Flight turbulence incidents on the rise as global temperatures climb
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00:00 It's been a dramatic few days for commercial aviation, with passengers on three separate
00:05 airlines suffering terrifying ordeals involving severe in-flight turbulence.
00:10 On Sunday, 12 people were injured on a Qatar Airways flight en route from Doha to Dublin.
00:16 Then there was an incident involving a Turkish Airlines flight en route from Istanbul to
00:20 Izmir.
00:21 And last week, many more people were injured and one passenger died when a Singapore Airlines
00:26 flight en route from London to Singapore hit severe turbulence which threw people around
00:31 the cabin and the plane had to make an emergency landing.
00:34 This type of severe in-flight turbulence is rare, but there does appear to be an increasing
00:38 number of incidents, prompting many people to ask, could climate change be a factor?
00:42 France 24's Emerald Maxwell has more.
00:47 Twenty-six of the passengers injured on flight SQ321 remain in hospital with skull, brain
00:54 and spine injuries.
00:55 More than a week after their Singapore Airlines plane hit severe turbulence, which also resulted
01:00 in the death of a 73-year-old man.
01:04 The Thai Transport Ministry said in a statement Wednesday that the aircraft experienced a
01:08 rapid change in G-force and a sudden 54-metre altitude drop in the space of 4.6 seconds,
01:16 the force of which catapulted passengers and crew members who weren't strapped in, into
01:20 the cabin roof.
01:23 It's still unclear what caused the turbulence, but the incident was one of three over a week,
01:28 with passengers and flight attendants also injured in a Turkish Airlines flight and on
01:33 a Qatar Airways plane after they experienced turbulence.
01:37 "Suddenly the plane fell, the flight attendant, the poor flight attendant went into the air."
01:42 "It was for 10 or 15 seconds and that was the worst 15 seconds of my life."
01:47 Most people associate turbulence with clouds and storms, but global warming may be causing
01:52 more clear air turbulence, which occurs when differences in temperature and pressure create
01:58 powerful currents of air.
02:00 The phenomenon is notoriously difficult to avoid because it cannot be seen or picked
02:05 up on pilots' radar systems and according to a study last year by Reading University,
02:11 it increased 55% between 1979 and 2020 in the North Atlantic.
02:18 Airlines are working on a solution to better monitor clear air turbulence, but in the meantime
02:22 - Singapore Airlines and others said they would tighten their seatbelt policies.
02:27 OK, well for more analysis we can cross to London and speak to Nadine Itani who is the
02:33 programme leader and lecturer in Air Transport Management at University of Surrey.
02:37 Thank you very much indeed for taking the time to speak to us.
02:39 As we heard in that report there are different types of turbulence, some are really difficult
02:44 to spot on the radar.
02:46 How rare is it that there should be turbulence and a fatality as there was last week with
02:50 that Singapore Airlines flight?
02:54 Thank you for having me.
02:55 Well, turbulence is in terms of aviation operations, it is more as an inconvenience matter rather
03:02 than a safety matter.
03:04 And looking at the safety record and the incidents in the last 30 years, there is minimal number
03:12 of accidents involving deaths that have been caused by air turbulence.
03:20 But of course, in terms of the detection of the air turbulence, the clear air turbulence
03:27 is one of the riskiest types of turbulences as the reports mentioned because it is hard
03:34 to detect and it happens within clear skies so there is no cloud.
03:40 And definitely within research and the environmental science, the latest research indicates that
03:47 there is a significant correlation between climate change and what's happening or actually
03:55 the increase in frequency in clear air turbulence.
03:59 Yes, so what you're saying is there could be a link therefore between an increase in
04:03 these types of incidents and climate change.
04:06 I mean, what is the link exactly?
04:10 Well, in terms of air turbulence, it is simply the sudden movement of airflow that causes
04:20 when, of course, when it hits the aircraft, it causes a change in the position and direction
04:26 and the altitude of the aircraft.
04:28 So in the atmosphere, we have different masses of air and these air masses have different
04:34 speeds, temperature, density and pressure as well.
04:38 And due to climate change and the rising temperatures, this is causing a change in the wind masses
04:47 and the profile of the wind masses.
04:49 So the movement of air and the jet streams that are within the air routes of the aircrafts
04:56 are changing in their dynamics and in their profiles.
05:01 And the studies also indicate that for every 1% increase in average temperature, we are
05:08 going to witness an increase in the frequency around 10% of the clear air turbulence.
05:15 So there is a significant correlation between the increasing temperatures and the air turbulence.
05:22 Do you think planes are built in a robust enough way to withstand all types of turbulence,
05:30 even when it's really severe?
05:31 And I'm thinking, you know, when you're on an older plane, sometimes it does sound like
05:34 things are rattling around a little bit.
05:36 I mean, if an older aircraft found itself in the same situation as that much newer Singapore
05:41 Airlines Boeing 777, would it be able to withstand it or would it risk breaking up at all?
05:47 Well, the good news is that aircrafts in terms of design and engineering, they are engineered
05:56 and designed to withstand severe and extreme weather conditions.
06:01 And during manufacturing, all the tests that the aircraft parts, specifically the wings
06:08 of the aircraft, are subject to heavy stress tests.
06:12 So the wings bend in very high steep degrees.
06:18 So it's very rarely that an aircraft could be harmed structurally due to turbulence.
06:26 So it's a matter of preserving the safety of the passengers and the crew, of course,
06:32 when turbulence happens and when the bouncing happens in terms of the position of the aircraft.
06:40 Do you think that based on what we've seen in the last few days, these various incidents,
06:45 airlines are going to have a rethink about some of the rules of passenger travel, i.e.
06:51 insisting that passengers keep their seatbelts fastened at all times, full stop, unless they're
06:56 getting up to go to the bathroom.
06:57 But I mean, had people been wearing a seatbelt on that Singapore Airlines flight right across
07:02 the cabin, there would be nothing like the level of damage, would there?
07:06 Well, absolutely.
07:07 I mean, airlines started already changing and adapting their policies in order to address
07:13 the safety concerns and the implications on the passengers and crew as well.
07:19 Some airlines are considering to extend, of course, the duration of wearing the seatbelts,
07:24 keeping them on most of the duration of the flight.
07:28 Also in terms of servicing the hot meals and the beverages, it will be suspended when the
07:36 seatbelt signs are on.
07:38 Also some adaptation for policies regarding the babies.
07:42 So no more sitting in the laps of parents.
07:47 The babies should be always fastened in their child seats.
07:51 So it's more like precautions inside the cabin in flight and the ability, of course, of the
07:59 aircrew and the pilots to be able to attain on time, whether information or even information
08:09 from the preceding pilots that are passing through the same routes, because apparently
08:14 clear air turbulence could be detected and it's happening across specific routes that
08:21 could be forecasted over different frequencies and because of the aircraft movement in this
08:27 specific route.
08:28 Okay.
08:29 Well, really appreciate you taking the time to speak to us.
08:32 Nadine Itani, lecturer in Air Transport Management at the University of Surrey.
08:36 Thank you very much indeed for your time this evening.
08:38 My pleasure.