Flights, Turbulence And Anxiety: Decoding The Mid-Air Scares

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is the captain speaking. We are starting to run into a bit of turbulence ahead. I have turned on the 'fasten seatbelt' sign. Please return to your seats and keep your seatbelts secured. The flight crew will also be securing the cabin for your safety. Thank you."

For most flyers, these have been words of routine that they hear on a flight.

Then comes the *ding*. The seatbelt sign illuminates. Moments later, the aircraft begins to shake, and an anxious emotional battle starts for many passengers.

In recent times, reports of turbulence have become more common, sparking headlines and social media discussions. In May this year, an Air India Delhi-Bengaluru flight encountered turbulence from a preceding Boeing 747 takeoff, causing a tail strike. The plane landed on a second attempt after going through a rough first attempt. Weeks later, an IndiGo Delhi-Patna flight went through severe turbulence amid strong winds. The flight was eventually diverted to Lucknow.

The chatter around turbulence grew louder this month when it was initially reported that an Air India flight from Phuket to Delhi encountered severe turbulence and experienced a sudden loss of altitude of 300 feet, leaving 20 passengers and four crew members injured.

The probe, however, revealed that there was a total and simultaneous loss of key control surfaces, including the elevators and ailerons, for a period of 4 seconds - with the spoilers also lost as a consequence of the same hydraulic failure.

Last year, an IndiGo Delhi-Srinagar flight encountered a violent hailstorm and severe turbulence, leading to a terrifying 8,500-feet-per-minute descent. While there were no injuries reported to any passengers or crew, the aircraft's nose suffered significant damage.

Amid these incidents, every viral video of a flight hit by rough air, the fear grows stronger.

But what exactly is turbulence? Why does it occur, and is it really becoming more common?

Turbulence is an irregular, chaotic movement of air that causes an aircraft to pitch, roll, or bounce.

There are three types of turbulence - one is weather-related, another is clear-air turbulence, which is commonly known as CAT, and the third is wake turbulence.

Clear-air turbulence (CAT): It is the riskiest of all, as it happens in cloud-free skies and is therefore invisible.