Sep 6th, 2011 at 11:00AM: My name is Laurel, and I have aviophobia. I, like millions of Americans, am scared shitless of flying. Aviophobia can manifest for a variety of reasons: a traumatic experience on a previous flight; claustrophobia; fear of heights; fear of loss of control (ding, ding, ding!), even a fear of motion sickness. After years of researching the subject, I've learned that I fit the classic profile of an ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
turbulence posts
Coping with a fear of flying: the secret rituals of aviophobics
Sep 6th, 2011 at 11:00AM: My name is Laurel, and I have aviophobia. I, like millions of Americans, am scared shitless of flying. Aviophobia can manifest for a variety of reasons: a traumatic experience on a previous flight; claustrophobia; fear of heights; fear of loss of control (ding, ding, ding!), even a fear of motion sickness. After years of researching the subject, I've learned that I fit the classic profile of an ...Galley Gossip: Is it okay for passengers to dump their drinks on the floor during turbulence?
Jul 21st, 2011 at 9:30AM: Dear Heather, Today I heard an announcement in-flight I'd never heard before and was wondering if you make it often, or ever. After serving drinks, it got a little turbulent and the flight attendants had to sit down. A few minutes later the purser came on and said, "if you're having trouble controlling your drinks, please just dump them on the floor." WHAT? And waste all this good wine, I thought. ...Video: ten terrifying landings, takeoffs and flights
Feb 22nd, 2011 at 1:30PM:
It is pretty safe to say that 99.99% of all flights are completely uneventful, but every now and then you'll find yourself on a flight from hell. We've collected ten videos of poor takeoffs, poor landings and dreadful in-flight turbulence. Just remember - any flight you can walk away from can be considered a successful flight.
In the first video, you'll see JetBlue flight 292 trying to ...
Galley Gossip: Flight attendants, turbulence & scary flights
Nov 5th, 2010 at 9:30AM: One of the scariest flights I ever worked also happens to be one of the first flights I ever worked for an airline called Sun Jet International Airlines. I lasted three months before moving on. Sun Jet is no longer in business. I'm going to guess this had a lot to do with gimmicky $69 flights to cities like Dallas, Fort Lauderdale, Newark, and Long Beach. While cheap tickets attract a lot of ...Plane Answers: Have turbulence encounters become less common?
Sep 24th, 2010 at 12:00PM: Welcome to Gadling's feature, Plane Answers, where our resident airline pilot, Kent Wien, answers your questions about everything from takeoff to touchdown and beyond. Have a question of your own? Ask away!
Fellow Gadling writer Mike Barish (author of the hilarious Skymall Mondays asks:
I have a plane answers question of my own for you and thought others might be curious, too.
Not sure if ...Turbulence hurts: leading cause of in-flight injury
Jul 22nd, 2010 at 9:00AM: If you aren't splattered in a fatal crash, you're most likely to be injured by severe turbulence. Don't get shaken up by this, though, odds are the biggest risk you'll face is a middle seat sandwiched by garlic-eater and a heavy talker (choose which way you want to read that one). While you can't be saved from the people around you, you can protect our body from a bouncing plane: put on your ...Dance to soothe turbulence fears - Airplane tip
Feb 11th, 2010 at 2:59PM: One problem many fliers share is a fear of turbulence. If you fly, you're bound to experience it at some point -- but airplane turbulence doesn't have to be scary! Bring an MP3 player aboard and, the moment the air gets bumpy, turn it to your favorite track and get groovy!
You'll likely get some looks from the other passengers, but hey -- you get to have fun and forget the fear.
When you ...Plane Answers: Announcements from the captain and Denver turbulence
Jan 8th, 2010 at 1:30PM: Rich asks:
Hi Kent, I love your blog and it has really helped me to relax when flying. When I was a kid and used to fly it seemed as though the flight deck would regularly update passengers about what was going on with the trip, the plane, etc. Now it seems as though most of the time I hardly hear anything. It would be nice to know if there is some turbulence coming up or something like that. ...Plane Answers: Wing inspection lights and a recent severe turbulence encounter
Sep 4th, 2009 at 9:00AM: Welcome to Gadling's feature, Plane Answers, where our resident airline pilot, Kent Wien, answers your questions about everything from takeoff to touchdown and beyond. Have a question of your own? Ask away! Alex asks: Hi Kent, I recently flew on a 737 and returned on a different airline on an MD- 80. Both flights were only about 40 minutes long and the wing lights remained on for the duration of ...26 hurt on turbulent Continental flight
Aug 4th, 2009 at 1:30PM: On most flights, turbulence is a minor inconvenience. You have to return to your seat and buckle in, and you may have to wait a little longer to get your next vodka and cranberry (oh, is it just me that needs a cocktail, or three, to relax on a plane?). Planes are generally able to avoid the worst of the bumps, thanks to radar and reports from other planes in the area. But sometimes, turbulence ...Seven injured as Qantas Airbus slams passengers into the ceiling
Jun 22nd, 2009 at 5:00PM: A Qantas Airbus A330-300 flew through what airline staff referred to as a "severe meteorological incident". The "incident" was actually bad turbulence, and it was so severe that the plane plummeted, sending passengers into the ceiling. The flight was en route from Hong Kong to Perth when it hit the turbulence. Because the drop was so sudden, the flight crew did not have the time to warn ...Plane Answers: Turbulence causing aircraft to break apart and London holding patterns.
Jun 9th, 2009 at 4:00PM: Welcome to Gadling's feature, Plane Answers, where our resident airline pilot, Kent Wien, answers your questions about everything from takeoff to touchdown and beyond. Have a question of your own? Ask away! Tai asks: Hi Kent, I'm an avid reader of both your blog and Plane Answers and plan to pursue a career in aviation. I generally keep an eye out in my news feeds for airline/aircraft related ...Plane Answers - A pilot's experience before flying solo, a passenger pointing out a mechanical problem and wake turbulence bumps
May 4th, 2009 at 4:30PM: Welcome to Gadling's feature, Plane Answers, where our resident airline pilot, Kent Wien, answers your questions about everything from takeoff to touchdown and beyond. Have a question of your own? Ask away! Esteban from Spain asks: When learning to drive a car, for most people a few minutes of training are enough to drive, although they don't know the circulation rules. Do you think that it is ...Galley Gossip: Passenger gets caught with pants down
Apr 24th, 2009 at 9:30AM:
Dear Heather, Is it standard procedure for a flight attendant to force open a toilet occupied by a passenger if the plane is about to land? Under what circumstances has the flight attendant a right to do this? Thanks, Caught with My Pants Down
Dear Caught with My Pants Down,
I'm so sorry to hear you were caught with your pants down. I'm also sorry that a flight attendant had to see you that ...Woman paralyzed after bad turbulence on Continental Airlines flight
Apr 21st, 2009 at 5:00PM: Turbulence just claimed another victim - this time the victim was in the bathroom on Continental flight 511 when the plane hit some turbulence and a sudden descent. The sudden drop threw the woman against the ceiling of the bathroom, fracturing her neck. Doctors spent 6 hours operating on her, but her injury left her paralyzed from the neck down. The incident also injured one other passenger and ...Plane Answers: Sleeping gas to thwart terrorists, longer winter takeoffs and which aircraft is the smoothest in rough air
Mar 23rd, 2009 at 9:00AM: Welcome to Gadling's feature, Plane Answers, where our resident airline pilot, Kent Wien, answers your questions about everything from takeoff to touchdown and beyond. Have a question of your own? Ask away! Jack asks: I was wondering why the airlines don't put sleeping gas on a plane for highjackers. This way when the plane is highjacked the pilot puts on an air mask and gases the rest of the ...Galley Gossip: A question about turbulence and being scared at work
Mar 9th, 2009 at 9:30AM:
H i Heather, Are you ever afraid to fly? Or were you in the beginning of your career? I have recently been invited to training for a FA position with a major airline. It has been a dream of mine my whole life! I am so excited....however....sometimes I am nervous to fly! I fly A LOT. Usually a few times a month. Sometimes I am perfectly fine, and other times I am nervous. I'm worried about this ...Plane Answers: Minimum fuel requirements and sudden drops inflight
Feb 9th, 2009 at 5:00PM: Welcome to Gadling's feature, Plane Answers, where our resident airline pilot, Kent Wien, answers your questions about everything from takeoff to touchdown and beyond. Have a question of your own? Ask away! Frank asks: Kent, A couple of questions for you:
How much reserve fuel does your plane normally carry? For how many minutes of flight or miles?
Who decides how much extra fuel to carry, ...Cockpit Chronicles: Paris - Chez (grand) Papa
Jun 26th, 2008 at 10:00AM: Cockpit Chronicles takes you along on each of Kent's trips as a co-pilot on the Boeing 757 and 767 out of Boston. "We've had a minor explosion back here," one of the flight attendants, Susan, told us during our preflight. "There's orange juice all over 2H and J." Selfishly, we all perked up. Those were our crew rest seats. The thought of sitting in a wet seat gave a new urgency to the co-pilot's ...Plane Answers: Overcoming the fear of flying
May 23rd, 2008 at 9:00PM: This week we've had many questions that all ran along the same lines; how to overcome Aviophobia, or the fear of flying. Most people who suffer from this fear are well aware of the statistics that show that air travel is the safest form of travel, and no amount of assurances and facts are able to calm their fears. But I've been told that understanding more about what happens in an airplane does go ...
