Hawaii Flight Turbulence Injures 20

Air turbulence is the the only thing about flying that I don't like. I've experienced some over the years, the worst being in April 1976 while flying from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. It was so bad that passengers across the aisle from me got their rosary beads out.

That pales to comparison to what passengers on a flight from Phoenix to Honolulu experienced Sunday.

TravelPulse reported:

A Hawaiian Airlines flight experienced severe turbulence on Sunday, leaving at least 20 people injured, including three crew members.

According to Reuters.com, Hawaiian Airlines Flight 35 was en route from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport to Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu with 278 passengers and 10 crew members on board when the pilots reported experiencing severe turbulence.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the Hawaiian Airlines Airbus A330 was around 30 minutes away from landing in Honolulu when the incident occurred. The flight crew declared an emergency and the plane was able to land safely at about 10:50 a.m. local time.

To read more, go here. 

Peter Greenberg: How To Check The Weather Before Your Flight

Above, the San Gabriel Mountains with the Mojave Desert in the distance. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Many people are afraid of flying. Some are more fearful than others and this fear is made even worse if the flight they're on happens to run into some turbulence.

The worst flight I ever been on was an hour-long flight from Los Angeles to Las Vegas in a Boeing 737 in April 1976. I was headed there for a wedding and as we flew near the San Gabriel Mountains and the Mojave Desert, it became an extremely bumpy ride.

Peter Greenberg, "The Travel Detective," has posted an article on how to "prepare for a flight during a storm and put your mind at rest."

It begins with:

If you’re a regular traveler, you know that weather can have a big impact on your flight. Events such as storms and lightning can cause turbulence, but the truth is that pilots are equipped to handle any situation. To help you prepare for a flight during a storm or to simply put your mind at rest, Captain Tom Bunn explains why you should check the weather before a flight. 

To read the full article, go here.

Ten Things You Need To Know About Air Turbulence

Above, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Modern technologies available to today's
aviation has made severe turbulence episodes even rarer. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The worst "white-knuckle" flight I ever endured was a short flight from Los Angeles to Las Vegas in April 1976.

I was heading to Las Vegas for a friend's wedding. My parents were already there, but due to a Saturday morning photography class I was taking, I decided to fly there after class. The flight was only an hour long and it was aboard a Boeing 737.

As we flew over the San Gabriel Mountains that skirted the Mojave Desert, we hit some severe turbulence. It was so bad, I remember a lady across the aisle taking out her rosary beads to pray. The weather was clear, but as the desert along the mountains was heating up, it caused the turbulence. The flight reminded me of the old Flash Gordon serials with the bouncing rocket ships of the late 1930s and early 1940s.

Condé Nast Traveler had posted an article in February on the ten things you should know about turbulence. If you have a fear of flying, perhaps this article will help you endure air turbulence better.

Before getting into the ten points, they wrote:

Sure, it's terrifying stuff—but don't cancel your next flight just yet. We spoke to a number of pilots and aviation experts to get the facts about turbulence-related injuries and what's really happening when your plane is tossing violently (spoiler alert: it doesn't mean the plane's about to crash).

With new technologies available to modern aviation, violent air turbulence episodes are becoming rarer.

To read the article, go here.