I had a particularly bad squabble with turbulence while commanding an A380 flight from Los Angeles to Sydney some years ago. Just ahead of my flight was another Qantas A380 bound for Melbourne. It’s always nice to have a friend nearby. About an hour before the predicated turbulence, air traffic control (ATC) relayed a message to us both about a “severe turbulence” encounter from an American aircraft just north of the Hawaiian Islands. This unforecasted patch of turbulence was on both our routes and was caused by two “jet streams” colliding in the upper atmosphere.
After that communication between us and ATC we ceased all meal services, “battened down the hatches” and made sure everyone had their seatbelts securely fastened, which was just as well as we had a wild ride for more than an hour. But no passengers were injured. Indeed, the only casualty was my second officer who was on the flight deck with me. Tom had tried to retrieve his cap, which was flying unrestrained around the cockpit, when a severe jolt caused him to “face plant” the centre console and he dislocated his shoulder.
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If it gets that bumpy at the business end of a jumbo, you will understand how rough it can get further back. In a previous column after a LATAM Airways flight hit turbulence in March between Sydney and Auckland, I used the analogy of a dog wagging its tail. The tip of the tail travels further than the other end, so an aeroplane is designed to wag its tail. The human body, unrestrained by a seatbelt, is not. That’s why they put first class up front, where the ride is smoothest.
This “wagging” and “flapping” is for structural integrity and load relief within the airframe. Just look at the wing tips “flapping” about in turbulence. Without that “wagging” and “flapping”, stress would be concentrated somewhere within the aircraft structure. Structural and metal fatigue would result, reducing the “life” and strength of the aircraft.
It’s easy to read headlines like the ones you are reading today on SQ321 and ask: Is flying becoming less safe? Is the atmosphere turbocharged by climate change? I can assure you that flying is still the safest form of transport. Not to sound unsympathetic – it’s a tragic incident and we mourn the loss of the elderly passenger (who reportedly suffered a heart attack) and wish the injured a swift and complete recovery.
This will likely beget a debate over whether seatbelts on airplanes should be mandatory at all times other than during boarding and toilet breaks. I welcome the debate. In the meantime, next time you’re flying and the pilots get on the blower shortly after take-off to advise you that, for your safety, at all times keep your seatbelt fastened, I recommend you listen to them.
David Evans was a Qantas pilot for 37 years.
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