Tips on how to stay protected during turbulent times within the sky.
While Singapore Airlines’ deadly turbulence incident was exceedingly rare, passengers must remain vigilant while flying. Fortunately, flight experts have recently revealed some crucial tips about how passengers can stay protected should their plane hit severe bumps within the air.
During Tuesday’s catastrophic accident, a 73-year-old British grandfather was killed and greater than 30 others were injured after Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 encountered heavy turbulence — plummeting 6,000 feet and sending untethered travelers crashing into overhead bins.
Consequently, the aircraft, which was traveling from London to Singapore, was forced to make an emergency landing in Bangkok.
To avoid turbulence-induced injuries — and even severe discomfort — flight gurus advise that passengers heed essentially the most oft-repeated rule of flying: Fasten your seat belt while seated.
“Unless you’re strapped in, if the airplane goes down, you’re going to go upwards,” Terry Tozer, a pilot with 20 years under his belt, told the Day by day Mail. “So the key is keeping your belt done up.”
He added, “I never sit there without my seatbelt done up. I can’t see why you’ll.”
And while the flyboy acknowledged that is difficult on a protracted haul flight — where each passengers and crewmembers are on their feet quite a bit — strapping oneself down each time seated may also help mitigate risk.
Passengers can further ensure their safety by choosing their seats correctly. Tozer suggests sitting in the midst of the plane to attenuate the consequences of turbulence.
“The aircraft is suspended by the wings, so consider the remaining of it like a springboard,” the pilot explained. “The place where you’ll feel turbulence the least is over the wing.”
As for the particular seat, sitting by the window is safest because the flyer is less prone to be hit by falling luggage from the overhead bin during a bumpy ride.
“Consider a window seat to avoid being directly under overhead compartments, which may open during extreme turbulence,” warned Nicky Kelvin, editor of the Points Guy travel site.
He also advised steering clear of the galley because it’s stuffed with items that may change into projectiles if the plane hits turbulence.
Interestingly, the center seats behind the aircraft are the safest place to be during a crash as they only carry a 28% fatality rate, in line with a TIME evaluation of 35 years of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) data. They were much safer than aisle seats in the midst of the cabin, which had a fatality rate of 44%.
Together with scouting protected havens, passengers must also know what to do if and when turbulence hits. Flight experts advise moving in time with the turbulence by jiggling about in a single’s seat — a surprising technique employed by crewmembers.
“When turbulence hits, mainly, just pretend you’re jelly or submerged in jelly,” an air hostess named Taylor advised in a TikTok video posted by TPG editor Kelvin. “Wiggle in your seat like just a little jellyfish; you’ll feel so a lot better.”
This countermeasure might sound counterintuitive, nonetheless by moving together with the plane’s motion, passengers can reduce its impact, very like rolling with the punches.
Passengers may even check the turbulence forecast for his or her route using Turbli.com, which shows projected bumps within the road via interactive maps.
Fortunately, incidents just like the Singapore Airlines tragedy are “very, very rare,” in line with Tozer.
“I’ve only encountered turbulence that gave us a level change of a few thousand feet on one occasion in a profession spanning 20 years or so,” he said. “The turbulence, brought on by thunderstorm activity, lifted it up 1,000 feet, after which we went down 1,000 feet.”
“And that wasn’t as bad because the Singapore Airlines event.”
Tips on how to stay protected during turbulent times within the sky.
While Singapore Airlines’ deadly turbulence incident was exceedingly rare, passengers must remain vigilant while flying. Fortunately, flight experts have recently revealed some crucial tips about how passengers can stay protected should their plane hit severe bumps within the air.
During Tuesday’s catastrophic accident, a 73-year-old British grandfather was killed and greater than 30 others were injured after Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 encountered heavy turbulence — plummeting 6,000 feet and sending untethered travelers crashing into overhead bins.
Consequently, the aircraft, which was traveling from London to Singapore, was forced to make an emergency landing in Bangkok.
To avoid turbulence-induced injuries — and even severe discomfort — flight gurus advise that passengers heed essentially the most oft-repeated rule of flying: Fasten your seat belt while seated.
“Unless you’re strapped in, if the airplane goes down, you’re going to go upwards,” Terry Tozer, a pilot with 20 years under his belt, told the Day by day Mail. “So the key is keeping your belt done up.”
He added, “I never sit there without my seatbelt done up. I can’t see why you’ll.”
And while the flyboy acknowledged that is difficult on a protracted haul flight — where each passengers and crewmembers are on their feet quite a bit — strapping oneself down each time seated may also help mitigate risk.
Passengers can further ensure their safety by choosing their seats correctly. Tozer suggests sitting in the midst of the plane to attenuate the consequences of turbulence.
“The aircraft is suspended by the wings, so consider the remaining of it like a springboard,” the pilot explained. “The place where you’ll feel turbulence the least is over the wing.”
As for the particular seat, sitting by the window is safest because the flyer is less prone to be hit by falling luggage from the overhead bin during a bumpy ride.
“Consider a window seat to avoid being directly under overhead compartments, which may open during extreme turbulence,” warned Nicky Kelvin, editor of the Points Guy travel site.
He also advised steering clear of the galley because it’s stuffed with items that may change into projectiles if the plane hits turbulence.
Interestingly, the center seats behind the aircraft are the safest place to be during a crash as they only carry a 28% fatality rate, in line with a TIME evaluation of 35 years of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) data. They were much safer than aisle seats in the midst of the cabin, which had a fatality rate of 44%.
Together with scouting protected havens, passengers must also know what to do if and when turbulence hits. Flight experts advise moving in time with the turbulence by jiggling about in a single’s seat — a surprising technique employed by crewmembers.
“When turbulence hits, mainly, just pretend you’re jelly or submerged in jelly,” an air hostess named Taylor advised in a TikTok video posted by TPG editor Kelvin. “Wiggle in your seat like just a little jellyfish; you’ll feel so a lot better.”
This countermeasure might sound counterintuitive, nonetheless by moving together with the plane’s motion, passengers can reduce its impact, very like rolling with the punches.
Passengers may even check the turbulence forecast for his or her route using Turbli.com, which shows projected bumps within the road via interactive maps.
Fortunately, incidents just like the Singapore Airlines tragedy are “very, very rare,” in line with Tozer.
“I’ve only encountered turbulence that gave us a level change of a few thousand feet on one occasion in a profession spanning 20 years or so,” he said. “The turbulence, brought on by thunderstorm activity, lifted it up 1,000 feet, after which we went down 1,000 feet.”
“And that wasn’t as bad because the Singapore Airlines event.”
