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One dead as London-Singapore flight hit by turbulence

bbc.com

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Re: One dead as London-Singapore flight hit by turbulence

#51

Post by yawpitch »

coldtea wrote: post #9
PaulRobinson wrote: post #8

Tragic, horrid and going to make a lot of nervous flyers more nervous. I've been through some pretty heavy turbulence in my time, but thankfully nothing this severe. I've been through enough though to know that a lot of people don't take it very seriously. I've been on flights with screaming passengers, and _very_ quiet British Marines, both in reaction to some pretty nasty air, and I'm always surprised that turbulen…

> There's a reason why you're advised to keep your seatbelt fastened when seated. I simply don't understand some cabins that have cocktail bars in them - are you absolutely crazy? No, just not pusillanimous about it, given the odds.

> No, just not pusillanimous about it, given the odds.

Fascinating; an exemplar of both toxic masculinity and grandiloquence in a single word.

Re: One dead as London-Singapore flight hit by turbulence

#52

Post by lm28469 »

marcinzm wrote: post #17
PaulRobinson wrote: post #8

Tragic, horrid and going to make a lot of nervous flyers more nervous. I've been through some pretty heavy turbulence in my time, but thankfully nothing this severe. I've been through enough though to know that a lot of people don't take it very seriously. I've been on flights with screaming passengers, and _very_ quiet British Marines, both in reaction to some pretty nasty air, and I'm always surprised that turbulen…

When I walk in a city I don't spend my time constantly scanning the sky and every building around me for a potential falling object. Or research the structural history of every bridge I drive over then spend hours avoiding certain ones. Or a hundred other rare things that do kill people but statistically not often. Everyone dies one day and everyone has a single life. I don't see the point of spending that one life i…

Do you use a seat belt when you drive?

Re: One dead as London-Singapore flight hit by turbulence

#53

Post by voisin »

> Turbulence is most commonly caused by aircraft flying through cloud but there is also "clear air" turbulence which is not visible on a jet's weather radar nor is it possible to predict.

Is this actually impossible for some theoretical constraint or have we just not invested in the R&D?

Re: One dead as London-Singapore flight hit by turbulence

#54

Post by sokoloff »

alistairSH wrote: post #46
voisin wrote: post #26

I haven’t experienced much turbulence in maybe 15 years, whereas I remember in the 90s I experienced tons of turbulence in almost every flight. I am not sure if this is something modern airliners have been designed to deal with or avoid, or not. Has anyone else experienced this or is my memory just faulty?

I’d guess better routing around weather. Also, I recall worse turbulence over land and smoother over the ocean. I’m assuming that’s just random luck and not a real thing?

There is more flexibility on routes over the middle of a trip than near the departure or arrival constraint. Flight over large bodies of water tends to be away from the arrival or departure airport.

Going 100 miles out of your way for weather at a point that's 100 miles from the airport is a big diversion. Going 100 miles laterally out of your way at the midpoint of a 2500nm trip is about an 8 nm deviation (4nm out and 4nm back).

Re: One dead as London-Singapore flight hit by turbulence

#55

Post by wizzwizz4 »

pooper wrote: post #42
onlyonhn2 wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Careful with the non-declared /s. Some of these people would actually push for these reforms given a little encouragement.

Case in point, make self driving cars cheap enough (under USD 20k new for a decent electric car with self driving) and I'll gladly support a complete ban on humans driving on public roads if that means the self driving cars can coordinate and drive better.

If you're making such a major change to the infrastructure, replace the roads with train tracks, and the cars with electric trains. It'll be cheaper and safer.

Cars that can only be driven by computers in controlled conditions defeat most of the point of having cars (i.e., mobility for people unable to use public transport).

Re: One dead as London-Singapore flight hit by turbulence

#56

Post by voisin »

mvkel wrote: post #44
voisin wrote: post #26

I haven’t experienced much turbulence in maybe 15 years, whereas I remember in the 90s I experienced tons of turbulence in almost every flight. I am not sure if this is something modern airliners have been designed to deal with or avoid, or not. Has anyone else experienced this or is my memory just faulty?

It may actually be improved radar tech, so finding smooth air is easier

The article states “ Turbulence is most commonly caused by aircraft flying through cloud but there is also "clear air" turbulence which is not visible on a jet's weather radar nor is it possible to predict.”

So are we just avoiding the storms? Or are “clear air” turbulence situations decreasing?

Re: One dead as London-Singapore flight hit by turbulence

#57

Post by scottmcdot »

voisin wrote: post #26

I haven’t experienced much turbulence in maybe 15 years, whereas I remember in the 90s I experienced tons of turbulence in almost every flight. I am not sure if this is something modern airliners have been designed to deal with or avoid, or not. Has anyone else experienced this or is my memory just faulty?

I thought that the aircraft had LiDAR on the front of them as a way to avoid incoming turbulence. I could be wrong.

Re: One dead as London-Singapore flight hit by turbulence

#58

Post by jna_sh »

marcinzm wrote: post #17
PaulRobinson wrote: post #8

Tragic, horrid and going to make a lot of nervous flyers more nervous. I've been through some pretty heavy turbulence in my time, but thankfully nothing this severe. I've been through enough though to know that a lot of people don't take it very seriously. I've been on flights with screaming passengers, and _very_ quiet British Marines, both in reaction to some pretty nasty air, and I'm always surprised that turbulen…

When I walk in a city I don't spend my time constantly scanning the sky and every building around me for a potential falling object. Or research the structural history of every bridge I drive over then spend hours avoiding certain ones. Or a hundred other rare things that do kill people but statistically not often. Everyone dies one day and everyone has a single life. I don't see the point of spending that one life i…

Why do you perceive wearing a seatbelt on a flight and minimising time out of a seat as such a high cost/inconvenience? I hear this line of thought a lot, particularly nowadays around masking to avoid COVID, and I’m always intrigued by this idea that avoiding this tiny act that barely impacts you is somehow sticking a big middle finger up to fear

Re: One dead as London-Singapore flight hit by turbulence

#59

Post by IG_Semmelweiss »

I'll be the first to admit that I held conflicting views:

For one, I never thought someone could die from turbulence (besides a medical condition such as heart risk).

At the same time, I'm sure certain falls/impacts are quite lethal even in very short distances.

Yet, i dont understand how turbulence makes a plane fall 6000 ft in 3min, unless the automated (turbulence?) avoidance system engaged and caused the injury in the 1st place. Yet, at the same time, the rate of descent may have been necessary to keep control of the plane.

So many questions

Re: One dead as London-Singapore flight hit by turbulence

#60

Post by hggh »

DrNosferatu wrote: post #32

I wonder if there’s data to assert what’s more dangerous in the long term: Stay absolutely seated and fastened for the whole flight; VS. Stay absolutely seated and fastened for the whole flight with a few breaks to walk around and stretch your legs. PS: Yes, sitting without fastening your seatbelt is just plain stupid.

Instead of just walking around, drink lots of water and then go to the bathroom, and rinse and repeat (it also works if you don't enjoy your job office).
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