We’ve all been there. You’re cruising through the clouds at high altitude, excitement building for all your adventures ahead until—*ding*—the seatbelt sign flashes on, warning that the journey may be a little bumpier than you’d hoped.
But sometimes, turbulence is more severe than just a few bumps. On Tuesday, a Singapore Airlines flight hit “sudden extreme turbulence” at 37,000 feet, the company said in a statement, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing in Bangkok. The terrifying incident resulted in widespread injuries and one fatality, according to the airline. Kittipong Kittikachorn, the general manager of Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport, said at a press conference that the 73-year-old British man likely died from a suspected hearth attack, Reuters reported.
According to the National Weather Service, severe turbulence is defined as “large and abrupt changes in altitude” usually accompanied by large variations in indicated airspeed that may cause an airplane to be “momentarily out of control.” Meanwhile, extreme turbulence is classified as when an “airplane is tossed violently about and is impossible to control,” potentially causing structural damage to the aircraft.
But how common is severe or extreme turbulence? How safe are we in the skies? And is turbulence occurring more frequently, or is evidence of it just easier to access than ever before?
To get to the bottom of it all, we turned to Isabel Smith of the University of Reading’s Meteorology Department, whose work involves using high-resolution climate models to predict increases in atmospheric turbulence.
This article has been updated with new information since its original publish date.
What is turbulence?
Turbulence is the chaotic movement of air created by the shearing of winds or forced airflow up over mountains. The atmosphere is a large fluid, with waves of airflow propagating around the world. As the air becomes unstable, it breaks into fast-moving chaotic swirls. An aircraft encountering turbulence is shaken as it encounters fast-flowing, swirling airflow.
Is turbulence safe?
There is the possibility of encountering severe turbulence, which can be dangerous. However, it is extremely rare, with less than one percent of the atmosphere containing severe turbulence. You are much more likely to encounter light turbulence, which will shake you around and possibly spill over a few drinks—but it is not dangerous.
