers.
When entering turbulence zones, passengers often feel anxious about whether the pilot will cope with the situation. However, the qualifications and skills of the pilot can only be useful in the case of a very strong blank. In other cases, the turbulence zone does not have a strong effect on the flight - it is performed on autopilot.
What are turbulence zones? As a rule, this is the space where the probability of getting into long-term turbulence reaches 100%.
Nowadays, almost any passenger can determine when and where the vessel will shake during the flight. This became possible as a result of the creation of turbulence maps, where quieter zones are marked with a lighter color and vice versa. The online turbulence map was created to reduce the anxiety of passengers and crew, and allows you to predict and prepare if the plane gets into turbulence.
Is turbulence dangerous for an airplane? Of course, such a phenomenon causes anxiety and fear, and, if possible, bypasses it. As a rule, the instability of the atmosphere is not dangerous for the aircraft itself, since its design provides for such overloads. Most often, in 30% of cases, flight attendants are injured who did not have time to fasten their seat belts.
The size of the aircraft plays an important role in the feeling of shaking during turbulence. The larger the aircraft, the less inconvenience is. Sooner or later, everyone asks the question of where on the plane the least shakes during turbulence? When choosing a place, one should be guided by the intensity of the shaking in the cabin: the strongest one is in the tail section.
Causes of turbulence
The following causes of turbulence are distinguished:
- thermal convection (due to uneven heating of the surface or when mixing cold and warm air with significant vertical temperature changes);
- due to the friction of moving air currents on a rough relief;
- due to the inhomogeneity of the nature of air flows in the direction and speed, wave movements on inversion and isothermal layers (there are alternating descending and ascending flows).
An example of thermal convection is the formation of cumulus clouds.
Before each flight, the crew and the pilot himself are familiarized with the weather reports for the near future in order to choose the safest route. Particular attention is paid to the presence of cumulus clouds.
Cumulus clouds - dense atmospheric formations, most often separately located, with a height of the lower border of up to 1200 m and a length of up to several hundred meters. They are formed as a result of powerful vertical flows and have internal ascending flows up to 10-15 m / s.
From the point of view of flight safety, it is forbidden to enter such clouds, as well as to fly a ship under them. Cumulonimbus clouds are especially dangerous, as heavy precipitation and electrical discharges are formed in them due to the presence of water particles. Therefore, it is recommended to route the route at a distance of 10 km from thunderclouds at an altitude higher than 1 km above them. Complicates flight not only high turbulence in the plane, causing turbulence, but also poor visibility - up to 45m.
The overlapping zones of updrafts and downdrafts can extend over thousands of kilometers. Most cases recorded Most cases recorded on eastern shores USA.
Clear air turbulence
The absence of any clouds in the sky does not mean that there will be no turbulence. Above 5000 m, so-called clear-air turbulence may occur. This phenomenon is typical for mountainous areas on the leeward side of the slope. When the air flows around the mountains, the air flow deviates from the rectilinear direction, deforms and forms zones of increased turbulence. The distribution of zones varies in height: in the lower and upper parts it is maximum, and in the middle it is minimum.
If it is impossible to change course of flight, aircraft must maintain a certain distance in strict order to avoid collision.
Can a plane crash due to turbulence? Over the entire time, due to clear-sky turbulence, five major plane crashes... In the complete absence of clouds, an airplane flying from Tokyo to Hong Kong was destroyed. Experts found that unusually high turbulence near the slopes of Fuji was the cause of the death of all passengers on the flight and the crew.
Another example is the crash of an airliner landing at an Alaska airport. The version of the tragedy due to turbulence was not immediately considered, since it contradicted the forecasts of the hydrometeorological center. However, an outflow of Arctic masses was subsequently recorded, which served as the formation of anomalous air wave and turbulence zones.
On May 1, 2017, all domestic news channels reported that a Boeing 737, which was flying from Moscow to Thailand, entered a clear sky turbulence zone. It was impossible to establish the fact of an approaching air hole and avoid a ship falling into it, since not a single device recorded it. As a result of a sharp jump of the Boeing 200 meters, the passengers received multiple injuries and fractures.
According to statistics, about 1000 cases of precedents related to the instability of the atmosphere in a clear sky arise on average per year. Basically, they lead to flight delays, which causes great material damage to the airlines-carriers.
Pilot actions when entering a turbulence zone
According to Captain Chesley Sullenberg, who landed a passenger plane on the Hudson, when entering a zone of turbulence in the cockpit, one of two decisions is made: go beyond instability by lowering the altitude, or go into cloudless space by gaining it.
In case the plane gets into turbulence, a set of rules and recommendations has been developed for the cockpit and crew. You need to run the following commands:
- Set the autopilot to manual control.
- Turn on the "Tighten Belts" command.
- Adjust the speed to 340 km / h.
- Avoid a sharp drop in altitude, aircraft roll of more than 10 °.
In conditions of impossibility of avoiding the zone of strong blank, the crew commander is obliged to return the aircraft to the original or the nearest aerodrome.
Thus, the phenomenon of turbulence in the sky for the aircraft does not pose a strong threat. Like imperfections on highways (bumps, stones), turbulence in the air only requires undue attention from the pilot-in-command.
