Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2024/05/21/passenger-dies-on-singapore-airlines-flight-from-london-when-plane-hits-severe-turbulence.html
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It says the passengers were harmed. In a Boeing story the plane would fall apart or catch fire.
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I’m a commercial pilot.
Plunging 6,000 feet in minutes is not a violent event. It’s a descent. That’s a weird descriptor. In seconds (fewer than minutes worth of seconds) would be a violent event.
The FAA defines as: “Turbulence that causes large, abrupt changes in altitude and/or attitude. It usually causes large variations in indicated airspeed. Aircraft may be momentarily out of control.” Further: “Occupants are forced violently against seat belts or shoulder straps. Unsecured objects are tossed about. Food Service and walking are impossible.”
Usually the result of flying into thunderstorms, though sometimes encountered in clear air. Clear air turbulence is always… disconcerting.
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Should we be taking technical details like that from general-knowledge news outlets with a grain of salt? For all we know, it could have been 5500 feet in two seconds and 500 more feet in another few minutes.
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We’re actually at the point where people will cry about poor maligned Boeing even in articles that don’t criticize it, huh? Man, they must have done some great charity work or something to have earned so much loyalty.
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Lately, there’s always some perplexing stanning going on, it seems; Peterson, Musk, and now, apparently, the company Boeing.
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Yeah, it’s fucking weird, huh?
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“What horrible things are you saying about Boeing in this story which only incidentally notes that they were involved but not in any sort of causitive way?”
“Well, nothing. Why? Do you think I should?”
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Just a reminder: please do keep your seatbelt on at all times unless you are in the lavatory or in the process of going to or coming from the lavatory. This kind of turbulence is rare, but you never know what will happen or when.
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As I understand it, clear air turbulence has been increasing a lot over the last several decades. (Almost certainly because of climate change.)
So that advice is even more important than it used to be.
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My most recent flight, the pilot announced they were going to fly LOWER than usual to avoid a bad section.
Fortunately, for that flight at least, it worked. We had people on a different flight (same departure/arrival though) and they suffered turbulence (not as bad as this story) while we didn’t.
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