Plane turbulence is one of the most common flying-related fears out there. While caused by minor changes in air currents and almost never a sign that the flight is at any risk, the frightening experience of being shaken in the air is enough to put some off flying entirely.
To help combat that fear, one pilot at a major airline even launched a "Dial A Pilot" program in which one can pay $50 to spend 15 minutes asking pilots questions about the flying experience. According to the founder, a "lack of understanding of why the turbulence is happening and what's causing it" makes this by far the most common flying fear they address.
According to The Street, over in Brazil, the "Aviaçao e Curiosidades" TiKTok account shared a video towards the end of October. In the video, two pilots shared what they saw during severe turbulence from the cockpit.
The National Center for Atmospheric Research shared numbers that show over 65,000 flights a year go through turbulence while an additional 5,500 experience severe turbulence.
A changing climate has also increased turbulence by, according to some estimates, more than 55% between 1979 and 2020 as more parts of the sky now have changing air currents.
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