According to CBS, on average 33 people are injured by turbulence during flights within the U.S. Unfortunately, some experts believe that a warming planet is making air turbulence a more common occurrence.
Turbulence is a mass of air moving at a certain speed and meeting another mass of air going at a different speed. Jet streams, thunderstorms and weather fronts can cause turbulence in the skies. Moreover, mountains can create turbulent air for aircraft.
Forecasters have a hard time identifying where turbulent air might occur. Generally, pilots that come across turbulence will report it to other pilots in the area.
Early in August, an Allegiant Airlines aircraft dropped several thousand feet in a matter of minutes due to turbulence in the air. The plane departed a Florida airport and was traveling to North Carolina at the time.
Four people were injured including a stewardess who had to be hospitalized. Mail Online says the “stewardess on drink service hit the ceiling and cut her head, before falling on a passenger and injuring him.” The drink cart injured a person’s leg after it smashed into their leg.
Can Airlines Reduce Injuries Caused by Turbulence?
After that frightening ordeal, the aircraft made an emergency landing at another Florida airport.
In response to experts predictions that warming weather will cause more turbulence for the airline industry, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is planning to provide more training and communication to airline personnel. The FAA wants to reduce the number of injuries caused by air turbulence even though it is becoming an increasing danger.
Did You Know? CBS says that a recent report found that the frequency of turbulence experienced on airplanes could increase by 40 to 170 percent.
Source: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/air-turbulence-how-common-and-how-dangerous/