How much turbulence can an airplane handle before you're in...uh...."trouble"?

[CutiePie2000]

Paging AlphaSigOU who demonstrated his expertise here.....

I fly probably 6-8 times per year and I have to say, in the past 3 years, I have become a much more nervous traveller, particulary when the airplane hits turbulence. (I think it has something to do with some 20/20 or NBC Dateline episode that I saw on turbulence and now I am terrified)......

My question is:
How much turbulence can an airplane handle before the plane that you're on, is "in trouble"?
I have asked this of friends, and I have heard responses, ranging from "A helluva lot" to "Airplanes can fly through hurricanes". I need a bit more than a layman's response.....
I would like the truth, because when I fly, I always want to ask the flight crew, but I always chicken out of asking them (I am kind of superstitious that way too, as though posing such a question while airborne will be bad luck).

Please and thank you.

[xo_kathy]

CutiePie -

I have NO expertise in this. But I do have a friend who was a flight attendant. I told her of my turbulance fears as well and she said, "Just look at the flight attendants' faces. They are used to major turbulance. If you see them looking a little worried, making glances at one another, or stopping what they are doing to start doing something you don't normally see, that's when you should worry."

I've seen this in action. I had one of those flights where the bumps made pretty big drops, and all the passengers sort of looked at each other and grabbed armrests, but the flight attendants kept right on working as if nothing had happened.

Of course, this doesn't answer your question as far as the plane's structural integrity or anything, but it might help your fears a little!

[AlphaSigOU]

Commercial aircraft can take quite a bit of turbulence without encountering structural failure, unless the pilot has a death wish and wants to play 'punch the core of a severe thunderstorm'.

Aircraft are designed to flex somewhat to manage stresses; the most obvious is seen when the wingtips flex. If they couldn't do so, the plane would break apart. I've seen film of a Boeing 777's wing being tested to destruction - it took nearly 150% above the maximum structural wing load before the wing's spar snapped from the stress. Before the wing broke, the tip was bent nearly fifteen feet above the normal position for a 777.

While most episodes of turbulence are quite mild, the best solution is to always keep your seat belt on while seated.

[PhiPsiRuss]

Originally posted by AlphaSigOU
While most episodes of turbulence are quite mild, the best solution is to always keep your seat belt on while seated.

What's a seat belt?

[AlphaFrog]

Originally posted by russellwarshay
What's a seat belt?

You know that thing they demonstrate and say "Insert the metal tip into the buckle".... Now that's a complicated mechanism that needs detailed instruction....

[xok85xo]

okay, so chuck - how common is it that a plane would actually drop (say 30+ feet, i don't know) when hitting minor to moderate turbulance? i am terrified of turbulence because i am always scared that my plane is going to drop..

i've been in weather situations flying where the pilot has made the flight attendants sit down and frankly thats scary.

[ansturge]

ive been on a plane where the flight attendants flew up into the air and fell in the floor -- 99% of the people on board were screaming their heads off -- luckily it was right after takeoff and the seatbelt signs were still on.

[honeychile]

I think it's pretty safe to say that hearing the pilot say, "Uh, oh!" is definitely not a good sign!

Seriously, unless you're doing something that you cannot do with your seat belt on, it certainly won't hurt you to keep it on.

[PhiPsiRuss]

Originally posted by ansturge
ive been on a plane where the flight attendants flew up into the air and fell in the floor -- 99% of the people on board were screaming their heads off -- luckily it was right after takeoff and the seatbelt signs were still on.

That sounds like fun. Just like a roller coaster ride.

[CutiePie2000]

Thanks all who replied. Okay, PART TWO:

How bad does it have to get (the weather conditions and/or turbulence, etc.) before the pilot can no longer maintain control of the plane?
Because when we hit those air pockets and the plane momentarily drops...it freaks me out!

[xok85xo]

Originally posted by CutiePie2000
How bad does it have to get (the weather conditions and/or turbulence, etc.) before the pilot can no longer maintain control of the plane?
Because when we hit those air pockets and the plane momentarily drops...it freaks me out!

thats what im talking about! the mere thought of it freaks me out and everytime i fly (which has been frequently recently) and we hit even minor turbulence i'm convinced thats going to happen...

[WCUgirl]

Okay I'm supposed to be flying home in 2 weeks, and ya'll are scaring me! It's been a little over a year since I flew and when I did last I SWEAR something happened to that plane. The flight attendants were all giving each other those looks you mentioned and we had to circle in the landing pattern (or whatever) for another 30 minutes for some reason.

[GiantsChic]

Originally posted by CutiePie2000
Paging AlphaSigOU who demonstrated his expertise here.....

I fly probably 6-8 times per year and I have to say, in the past 3 years, I have become a much more nervous traveller, particulary when the airplane hits turbulence. (I think it has something to do with some 20/20 or NBC Dateline episode that I saw on turbulence and now I am terrified)......

Please and thank you.

I'm totally the same way! I used to love flying, had no problem w/ turbulence, etc.. but a few years ago I became soo scared of flying because of turbulence (this was pre-9/11, so wasn't fear of highjacking)... I dunno why it happened, but it seemed to be sudden- maybe we saw the same program, lol

[AlphaSigOU]

It would have to be a pretty severe storm for a pilot to lose control of an aircraft; all commercial aircraft are equipped with weather radar. With the assistance of radar and air traffic control, pilots will skirt most of the nasty weather. If the weather is bad at the origin or the destination airport, the flight will be grounded at its departure point or divert to an alternate airport until the storm passes.

Many major airports are equipped with LLWAS (Low Level Windshear Alert System), which detects wind shear from storms near the airport. The crash of Delta 191 nearly 20 years ago in DFW was caused by windshear from a severe storm near the airport. A 'microburst' (a severe downdraft) forced the aircraft down on approach to DFW.

Pilots are professionals and responsible enough to avoid getting themselves and their passengers into a weather situation they have no control over.

[AlphaSigOU]

Originally posted by ariesrising
BTW, the most deadly aircraft accident in history occured on the ground. (Tenerife)

And that was a collision between two planes: KLM 747-206B PH-BUF The Rhine/Rijn and Pan Am 747-121 N736PA Clipper Victor. All were lost on the KLM plane, all but about 20 (don't have the exact number) were lost on the Pan Am aircraft, for a total of 583 killed.

The worst single-plane aircraft accident was a Japan Air Lines 747-SR46; all but three of the 500+ passengers aboard were killed when the aft pressure bulkhead failed (from an improperly-performed patch repair) and damaged the tail section. (It's quite common to see 747s used as giant flying shuttle buses in Japan.)

Useless airline trivia time: N736PA was the first 747 flown in commercial revenue flight in 1970. It was supposed to have been N747PA Clipper America, but a mechanical malfunction grounded the latter aircraft.