Current:Home > InvestHow you can stay safe during sudden, severe turbulence-InfoLens
How you can stay safe during sudden, severe turbulence
View Date:2024-12-23 11:52:48
Eight people were recently taken to the hospital after a JetBlue Airlines plane encountered "sudden severe turbulence" early Monday as it neared Florida, the airline confirmed to ABC News.
Last month, 14 people were injured after a Delta Air Lines plane experienced sudden turbulence on approach to Atlanta, Georgia. In August, two flight attendants were injured after a United Airlines flight from Newark, New Jersey, to Punta Cana experienced turbulence.
Turbulence happens when planes encounter unstable air created by atmospheric pressure, jet streams, and even thunderstorms. According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), it can also occur unexpectedly when skies appear to be clear.
Pilots can't see turbulence on radars within the cockpit, but they can however see weather systems that may cause turbulence.
"You can see indications of a rapidly changing weather, which should as a pilot put you on on the track for telling everyone to sit down and suspend in-flight services," John Nance, former commercial pilot and ABC News Contributor, said in an interview with ABC News.
Nance said pilots will also report experiencing bumps to air traffic control, which will then relay that information to other pilots.
MORE: 8 hospitalized after JetBlue flight experiences 'sudden severe turbulence'
The FAA said it has received 17 reports of severe injuries related to turbulence last year – up from the 13 reports it received in 2019.
Experts say the best thing passengers can do to stay safe is keep their seatbelt on at all times during flight.
"The airplane can handle it, but the bodies inside, when they're not strapped to the airplane, can't. It's that simple," Captain Dennis Tajer, a 30-year veteran of American Airlines and spokesman for the union representing 15,000 pilots at American, told ABC News.
ABC News' Dan Manzo contributed to this report.
veryGood! (174)
Related
- Arbitrator upholds 5-year bans of Bad Bunny baseball agency leaders, cuts agent penalty to 3 years
- Let's go party ... in space? First Barbie dolls to fly in space debut at Smithsonian museum
- Selling Sunset’s Nicole Young Details Online Hate She's Received Over Feud With Chrishell Stause
- A decoder that uses brain scans to know what you mean — mostly
- Gerry Faust, the former head football coach at Notre Dame, has died at 89
- Horoscopes Today, July 24, 2023
- Keystone Oil Pipeline Spills 210,000 Gallons as Nebraska Weighs XL Decision
- Lily-Rose Depp Makes Rare Comment About Dad Johnny Depp Amid Each of Their Cannes Premieres
- Alexandra Daddario shares first postpartum photo of baby: 'Women's bodies are amazing'
- These states are narrowly defining who is 'female' and 'male' in law
Ranking
- Digital Finance Research Institute Introduce
- University of New Mexico Football Player Jaden Hullaby Dead at 21 Days After Going Missing
- The Wood Pellet Business is Booming. Scientists Say That’s Not Good for the Climate.
- Tar Sands Pipeline that Could Rival Keystone XL Quietly Gets Trump Approval
- John Krasinski named People's Sexiest Man Alive for 2024
- A plastic sheet with a pouch could be a 'game changer' for maternal mortality
- One way to prevent gun violence? Treat it as a public health issue
- Ireland Baldwin Shares Glimpse Into Her First Week of Motherhood With Baby Holland
Recommendation
-
Sam LaPorta injury update: Lions TE injures shoulder, 'might miss' Week 11
-
They're trying to cure nodding syndrome. First they need to zero in on the cause
-
Where Joe Jonas Stands With Taylor Swift 15 Years After Breaking Up With Her Over the Phone
-
California’s Low-Carbon Fuel Rule Is Working, Study Says, but Threats Loom
-
Georgia House Republicans stick with leadership team for the next two years
-
Jeff Bridges Recalls Being in “Surrender Mode” Amid Near-Fatal Health Battles
-
Coal Miner Wins Black Lung Benefits After 14 Years, Then U.S. Government Bills Him
-
Tar Sands Pipeline that Could Rival Keystone XL Quietly Gets Trump Approval