This is scary. It is not comfortable. This causes coffee and tomato juice to spill on your pants. This is called “turbulence”. How dangerous is it really?
One day the plane I was on got into severe turbulence. A situation like this is a great way to feel like a tiny grain of sand on which nothing depends. After that incident, I avoided planes like the plague for a year.
Fortunately, our flight ended safely. The same cannot be said for some other cases. Last February, a flight from Denver to Billings for four passengers and one flight attendant ended in the intensive care unit. And in December, turbulence injured 14 passengers on a Seoul-Dallas flight, and the plane made an emergency landing in Tokyo.
These are just three examples that I could think of offhand. What do experts think about the real danger of an airplane entering a turbulence zone? Are belts a 100% guarantee of our safety?
Can an airplane lose control and crash due to turbulence?
In short, the answer is “no.” And don’t roll your eyes, looking for killer arguments against such an answer. You've probably already heard that an airplane is the safest means of transportation. This is despite the fact that ground transport, unlike airplanes, cannot fall by definition. It seems more reliable than moving in an iron pipe dangling 10 kilometers above the ground.
But, despite the very unpleasant subjective sensations, turbulence itself will never cause the plane to fall to the ground. Pilot Patrick Smith explained in AskThePilot.com that even the most violent movements of air masses cannot flip the plane over or tear it into several pieces.
Turbulence can cause damage. But this happens extremely rarely. In this regard, an often cited incident occurred in 1966, when severe turbulence tore apart a Boeing 707 near Mount Fuji, to which the pilot wanted to fly closer to get a better look at the Japanese landmark. Wind gusts at that location reached 140 miles per hour, which killed everyone on board.
But engineers have done some serious work since then. The design of aircraft has become more resistant to such loads. Modern passenger airliners are capable of taking off at an angle of 90 degrees to the horizon, so they are not afraid of any gusts of wind on Earth. The Dreamliner 787, for example, is equipped with special sensors that allow it to accurately predict the location of turbulence zones. However, a combination of adverse weather conditions and other factors (for example, pilot error) can lead to disaster.
Professor Robert Sherman from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (USA) says that history has recorded a couple of cases where very strong gusts of air tore engines off the wings. But even in these circumstances, the plane landed safely at the airfield.
If the turbulence is very strong, then pilots can make adjustments to the route or land in a different location. But even according to this scenario, the situation develops very rarely. However, the conditions may not be so bad as to cause damage to the aircraft. Typically, an emergency landing occurs because one of the passengers ignored the “Fasten seat belts” command and now requires urgent medical attention.
How often do passengers get injured due to turbulence?
Official statistics are silent here. Of course, national aviation agencies collect relevant data from airlines. But, as a rule, they report only serious injuries.
Professor Sherman says that in the US, a turbulence injury is included in the statistics if the passenger died within 30 days of the incident or was confined to a hospital bed for more than 48 hours. In addition, bone fractures, severe hemorrhages, ruptures of nerves and ligaments, second or third degree burns involving more than 5% of the body surface, or damage to internal organs are taken into account.
More “minor” injuries, if the patient spends no more than a day in the hospital, are not taken into account. Therefore, official statistics may give a greatly underestimated estimate.
According to a 2013 FAA report, 24 people were injured when the plane hit turbulence. Of these, 13 were crew members. The majority of injuries are sustained by those who are not wearing a seat belt. Therefore, two thirds of the victims are flight attendants.
How do pilots perceive an aircraft entering turbulence?
They care about two things: the comfort of passengers and their own safety.
It should be borne in mind that in the air, pilots of different aircraft communicate with each other “in real time.” They report observed phenomena in the atmosphere. If someone gets into trouble, his neighbors in the sky will immediately know about it. This information is also transmitted to controllers on the ground.
Pilots may change their route slightly to avoid turbulence. But this results in additional costs of fuel and time. Therefore, some of them do not pay much attention to turbulence.
The situation becomes truly threatening in the case of the so-called “clear sky turbulence”. Sudden and strong impacts of air masses are like thunder from a clear sky. They are the source of most turbulence-related injuries. The pilots are unaware of the threat awaiting them.
Professor Sherman states that clear-air turbulence occurs most often over mountainous regions.
Last year, five passengers on United Airlines Flight 1676 were injured due to sudden and very strong air impacts. The plane went down sharply, and unbelted passengers “soared” from their seats, hitting their heads on the hand luggage compartments and breaking their bottom. One child jumped out of his chair and landed in the seat next to him.
Another incident involving an American Airlines flight from Seoul to Dallas made the news. The plane made an emergency landing in Tokyo to send more than a dozen passengers injured after being caught in a winter storm to hospital. The turbulence was so strong that drinks and food flew around the cabin like birds.
Such cases are very rare, but they have every chance of becoming a YouTube hit if one of the passengers manages to film what is happening on a smartphone camera.
Should I be afraid?
The short answer to this question is “no.” But if he doesn’t reassure you, then know that the numbers are on the side of your safety.
Professor Sherman says the chance of a plane encountering severe turbulence is one in a million. The actual occurrence of such dangerous zones in the atmosphere is higher, but pilots try to avoid them.
But do not forget to follow the recommendations of the flight attendants. Fasten your seat belts when asked, and try not to unfasten them unless necessary. This way you will remain unharmed even when caught in the turbulence of a clear sky.
Experts advise not to rush to unfasten and run to the toilet immediately after leaving the turbulence zone or takeoff.
The safest position during a flight is to relax in your seat with your seat belt fastened. Breathe evenly and deeply. Remember: turbulence is normal. Modern airplanes are very reliable. You are completely safe.
The Aeroflot flight Moscow-Bangkok, on board of which unbelted passengers were injured, encountered “clear-air turbulence” - it is so unpredictable that the crew did not have time to warn passengers and flight attendants.
“The turbulence that the Boeing 777 encountered is known in aviation as “clear-sky turbulence.” Its main feature is that it does not occur in clouds, but in clear skies with good visibility, where weather radar cannot detect its approach. Therefore The crew does not have the opportunity to warn passengers about the need to return to their seats,” Aeroflot said.
Indeed, in world aviation, more than 750 cases of aircraft of all classes and sizes encountering “turbulence in a clear sky” are recorded annually.
“At 3.38 Moscow time, the crew landed safely at Bangkok airport, and assistance was provided to the victims,” the airline said. The consular department of the Russian Embassy has already reported that “out of 313 passengers on the plane, 27 passengers needed medical assistance and were taken to Bangkok hospitals. At this time, 11 people have already been discharged.
Also, the company, citing doctors, also denied some media reports that several passengers suffered a compression fracture of the spine, but confirmed that “several victims were urgently operated on.” Thai doctors assured us that there is no threat to the life of any of the victims now.” - added the national air carrier, which pledged to pay for the treatment of all victims.
“The injured passengers were not wearing seat belts when they hit the air pocket; some were walking around the cabin,” they shared. Aeroflot employees. They also reported that despite the feeling that “the plane was falling apart,” it did not suffer any damage and had already flown back to Moscow.
“The closer to the tail, the stronger the blows were. When we asked to see what happened to the people in the rear of the plane, it was a terrible sight: blood on the ceiling, on the shelves, people with broken noses. All this was visible to the naked eye from afar. It was almost impossible to hold on. It seemed that if these tremors did not stop, we would simply fall. Fortunately, after the fifth or sixth tremors everything stopped. It was a very scary sight, such that people simply cried and fainted from stress," she said vesti.ru one of the passengers.
“The incident occurred before descent and landing, so many were not wearing seat belts. It felt like the plane was thrown up 100-200 meters, and oxygen masks were released over some seats,” eyewitnesses add.
“There was blood everywhere: on the armrests, and on the ceiling, which they hit. Since I am involved in medicine, I couldn’t, of course, just sit still,” a medical girl who helped the flight attendants examine and treat the injured told Life . The cabin crew gave her a first aid kit, with which she “went around to all the injured.”
“When I provided first aid and nothing depended on me, all I had to do was wait for the boarding and the ambulance,” she modestly shared. By the way, as it turned out, Thailand “slowed down” and after landing in Bangkok “there were no rescuers or doctors on the runway, who arrived only an hour later.”
What is clear sky turbulence? There is a calm, clear sky and in it there is a strong ascending or descending current. Typically, such flows are visible by radar as water droplets, since water (rain/steam) reflects the radar beam. In this case, this stream is not visible, since there is no water in it. Air is simply moving at high speed up or down. When a plane flies into such a flow, it carries it along with it,” said aviation expert.
“People who are accustomed to uniform linear motion and who are not fastened while sitting in seats (although this is recommended) fly out of them. And the higher the wind speed, the more “qualitatively” people fly out of their seats. But this phenomenon happens extremely rarely and "Mainly in regions close to the equator, since there are powerful movements of air currents. In northern latitudes, this practically does not happen," he added.
“It’s practically impossible for an airplane to fall apart from something like this, it has operational strength and is “prepared” for such things, plus a margin of safety. Of course, they have limits, but in history there are practically no cases when turbulence in a clear sky broke up an airplane - this is not at the epicenter thunderstorms fly, in the end, that’s where death is,” the expert believes.
“Well, if you are flying, you are shaking, the plane rises and falls in altitude, and the bumpiness does not decrease - that means it is at all levels and you need to be patient. Don’t worry, the plane will not fall apart, but what seems to you like a fall or approach hundreds of meters, in reality it is a “pit” or “slide” of 10-30 meters and this is acceptable, airplanes are not designed for such loads,” a pilot from one of the leading Russian airlines told the site.
“Over the entire existence of civil aviation, it was turbulence “in the sky” at the flight level that caused the death of aircraft a vanishingly small number of times - it was necessary to fly into the epicenter of a thunderstorm, and on an airliner that cannot come out of a flat spin,” he added.
“Pilots are not afraid of turbulence - the kind that passengers are afraid of. They know the strength limits of the aircraft and in the event of turbulence they do not panic, but turn on the “fasten your seat belts” (by the way, before departure we tell the flight attendants at the briefing whether there will be bumpiness, what kind, where and for how long Li) and take the plane away from this area,” the PIC shared.
“Always buckle up in your seats while you’re flying. When the “fasten your seat belts” sign lights up, don’t think, just immediately sit down and/or buckle up. It may shake or start chattering, the most common injuries from turbulence are when those who are not fastened fly headfirst into the shelves in an “air pocket.” ", they become injured, starting to "fly" around the cabin. Also, when the sign is not lit, and you are in a seat, fasten your seat belt. It's not difficult for you, but if it suddenly shakes (sometimes "clear-sky turbulence"), you will not fly out of the seat and will not you will break your neck, arms, legs or other passengers,” the pilot advises.
By the way, earlier journalists found out what civil aviation pilots are doing and how flight attendants of various airlines “get a kick out of it.”
In particular, the worst thing for pilots is not even a failure of the engine or engines (planes can land and have landed with all engines turned off), but a fire in the cabin or luggage compartment. Well, flight attendants “have fun” not only by “conning” passengers for extra surcharges or stealing expensive alcohol, but also by having sex with passengers and working for competitors.
On the night of May 1, an Aeroflot flight from Moscow to Bangkok fell into an air pocket. Due to “clear air turbulence,” unbelted passengers were unexpectedly thrown out of their seats and about 20 people were injured. the site figured out why unpredictable turbulence occurs and why it is dangerous.
27 victims
On the Aeroflot plane, the incident occurred late at night, 20 minutes before the start of the descent. The fasten seat belt sign was turned off. The plane first gained altitude sharply and then descended. Those who were not wearing seat belts were thrown out of their seats.
“As a result of a strong shock, the plane was thrown 100-200 meters up, some of the unbelted passengers were thrown into the aisle by inertia and were injured.”, Interfax reported, citing an informed source in the capital of Thailand.
According to the Flight Radar service, in a matter of minutes the airliner first rose 210 m, and then just as sharply returned to its previous course - from 10.6 kilometers to 10.8 and back. At the same time, his speed first fell sharply, and then recovered.
27 passengers received injuries of varying severity. Judging by the video from the salon, things were noticeably scattered. Those who were sitting in the back of the plane suffered the most; people with serious injuries lay right in the aisles.
Why are there holes in the sky?
The cause of the incident was determined to be “clear air turbulence,” a dangerous phenomenon that is particularly difficult to predict. To understand where it comes from, you need to understand how ordinary “air holes” appear.
Passengers experience shaking when the plane changes from an updraft to a downdraft or vice versa. Also, the cause of “churning,” as pilots call it, can be a change in wind.
“The first thing you need to understand is that different parts of the earth have different surface temperatures,- explains Tom Bunn retired pilot, therapist and founder of a program to combat the fear of flying. — For example, the surface of a lake is colder than the surrounding shores, and plowed fields differ in temperature from unplowed ones. Warm air is lighter than cold air. Warm air rises and cold air sinks. When an airplane encounters changing air flow, we feel what is called an "air pocket."
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“Air pockets” are manifestations of turbulence in flight. Turbulence is common and in most cases is not dangerous. The pilot compares this phenomenon to a car driving over potholes or a boat sailing through waves. The strongest “dips” usually occur in the area of thunderstorms.
Jet stream and "wind shear"
Clear-air turbulence is the “turbulence” that occurs when there is a visual absence of clouds. This phenomenon is much more difficult to predict, since it occurs at a high altitude - in the troposphere (7 - 12 kilometers).
Clear-air turbulence usually occurs at the boundaries of the high-altitude jet stream under the influence of other atmospheric factors.
The jet stream is a narrow zone of strong wind in the upper troposphere. Wind speed on the axis can exceed 25 m/s. This current can reach hundreds of kilometers in width and thousands of kilometers in length, its vertical “thickness” is 2-4 km. Jets in currents move in the form of meandering “rivers of air” and are mainly directed to the east.
Also, the appearance of clear sky turbulence is facilitated by a temperature gradient (temperature difference in a certain direction), “wind shear” (a sharp change in wind speed or direction over a relatively small area) and “lee waves” (appear when the wind overcomes a mountain range and causes a turbulent horizontal vortex) .
“In our case, the consequences were minimal”
Standard aircraft radars cannot detect clear air turbulence. “Clear-air turbulence does not occur in clouds, but in clear skies with good visibility, where weather radar cannot detect its approach“Aeroflot representatives explained. — Therefore, the crew has no way to warn passengers about the need to return to their seats.”
However, there are ways to predict this phenomenon in advance. Russian scientists are able to determine using special lidars - an analogue of radar, which works based on data on light scattering.
As Aeroflot notes, clear sky turbulence is a common occurrence. About 750 such cases are recorded every year. The Russian airline's plane was ready for such loads. “In our case, the consequences were minimal, since Aeroflot’s fleet of aircraft is the newest and best”, said the pilot of the airliner.
However, the consequences of such incidents depend on the type of aircraft. There is a known case of the death of a Boeing 707 on Mount Fuji in Japan in 1966. As a result of the investigation, abnormally strong turbulence was recognized as the official cause of the disaster. in absolutely clear weather. The loads on the structures turned out to be much higher than permissible, which is why the aircraft collapsed in the air.
On May 1, an Aeroflot Boeing 777 entered a zone of severe turbulence. 27 people were injured, mostly unfastened, while, according to passengers, the “Fasten seat belts” sign was not lit. The reason for what happened was the so-called TYAN - this is not a girl in anime slang, but clear-sky turbulence. In English it is called CAT - Clear Air Turbulence.
What it is? “Normal” turbulence is associated with cloud cover and its occurrence is easy to predict both visually and using weather radar. But the TYAN is not visible until you get into it: it arises due to collisions of air masses moving with a large difference in speeds. There are three main reasons:
Why is TIAN dangerous? As you already understood - serious injuries to passengers. Despite the fact that, according to information from medical institutions in Bangkok, where 27 Aeroflot passengers sought medical help, there were no patients in serious condition or with life-threatening injuries, and information about patients with compression fractures of the spine was not confirmed, 15 Russian citizens and two Thai citizens are currently hospitalized. Patients who remain under the supervision of doctors suffered bruises, and several people had broken limbs.
An unbelted passenger's head turns into a powerful sledgehammer
There are known cases of more serious injuries and even deaths due to traction accidents, as well as plane crashes: for example, in 1966, a Boeing 707 flying from Tokyo to Hong Kong simply suddenly disintegrated in the air, killing 124 people.
Buckle up.
In addition, severe bumpiness makes it impossible for pilots to perform even the simplest operations, such as reading instrument readings.
What to do? After the “Fasten your seat belts” sign turns off, it is not without reason that they say: “You can move freely around the cabin, but for your safety we recommend that you remain fastened throughout the flight.” It is not necessary to tighten it tightly: in this case, it will not restrict movement, but still will not allow you to break through the ceiling with your head.
An unbelted passenger can play as an astronaut and fly around the cabin in zero gravity.
In addition, it is always better to stow your hand luggage under your seat so that when the shelf opens during turbulence, your suitcase will not fall on your head. By the way, for the same reason, there are less chances to meet with a neighbor's suitcase.
And you certainly shouldn’t pretend to be a hero while valiantly standing in line for the toilet with the signs on: according to statistics, the most deaths not during disasters are people who sat on the potty during turbulence and unsuccessfully hit their heads.
It's not what you think. Just coffee on the ceiling. Or it could be on your lap.
If you're not wearing a seatbelt, remember to avoid carts.
Everyone has probably heard that the Aeroflot plane shook while approaching Bangkok so much that 27 passengers were injured. Pilot Lyokha described in detail what this phenomenon of “clear sky turbulence” is. And also that there are no air pockets and why you shouldn’t be afraid of turbulence. It will be very useful for those who suffer from aerophobia to read.
Original taken from letchikleha c Clear sky turbulence.
Another horror story from the media shocked the country.
“A plane crashed” “A terrible hole in the air” “One step away from death”
Over the past three days, such headlines have not left the main printed pages, TV screens and Internet news feeds.
"The worse and scarier the better!" This slogan, apparently, has become the cornerstone of all rating channels and publications. Only the lazy did not suck up this news in horrific detail.
It is useless to fight something like this.
There is a very cool song from the children's movie Buratino, which is “a hundred years old at lunchtime,” but it very accurately reflects today’s reality:
"...As long as there are fools in the world,
Therefore, we can live by deception.
What a blue sky
We are not supporters of robbery:
A fool doesn't need a knife, You'll lie to him like three boxes -
And do with him what you want!"
I never give any comments to the media about aviation accidents and events for one simple reason; they almost always distort the meaning of what was said and reshape the information received in their own way, to suit their own or someone else’s interests. (verified) That’s why I’m better Here I will try to explain what “Clear Air Turbulence” is, whether it is dangerous and how to behave on an airplane.
It hurt.
So
Air transport, like any other (railway, sea, road, horse-drawn, teleportation...), is a subject of increased danger, increased risk, both for its passengers and drivers, and for third-party traffic participants. Now I will not touch on everything else except the sky (we are talking about flights).
A lot is known about the planet's atmosphere. Of course, not all, but still enough to move around in it as safely as possible. (not absolutely safe, but as much as possible!)
It is known that the atmosphere consists of gas (there is all kinds of oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide and other gases). Chemistry is responsible for the composition, physics is responsible for the properties. At the moment we are interested in the properties of the atmosphere.
For many years, smart people observed the atmosphere, made statistical records, invented and carried out experiments, tried to predict the weather and figure out why it rains in summer and snows in winter. All this led to the emergence of a separate science - METEOROLOGY (scientific and applied field of knowledge about the structure and properties of the earth's atmosphere and the physical and chemical processes occurring in it.) It must be said that this science has stepped quite far and many things and processes occurring in the planetary gas shell, have become very well understood and predictable.
For aviation, knowledge about the sky is the most important knowledge! It is impossible to create an aircraft (a balloon, an airship, an ekranoplan, an atmospheric aircraft...) without understanding what happens to it in the air and what effect this very air has on a foreign object that finds itself in its environment. And therefore, all heavenly chariots are calculated and built in such a way as to ensure their compatibility and integration into the sky, according to the tasks, goals and functions to be performed by these aircraft in flight. It is because of this that a passenger airliner does not look like a combat fighter, and a hot air balloon does not look like a kite. So how and what affects flight?
The main parameters of the sky are: Temperature, pressure, humidity. These are the very three pillars on which the rest of the cuisine of the atmosphere rests. All these parameters are constantly changing, which leads to various processes in the air that directly affect aeronautics. (wind, pressure, cyclones and anti-cyclones. Hurricanes, Typhoons, rain, snowfall, frost, drought, etc.)
I’ll tell you a terrible secret: the principle of airplane flight is based on the difference in air pressure under the wing and above the wing. The principle of hot air balloon flight is based on the difference in air temperature inside the balloon and outside. The airship stays in the air because the gas inside the balloon is different from the atmosphere and is lighter than the air around it. The kite flies because the wind blows and a rope holds it! As soon as you remove these principles from the flight equation of your celestial unit, it will immediately crash to the ground! (no one has yet canceled the force of gravity! Teleportation and antigravity are a little more complicated, but everything is also explainable, but more on that next time)
You've listened to (read) the blurry introductory part about "Clear Air Turbulence." Let's move on to specifics.
The atmosphere is heterogeneous and therefore, any aircraft located in it is subject to its influence. It can chatter (shake) anytime and anywhere, regardless of the flight altitude, the terrain over which we fly, the presence of clouds, wind, or time of day. There are clear zones and signs in the sky where there is a 146% chance that the plane will shake.
First. These are primarily clouds.
Clouds are the same air, but extremely saturated with water. This means that the density of the cloud is much higher than the density of the gas surrounding it. The temperature and pressure there are different. This in turn leads to instability of air masses near and inside the clouds themselves. The more powerful the cloud, the more powerful and diverse the processes occurring within and nearby.
First of all, this is the direction and strength of air flows. Up. down, sideways. The speeds of gusts and currents reach colossal values. Ascending and descending currents rush a huge mass of air in different directions. An airplane caught in such a mess will be thrown like a chip in a stormy mudflow. (But we know that “A tank won’t crush a flea!” The plane itself, in principle, doesn’t even give a damn about where it is thrown and thrown, because it is in the flow itself and tightly connected with it.)
The danger in large, thunderclouds comes from a completely different direction. There, inside, not everything is so smooth and even. There the air turns into water and ice, and ice is already serious. In addition to the danger of damage to the aircraft body from hail (it will break into pieces, oh hello!) there is the danger of severe icing. The rate of ice growth on the load-bearing surfaces of an aircraft is cosmic! Icing for an airplane is like tying a brick to a small fishing float! To put it simply, this will turn the aircraft into a piece of ice. There is no need to step on the tail of a sleeping snake, and if possible, it is better to walk around it than to step on it. We always avoid storm clouds and never push our luck. (but if you still got there, and this sometimes happens, then this does not mean at all that everyone, fucked up, has sailed! You just need to leave the unfriendly area as quickly as possible. This is taught, and we know how to do it. And once again: Chatter , this is the most innocent thing that a thunderstorm threatens!)
The next place where it always shakes is the mountains.
When flying over mountainous areas, the turbulence (instability) of the atmosphere is always increased. This is due to vertical and horizontal changes in wind direction. Well, everything is simple here. The wind blew straight and blew. Bam! Mountain on the way! The wind began to bend up and to the side. The air flow swirls and swirls and rises, disturbing the calm atmosphere.
Do you know the difference between a tsunami and just a huge wave? The height of the tsunami wave may not be very large, but the mass of water that the tsunami carries and that follows this low wave is such that it is astronomical in size. A wave 2 meters high turns out to be almost endless! She goes and goes, and destroys everything in her path. At the same time, just a huge wave, even 10 meters long, does not cause any particular damage, just as it surged and ended. So it is with air currents in the mountains. The wind blows and blows, bends and bends, and rushes upward. This entire gas mixture rises high above the mountains and shakes the plane. (But we know that “A tank won’t crush a flea!” The plane itself, in principle, doesn’t even give a damn about where it is thrown and thrown, because it is in the flow itself and tightly connected with it. The plane becomes part of this flow!)
Further.
Coastline.
Where the sea ends and the mainland begins, the likelihood of roughness is very high. The fact is that the heating of the earth and water is not the same, (remember that one of the main indicators of the atmosphere is temperature), the air also does not warm up equally, and at this junction of cold and hot “depressions” arise (there is such a concept in meteorology, about this you can read in more detail yourself if you are interested. There is a lot of material on the Internet.), which in turn leads to the emergence of vertical and horizontal flows. You need to understand that these flows are not just flows similar to streams or even rivers, but air masses of unimaginable size! Millions, billions of tons of indignant gas! (But we know that “A tank won’t crush a flea!” The plane itself, in principle, doesn’t even give a damn about where it is thrown and thrown, because it is in the flow itself and tightly connected with it. The plane becomes part of this flow!)
Where else can it shake?
Probably many of you have experienced it yourself: the whole flight was calm, but when descending and landing, almost at the very ground, it starts to throw? All right! This is called thermal flows (or "thermals"). Glider pilots are very familiar with this phenomenon. The nature of this turbulence is the same, uneven heating...
Well, now the sweetest part: "The turbulence of this very clear sky"
You may believe it or you may not, but this is a fact (just like the fact that the earth is round. I saw it myself!) in the sky there are rivers, rivulets, streams. Only the size of these rivers and streams is monstrous! Thousands of kilometers long, tens of kilometers high and hundreds of kilometers wide. The flow speed in these currents can reach half a thousand kilometers per hour! (Once I saw and experienced a wind whose speed was 400 km per hour over the Baffin Sea (this is between Greenland and Canada)) And now imagine, you are riding a bicycle along a path between residential areas, whistling your favorite melody, no you don’t suspect, and suddenly the houses end, and you run around the corner at speed, and there’s a gusty wind! How will you feel? That's it!
If you know that there will be wind around the corner (and this can often be determined visually by dust, leaves, and debris rushing around the corner), then of course you will take action. Either don't go there, go around, or be prepared for the wind to blow!
Same with Clear Sky Turbulence. This phenomenon has long been known and easily explained and, alas, it is not uncommon! There are even signs and places where you are likely to run into it, but they are too unpredictable.
Where are you most likely to encounter this phenomenon?
Typically, this is the boundary of the air flow at the entrance and exit to and from the flow. But the trouble is that it is almost impossible to see this flow with a modern radar, but it is even very difficult to feel its influence on yourself. If everything is simple with clouds and precipitation, then the direction and strength of the wind is a problem. There are weather maps that are issued by special bureaus constantly, with a certain frequency. They indicate the direction and speed of the wind at altitudes, indicate areas with an increased probability of turbulence, but all this is very, very approximate, since the atmosphere is too unstable and indicate the exact point with coordinates on the map where strong turbulence will occur and at what time - It's just not realistic. Approximate area and time period - yes, specific place and time - no! Statistics show that most often, airplanes get into such trouble over the oceans and when flying near the equatorial region of the earth. They fall where cyclones originate and where temperature changes are very fleeting and significant. Is it possible to somehow predict and avoid falling into these areas? Hardly ever. (or stop flying) You need to understand that no “Air Pits” actually exist. Air flow inseparable! There are areas in the sky (that appear and disappear) where several phases of the physical state of the atmosphere converge at one time and in one place. For example, a powerful upward or downward flow suddenly intersects with the boundary of the air flow and then a “ass with a handle” arises. But it is fleeting and changeable, this bad thing, just like the flow will shift in ten seconds, and the upward gust will disappear.
You can list for a long time the places and causes of bumpiness, but for an ordinary passenger this is somehow not very interesting, because he pays money for the fact that he wants to move from point “A” to point “Z” quickly, safely and comfortably. And he has the right to do so! But you still need to know what can await him, my beloved passenger. "Forewarned is forearmed!"
So. What about the plane? How does he cope with these shocks?
And the plane is made for this purpose, to live in this heavenly carousel. It is much easier and safer for an airplane to fly in the sky than on the ground! Don't believe? See:
The B-777 weighs 350 tons! (THREE HUNDRED FIFTY TONS KARL!) Of this weight, 140 tons of liquid fuel, which fills the tanks and sways inside the tanks - glug-glug. Heavy engines, which can move a tank weighing 50 tons with their jet! (each engine!) hang under the wing and are secured with only three bolts. The fuselage itself with seats, suitcases, passengers, chicken and beer. Wings filled with fuel right down to the tonsils. This entire farm stands on the ground, on just three thin supports - the chassis and the earth - mother attracts all this to herself with a force of 350 thousand kilograms! (take a glass ball and place it on the point of a needle and press on top of it. What is it like?) What happens when the plane flies? What happens is that air begins to hold all this heavy crap! Every millimeter, every atom of the iron monster, the air flows around and supports with tenderness! Wings, stabilizer, fuselage, all this lies softly on the air flow! So where is it easier for an airplane?
A? What? Are their wings flapping? Ha! That's how they should wave!
Just for fun, take a good, high-quality, graphite, modern spinning rod and try, without tying bait to it, to wave it like crazy. Will you break it? I think it’s unlikely, get tired of waving! (I'm a fisherman myself, I know what I'm talking about)
The plane is akin to a glass ball that was thrown into a stormy spring stream. (It’s not for nothing that I mentioned the point of the needle and the glass ball) What will happen to such a ball if there are no stones or other balls on its way? Well, absolutely nothing! The ball will happily jump through the waves, squealing with pleasure.
Now comes the worst part!
Place mice in this glass ball, jumping along the waves of serene happiness... Can you imagine what the poor mice will experience?
Epilogue
(But we know that “A tank won’t crush a flea!” The plane itself, in principle, doesn’t even give a damn about where it is thrown and thrown, because it is in the flow itself and tightly connected with it. The plane becomes part of this flow!)
My dear passengers, the world is complex and not always friendly, but the world is fair and supportive of those who play by its rules.
Don't cross the road at a red light. Walk around the front of the tram, don’t walk under the cornice where icicles are dripping, wear a life jacket while on a boat, don’t drink hawthorn tincture for three rubles, don’t grab exposed wires, wear a seat belt when sitting on an airplane...
DO NOT STAND UNDER THE ARROW!
Good luck to you and have a good spring mood...
Your Pilot Lech.
