A Singapore Airlines flight experienced severe turbulence over the Indian Ocean on Tuesday, causing it to descend 1,800 meters in three minutes, the airline confirmed. Tragically, a 73-year-old British man lost his life as the Boeing 777 endured intense shaking.
Understanding in-flight turbulence
Turbulence involves unstable air moving unpredictably, often linked to storms. However, the most perilous type is clear-air turbulence, which occurs without visible warning. This type of turbulence typically happens near high-altitude jet streams due to wind shear, where two large air masses move at different speeds. The significant speed difference creates turbulent patterns similar to those of eddies in water. Thomas Guinn, chair of the applied aviation sciences department at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, explained that strong wind shear near jet streams causes these chaotic air motions.
Frequency of turbulence-related injuries
In the United States, more than one-third of airline incidents from 2009 to 2018 resulted from turbulence, causing serious injuries but generally not damaging the aircraft, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). From 2009 to 2022, 163 individuals suffered serious injuries during turbulence events, requiring hospital treatment for at least two days. Flight attendants are particularly vulnerable, as they are often out of their seats during flights.
“It’s not uncommon to have turbulence encounters that cause minor injuries up to, say, a broken bone,” said Larry Cornman, a project scientist at the National Science Foundation’s National Center for Atmospheric Research. “But fatalities are very, very rare — especially for large transport aircraft.”
Top 10 routes prone to turbulence
According to Turbli, a website that analyzed 150,000 routes using data from UK and US government meteorological agencies, the routes with the highest average turbulence are:
- Santiago – Santa Cruz
- Almaty – Bishkek
- Lanzhou – Chengdu
- Centrair – Sendai
- Milan – Geneva
- Lanzhou – Xianyang
- Osaka – Sendai
- Xianyang – Chengdu
- Xianyang – Chongqing
- Milan – Zurich
These findings highlight the routes most prone to turbulent conditions, providing valuable insights for travelers and aviation professionals alike.
