My Experiences with Severe Turbulence: Navigating the Perils of Air Travel

During my career as a pilot, I have encountered various levels of turbulence. However, two instances stand out as particularly intense, ones during which I had to rely on my training and experience to ensure the safety of my passengers and crew.

Turbulence on a Flight from Islip to Harrisburg

One of the most memorable encounters with turbulence happened while flying an SD-360 from Islip to Harrisburg. The conditions were so severe that ice was propelled out of the serving bin onto the deck, and I heard of a stewardess being thrown to the overhead and sustaining a leg injury on a subsequent flight.

Turbulence at High Altitudes

While flying a company Learjet at altitudes of 41,000 and 43,000 feet, we often encountered turbulence associated with the jet stream. At those altitudes, we referred to the area as the "throat," meaning we were extremely close to a stall, both at slow speed and high speed (commonly known as Mach Tuck).

The Learjet was not designed to go faster than Mach 1 or to experience high-speed stall. Our economy cruising airspeed at these altitudes was around Mach.78. Although we were trained to handle the airplane in the event of a high-speed stall, this was not part of our regular flight procedures.

Aircraft separation for flights above 18,000 feet is 4,000 feet vertically. All aircraft above this altitude use the same altimeter setting of 29.92 hPa. When encountering turbulence, particularly at higher altitudes, maintaining the aircraft attitude (the orientation of the wing and body of the airplane) is more critical than maintaining altitude. If you start to chase your altitude, you can easily put yourself into a dangerous situation and encounter high-speed stall.

Strategies to Handle Turbulence

During two specific instances, the turbulence was severe enough that I had to disengage the autopilot and maintain our attitude. My altitude changes were plus or minus 2,000 feet, which I promptly informed Air Traffic Control. Once we were free of the turbulence, I was able to maintain our assigned altitude and continue with our flight plan.

The pilots are well secured in the cockpit with their inertial seat belts and shoulder harnesses. I always emphasize to my passengers to keep their seat belts on at all times, as this helps to ensure their safety in case of unexpected turbulence.

Passenger Safety during Turbulence

Another notable instance occurred during a flight across the Pacific. The turbulence was severe but was managed with the cooperation of the passengers. We kept everyone seated and belted in, and once we emerged from the turbulence, all passengers breathed a collective sigh of relief.

I explained to the passengers that turbulence could not harm the aircraft or them as long as they followed the seat belt protocol. With the proper training and adherence to safety guidelines, even the most severe turbulence can be navigated without incident.

Through these experiences, I have reaffirmed the critical importance of pilot training, proper safety protocols, and the cooperation of passengers in ensuring a safe and smooth flight.