What exactly is turbulence, and is it at all an indication of danger during a flight?

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What exactly is turbulence, and is it at all an indication of danger during a flight?

In: Physics

46 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Think of it this way, when you are riding in someone’s heavy duty off road truck across rough terrain do you worry the truck will fall apart or explode? The sky is never paved and all planes are heavy duty. When I was taking aerodynamics classes they explained how the wings were tested for wind gusts several times what they expected. A modern airliner can have it’s wings bent in a test rig nearly vertical without breaking.

The only danger from heavy turbulence at altitude is some moron will be up walking the aisle and get knocked off his feet into your face. The fasten seat belts sign is no joke.

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