I was a pilot for 40 years – here’s how we deal with extreme turbulence

As a pilot for more than 40 years – first for the Air Force and then flying regional turboprop aircraft in Scotland and both short-haul and long haul out of Heathrow on Airbus A320s and A380s – the worst that Martin Chalk experienced from turbulence is “discomfort”. He spoke to The i Paper about how pilots and crew are trained to deal with these atmospheric fluctuations – particularly clear air turbulence, which can be more difficult to detect than storms – and how aircraft are built to withstand them. (Photo: Maravic/Getty)

In aviation, it's a scale of hazard

“In aviation, we tend to talk about ‘hazards’ or ‘risks’, and the mitigation of those threats. There is no such thing as ‘safe’, nor is there any such thing as ‘dangerous’ – it’s a scale of hazard. Turbulence is one of those hazards that tends to be more feared by passengers. Planes are designed to withstand a fairly firm impact with something that does not yield when it lands on the runway, so a fluid [such as air flow] that does yield is of no consequence. The the only occasional effect is if the airflow through the engine is sufficiently disturbed, temporarily reducing its power output. But as soon as everything settles down, that would be resolved and we’d go back to normal.” (Photo: Getty)

Avoiding some areas

“The most common type of turbulence in and around the UK is associated with circulations of air within a cloud. Storm clouds are particularly violent inside, so we avoid those. You can see them on the radar even if you can’t see them with your eyes, so we would fly around any areas that had the particularly violent up and down drafts in them. It’s therefore relatively straightforward to avoid these sorts of turbulence. Clear air turbulence is a weather phenomenon that is more likely in warmer climates when a plane travels through the boundary of two pieces of air adjacent to each other – one going up, one going down. That can be quite dramatic.” (Photo: tupungato/Getty/iStock Editorial)

Unmanageable turbulence is extremely rare

“I would say on three out of four occasions where clear air turbulence is predicted, and you put the seatbelt signs, the plane will fly serenely through it. Everybody wonders why you put the seat belt sign on, but on that one-in-four occasion, you’ll be glad that you did. As pilots, one of you is always always strapped in, in order to make sure that if unexpected turbulence occurs, one of you is capable of continuing to fly in the plane. Personally, that never happened to me and it’s very rare that a plane is knocked more than a few feet from where it should be. It’s also extremely rare these days that turbulence is outside the capability of the autopilot. [The plane] will almost certainly just correct back to where it should be, despite almost any disruption by outside air.” (Photo: Hollie Adams/Bloomberg via Getty)

One of the safest places to be

“The two direct effects of turbulence that we’re trying to protect passengers from are being injured as a result of being thrown about the plane, and passengers being hit by items that are thrown around the plane by the turbulence. Overhead compartments have locks that tend to hold tighter when there’s a disturbance, rather than springing open, so it’s more about loose items like laptops, phones and bags. If trolleys are out there may also be cups, drinks and plates, but these tend to be made lighter, deliberately, so they don’t do as much damage if they do hit you. However, aviation is still one of the safest things you can do in life and UK aviation still has an incredibly strong safety record.” (Photo: Andreas Rentz/Getty)