Awful Plane Turbulence ( ͡❛ ₒ ͡❛)

[WeAreStarStuff]

My wife and I were away for a wedding and flew back home (DC) on Sunday the 4th. During the last 15 minutes of our descent into National we hit severe turbulence, and oh boy it was something. I knew it was going to be a rocky ride because I could see that we were going to have to go through a thick layer of clouds, but I was not ready. As soon as we touched the clouds the plane started rattling about...and then it started shaking.....and then it started jerking violently. The worst were the dips though, aghh. I've had a few dips before in my many years of being on flights, but one of them was particularly bad; was like being on a roller-coaster, some people screamed, strangers were holding each other. The flight attendant got on the intercom, and very aggressively told one of the other flight attends to immediately come to the front and take her seat. After a few minutes the flight attendant got back on the intercom and told everyone to just put their trash on the ground as the plane is going to have to be cleaned anyways, and that she's been through worse and that the plane will land just fine.......ugh.

When I was a kid I loved flying, but somewhere in my late teens my fear of flying developed (I'm 38 now.) The crazy thing is I'm a very logical person, I have a STEM masters, I'm atheist, I give speeches at international conferences on statistics; I know the statistics of flight safety and that turbulence doesn't crash planes, but when I get in a plane and it gets bumpy all logic goes out the window and my lizard brain takes over. Meanwhile this little girl in front of me was yelling "weeeeee" the entire time and having a blast.

Anyone have any plane horror stories?

 

[HammerOfThor]

Ooof sorry to hear that. I've only experienced a little bit of turbulence and I lost my shit.

Coming home from San Diego to Chicago a few years ago I could see a crazy thunderstorm in the clouds. Looked like Thor was battling his evil twin or something. It was both mesmerizing and horrifying to look at.

 

[Kopite]

Same here, used to love flying took 1-2 year break then on the the first turbulence I encountered on the first of 5 flights over the next 2 weeks I nearly shit myself. Had to hang on the gf's hand all the way through and haven't gotten on a flight since. Dread the fact that I'll have to do it eventually

 

[RadzPrower]

Yeah, had a real bad case of turbulence on my fourth flight ever...a friend of mine's second. Just like you said, lots of yelling and screaming, big drops, rollercoaster feels... the difference is that we were far from landing, so I felt even more comfortable since I knew we had a long way to fall before we were anywhere close to the ground. If it had been on ascent or descent, I'd have been more concerned.

In a similar vein to your little girl, a coworker at the time had been on a lot of transAtlantic flights and had hit a lot of really bad turbulence over those flights. He just sat there, hands together and calm as a cucumber. It was this odd juxtaposition to the panic everyone else was exhibiting.

 

[djplaeskool]

Anyone that's that's flown into McCarran international (Las Vegas) probably knows about how wicked those desert valley crosswinds can be.
Every other flight I take there, the plane is damn near Tokyo drifting into the landing, which makes that first touchdown especially harrowing.

Worst I've experienced, the first landing attempt had to be aborted, we go back up and circle for about 15 minutes, then reattempt the landing. Plane shades WAY too close to the edge of the landing strip than is personally comfortable (couldn't see the tarmac through the window, just grass at the edge of the airfield) but we all make it safe and sound.

 

[Easy_G]

I've had one or two flights with bad turbulence, including the dips, but still not as bad yours. I have no problems with flying but as soon as those start even I get scared. It really is something else entirely.

My wife went through a similar relationship with flights. She flew regularly as a kid and teenager, but then in her late 20s developed a fear. Several years on she's doing better, but each flight can still be a struggle. Our only explanation is that as you move into adulthood there is nobidy to reassure you and you have to take on the responsibility of safety, which doesn't mean anything for a flight since it's out of your control, and opens one up for fear.

 

[Violence Jack]

I had a business trip to Oklahoma, and it felt like we were flying next to a damn tornado. We were getting shook around like a can of soda even after we came out of the clouds on our way towards landing.

But for the most part, it doesn't even phase me anymore after that.

 

[Labyrinthe]

Everytime i went to Vegas i got awful turbulence for a good 4-5h hours non-stop.

My mindset is always if it happens, it's gonna be quick!

 

[bshark]

I think there has been various reports and studies suggesting that due to climate change, this problem is only going to get worse in the coming years

 

[Galkinator]

A big and violent turbulence is legit one of the scariest things.
I'm mostly okay with flights, never had any major panic from being in one, but about 4 years ago I had a flight from Seoul to Beijing and it was the worst experience I've had.
A super violent turbulence, like the plane literally was shaking up and down for about 30 seconds non-stop and with drops. I legit thought to myself "holy FUCK this is it. this is how im dying" and I felt like my heart was about to explode. Damn shit was terrifying.

I'm also a logical, atheist person but in these circumstances when you're literally helpless nothing really helps. I mean, saying to myself things like "statistically my chances of dying in this flight are almost zero" while the plane is being fucked up is kind of weird lol

 

[Necromanti]

I've had some turbulence that's been annoying. But sometimes you get turbulence that you really enjoy. (Yes, I'm weird.) I almost got rocked to sleep once despite how uncomfortable the seat was.

 

[Red]

I've hit periods of turbulence before, but most memorable to me was one international flight that was completely smooth except about the midway point, when it felt like we had a sudden vertical drop of 15 feet. Felt like the plane did a bellyflop. I don't understand the physics involved with that.

 

[____]

I don't mind it but I damn sure don't like it. Sometimes I groan internally like oh, come the fuck on already...we get it clouds.

 

[OmniGamer]

Vegas was memorable for sure...my usual route is between NY (JFK) and PR (SJU) a few times a year for the past 9 years and 7 or 8 times out of 10, there's little to no turbulence. But those other times...one time the meal cart slammed towards the back.

As someone with bouts of anxiety and used to HAVE TO drink in order to even deal with the airport, let alone the flight itself...I just try to focus on the crew and think how many times they've gone through this or worse, and hope for the best

 

[Keikaku]

I don't really mind and wish it would happen more often. I just keep myself strapped in and enjoy the ride.

 

[mikehaggar]

I'm exactly the same way. I used to love flying as a kid, teen, and even in my 20's. Now, I tense up at the slightest bit of turbulence. I wouldn't say I'm scared of flying, but I don't look forward to it. And, like the OP, I have a STEM degree and am aware of all of the flight safety statistics. Lizard brain indeed.

 

[WeAreStarStuff]

I think there has been various reports and studies suggesting that due to climate change, this problem is only going to get worse in the coming years

Click to shrink...

Well that's reassuring!

I'm also a logical, atheist person but in these circumstances when you're literally helpless nothing really helps. I mean, saying to myself things like "statistically my chances of dying in this flight are almost zero" while the plane is being fucked up is kind of weird lol

Click to shrink...

So much this!

 

[Undrey]

obligatory?

 

[jstevenson]

Turbulence like that I loosened my belt for and out my hands in the air.

it gets awkward if someone else in my row is afraid of it

can't control it, might as well pretend it's a thrill ride

 

[Meauxse]

My flights over the past two years have been way more insane wrt turbulence than the previous 35 years.

Coincidence, I'm sure.

 

[Noctis]

Is there any tips to lose the fear of flying? I get on the plane but it's never a pleasant experience for me ;_;

any videos or exercises?

 

[Piston]

I had a plane pull up/abort a landing going into Chicago when I was younger and I had to use the throw-up bag after.

The only other times I've been really worried about turbulence is landing in bad storms or ice. I went through a thunderstorm into Miami in June and was just thinking I had no idea what would happen if we got hit by lightning. I assume that happens and things are normally fine but it was something I had never thought of before and it started freaking me out. I was very glad when we landed safely.

 

[thewienke]

I've heard the trick is to watch the flight attendants reaction. But then I also hear that for someone reason some of those people are afraid of flying too.

It'd be nice if you could see the pilots in real time being more annoyed that coffee spilled in their lap than anything else.

Takeoff is the absolute worst for me. All the anticipation and dread comes to a head during those moments. I've also been on a plane that did an "aborted takeoff" which was not great for me.

My flights over the past two years have been way more insane wrt turbulence than the previous 35 years.

Coincidence, I'm sure.

Click to shrink...

I was always told it's because they're using more and more "regional" jets to save on fuel but those little planes get thrown around more.

 

[Deleted member 26591]

Anyone have any plane horror stories?

Click to shrink...

I have flown countless times, even went on a staggered around-the-world journey, and always loved flying.

I had a couple of bad experiences on one trip, and since then I am an AWFUL flyer. Proper white knuckles gripping armrests, bulging eyes, gasping on takeoff and landing, the whole lot. At cruise it's fine, it's just takeoff and landing I can't handle.

First time was flying into Sydney from London on a 747. Trip was great, really enjoyable layover in Dubai, everything absolutely fine. Then the landing. It was late (so pitch black apart from the lights of the city) and there was a proper storm brewing up, plane came in rocking all over the fucking place, engines cycling between idle and full power as they manhandled it. I was a little "well this is weird" but otherwise was fine, then on final approach it touched down, got caught by a gust, tipped while still only on the main undercarriage wheels (to the extent I looked over expecting the wing to bury itself in the ground and us all to die), engines back to full blast, takes off again at a fucking weird angle with even the stewardesses looking freaked out. It was obvious it almost went very bad because they didn't come onto the intercom for about 5 minutes, and then it was the copilot who sounded pretty flustered. We circled for about an hour then landed fine second time.

Tried to avoid 747s after that as I always had this sense their centre of gravity was too high (completely in my head of course).

Second time was flying to Alice Springs a couple of weeks later. Can't remember what the plane was, but I do remember it coming in and landing so hard it bounced three times and again, almost tipped over. After getting off one of the stewardesses had cracked her head open on something and there was blood everywhere. Not sure what happened after that, but I know the return flight was cancelled. I imagine it did some damage.

Now any kind of sideways rolling movement on landing COMPLETELY freaks me out.

 

[Rosebud]

Meanwhile this little girl in front of me was yelling "weeeeee" the entire time and having a blast.

Click to shrink...

LOL

 

[Stooge]

I was flying home from Tokyo once and my laptop was getting airborne as we went through the dying embers of a typhoon.

I wanted a drink so bad but they canned the flight attendants moving about.

The good news is as much as it sucks it's perfectly safe

 

[Tokyo_Funk]

Doesn't really bother me. It takes a lot to take a plane out of the sky. I remember flying through a typhoon to Narita Airport in 2010 which shook the hell out of the Airbus A380 and all I was thinking was "Yep, that's gonna happen".

I think the only time I was a little unnerved was when an engine caught fire, shut down and then restarted. Was forced to deviate to another airport, but I learned that planes can fly on one engine so that was a relief.

 

[Juraverybadmista]

Is there any tips to lose the fear of flying? I get on the plane but it's never a pleasant experience for me ;_;

any videos or exercises?

Click to shrink...

Been on 50+ flights in my life and tried everything. Breathing exercises, drinking etc. The thing that finally did it was getting a prescription for Ativan. Obviously I hate to recommend drugs, but has been a game changer for me and flying.

 

[Repgnar]

I had a plane drop in pressurization pretty quickly once. Didn't expect all the white 'air' to fill up the cabin which definetly added a bit of dramatic flair. Also the sound was crazy loud. Luckily nothing happened to my ears but I know 2 people that did quite a few appointments after the fact.

 

[nomemorial]

Last time I flew was about a month before the pandemic hit. My wife and I are pretty well-traveled at this point and I enjoy flying for the most part, but we were stuck in the back of the plane (a small plane, at that) and we hit some of the worst turbulence I've ever experienced. You could feel the plane rattling and we were both gripping each other's arms/the arm rests harder than maybe ever before. She doesn't get shaken by much, either, so it only served to worsen my own anxiety as we both sat there swearing off flying American Airlines ever again (not that it was their fault, per se, but it colored the experience haha). Maybe it wasn't actually that bad and was just worsened since we were in the back? Who knows, but it has made me nervous about the prospect of flying again even though logic tells me not to worry.

 

[Deleted member 2840]

Drops during takeoff are the worst thing ever. You're expecting to keep going up then suddenly it starts falling it's hell

 

[DOT_mjo]

I had a 10 hour connecting flight landing in Frankfurt to then eventually get me to China. This was my first ever international trip. At some point in the night, we hit some wild turbulence and all the oxygen masks deployed. I've never been so sure I was going to die before lol.

Also had a pilot botch the "smooth" landing and slammed us into the tarmac in Spain.

 

[StarsAreStuff]

I remember seeing the wings flex in high turbulence and was terrified when I was younger; then I learned just how much wings can flex and holy shit planes are strong.

Boeing 777 Wing Test

This Boeing 777 wing was tested to destruction, finally breaking at one fifty four percent of the designed limit load.

www.youtube.com

 

[Mr. Snuffleupagus]

I'm one of the crazy people that loves turbulence but then again, I'm a big rollercoaster fan and know I won't die so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Deleted member 26591]

Drops during takeoff are the worst thing ever. You're expecting to keep going up then suddenly it starts falling it's hell

Click to shrink...

That's just the slight deceleration. I used to love that feeling, now I hate it!

 

[MrHedin]

I have had two bad experiences with turbulence. The first one was I was on a flight going to Philly and we hit a bad pocket that was rattling us a bit and then we just dropped big time, like it felt longer than one of those 300 ft drop rides at an amusement park. There was a pilot sitting next to me flying to Philly as well and when I looked over to him he just chuckled as said "Ok, now that was pretty bad". Luckily it was only a short spell but if a pilot tells you its bad then it's pretty bad. The second wasn't really that violent it just lasted for hours. Flying from Johannesburg to Atlanta and we just hit a several hour pocket of turbulence that just got more annoying that anything. Most of the time it will only last a few minutes but this kept going and going.

I think the only time I was a little unnerved was when an engine caught fire, shut down and then restarted. Was forced to deviate to another airport, but I learned that planes can fly on one engine so that was a relief.

Click to shrink...

On a separate flight from Johannesburg to Atlanta we lost an engine (apparently there was an oil leak and they had to shut it down) and we had to make a landing on Ascension Island. Talked to my cousin's husband who had been an airline mechanic and he said that planes are rated to be able to fly half of their rated distance on half of their engines. That way you can (theoritically) always turn around back to your origin or still make it to your destination if something did go wrong.

 

[kaputt]

Here in Brazil we don't have many episodes of really bad turbulence, I believe it's because or airspace is way more empty when compared to the US, so pilots have more room to choose routes with less clouds.

In one of the few times I flew over the US (Seattle to Miami), I got some bad turbulence in Florida, I don't believe it was severe, but it was worse than anything I ever experienced before. The plane kept shaking for 40 minutes and the pilot went straight through it, it really impressed me how this must be considered a normal thing there. Here they would take a detour easily

 

[Tokyo_Funk]

On a separate flight from Johannesburg to Atlanta we lost an engine (apparently there was an oil leak and they had to shut it down) and we had to make a landing on Ascension Island. Talked to my cousin's husband who had been an airline mechanic and he said that planes are rated to be able to fly half of their rated distance on half of their engines. That way you can (theoritically) always turn around back to your origin or still make it to your destination if something did go wrong.

Click to shrink...

Ah, well that makes sense then. My flight was meant to go to Seoul, but the problem happened above the South China Sea and we were a little too far from Australia at that point, so the plane diverted to Hong Kong. Stayed for 2 days waiting for them to free up a spare plane, but it wasn't a huge deal as the company paid for the stay.

 

[Dr. Mario]

I had a lightning strike the tip of the wing. You know like this.

Was already a bit on edge that flight. As we were getting in our seats some lonely hooded guy threw his duffle bag in the overhead compartment and then legged it out of there right as the doors were closing (in retrospect he probably ran for the toilet), and some other passengers were acting weird as well.

As we go for the landing, we make a turn through a cumulonimbus, so there was some turbulence. I look out the window and there's a flash and something explodes on the tip of the wing, and the plane immediately swerves in the other direction (in retrospect probably because of turbulence), lights go out. Women start screaming, and then a tense silence. After two minutes the captain announces over the intercom that it was a lightning strike, everything is okay, these things happen and are pretty harmless, they just needed to check whether everything still worked correctly, no biggie. Lots of cheering and some crying.

In hindsight it was kinda cool, but I admit to having some well that was that thoughts.

 

[Lastbroadcast]

The worst I had was flying back from Paris to Sydney via a stopover in Malaysia back in 2002.

The first seven hours of the flight were fine, but when we went into the Bay of Bengal we hit huge thunderstorms. A solid hour or two of a big 747 being thrown around like a rag doll in the middle of the night rendered me a nervous wreck. Credit to the crew who didn't flinch.

When we landed in Kuala Lumpur they emptied us out and put us on an A330 for the KL-Sydney leg, which frankly I was pretty happy about. It was the smoothest flight I have ever been on, and I've loved the A330 ever since. Go figure.

 

[HaL64]

Was in some pretty bad turbulence flying over the ocean. It wasn't so bad at first, but annoying. Some lady who had been freaking out the whole time making everyone else nervous. She seemed crazy. Then all the sudden the bad turbulence happened. Plane dipped and turned. Next thing you know I hear some lady screaming at the top of her lungs. I turned around and what I saw was two female flight attendants holding each other crying at the back of the plane. Obviously, that made me feel not so great and I had a feeling the plane was going down. Why on earth would the most rational people on the plane be holding each other and crying?
After the turbulence was over I turned around and realized what I saw was not two flight attendants holding each other, but that crazy lady had gone to the bathroom and then started freaking out when the bad turbulence happened. The flight attendant was just comforting her. And it was only the crazy lady that was crying. Weird what the brain makes up in your head when you are frightened. 😀
First flight I was on that there was applause at the end.

 

[Hillside]

I have a pretty severe fear of heights, but can't avoid flying when traveling. Any bumpiness or turbulence freaks me out. I had to get a Xanax prescription to try and take the edge off.

 

[The Albatross]

I'm a weirdo and don't really mind turbulence during take off and landing. Turbulence mid-flight, no thanks. I don't really get scared flying anymore but I have this weird fear, or used to, of like ... the pilot "not paying attention" while at cruising altitude and something horrible happening, and so when there's turbulence I always think, like "Well, at least I know the pilot is paying attention..." same with takeoff and landing. I don't know why it doesn't bother me as much. It's just a bizarre rationalization I've always had.

Flew home from Orlando a couple years ago to Massachusetts, and it was the shortest flight from FLorida to MA that I've ever been on, but because there were crazy tailwinds which made it the fastest flight of my life but also the consistently bumpiest with severe turbulence at cruising altitude for almost the whole flight. People were legit screaming on it, things bags and ipadsa and anything not tethered down lifting off the ground. It was also a chartered flight, so it was this old 80s or 90s airplane, looked so dated inside, and everything was rattling like crazy inside the plane.

 

[Dreams-Visions]

Was on a flight that ultimately left the the pilots shaking and sweating, tears in eyes. Plane almost turned over going through severe weather over the Caribbean. We were all pretty sure that was going to be our last flight.

After that, I sleep though everything because nothing will be as bad as that outside of the plane literally crashing.

 

[Norris1020]

The worst and last time I flew was back on either '04 or '05 and we had to circle Pittsburgh's airport because of weather, so the plane was banked at, what I perceived anyway, a Streep angle (probably not as bad as it felt), so the plane was shaking and wobbling like crazy and on top of that my seat was by the wing so I could hear the engine revving down to near silence like it was shutting off the rev back up again then back down. I was white knuckling it that whole time and been to scared to fly since.

 

[Radicality Incident]

One time I was flying a 172 and hit turbulence so bad I hit my head on the ceiling. That was a new experience for me. Was super unexpected. It was a reasonably choppy day but just sort of your usual hot summer day in a light airplane sort of chop, it fades into the background once you are used to it, then bam! I hit the ceiling and my ipad fell onto the floor, once I got myself level again that was the first thing I had to deal with actually because I was concerned it might slide under the rudder pedals and cause a problem. I was just out practicing maneuvers and wasnt on my way anywhere or anything so I figured that was about it for me today and turned back.

 

[effzee]

I'm a weirdo and don't really mind turbulence during take off and landing. Turbulence mid-flight, no thanks. I don't really get scared flying anymore but I have this weird fear, or used to, of like ... the pilot "not paying attention" while at cruising altitude and something horrible happening, and so when there's turbulence I always think, like "Well, at least I know the pilot is paying attention..." same with takeoff and landing. I don't know why it doesn't bother me as much. It's just a bizarre rationalization I've always had.

Click to shrink...

Same here. I am fine with turbulence taking off and landing, it's to be expected. Its the midflight turbulence, where we are nowhere near the ground or ability to land that scares the shit out of me.

Just had one of those experiences last week. Flying back home from Houston, midflight hit awful turbulence with 7 and 4 yr old with me. Kids didn't panic they just thought it was fun, but man did I have some of the worst dark thoughts and fears go through my head and heart. I was completed scared.

 

[myopic_mossberg]

Holy shit, I just went through this as well, but not nearly as rough as that. I'm 39 and loved to fly, but now at the slightest bump I'm thinking we're going to crash and it's all over, despite knowing stats and flight safety ect. I don't know what has caused this switch in me either....I guess getting older really does suck.

 

[CatAssTrophy]

A June/July-ish trip to and from Denver a few years ago was the worst turbulence I've experienced. At times my butt came off of the seat by how drastic and quick the dips were. I don't know how some people can keep calm during that stuff.

 

[Cow Mengde]

I had it for one flight. It lasted maybe an hour or more. It was the first time I felt turbulence like that. Before, I always wondered what the big deal was.