Turbulence, AKA Why You Should Always Wear Your Seatbelt
On my fight back to Pasadena something bad happened. Suddenly our plane was tossed, entering about a 30 degree roll and sliding sideways. It was over very quickly, but it was quite dynamic.
Thankfully, nobody was hurt.
What happened to us is dryly called a “wake encounter.” We ran into the wake of another plane, causing violent turbulence. Wake turbulence has been known to tear smaller planes apart.
We were on an A321neo, so it wasn’t damaged, and fortunately nobody went flying out of their seat, including the fools who weren’t wearing their seatbelts.
Our captain did indeed come on the horn to point out that is why we should all wear our seatbelts.
So, let’s talk about the different types of turbulence, what causes them, and why they can’t always be prevented.
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