Summary
High in the sky, as you are cruising to your destination, the seat belt sign goes on. As you look out the window, there are no clouds for kilometres. What could you possibly run into at this height? Turbulence - a frequently invisible problem for aircraft.
Turbulence is a weather phenomenon responsible for the abrupt sideways and vertical jolts that passengers often experience during flights, and is the leading cause of in-flight injuries to passengers and cabin crew.
Turbulence is caused by the irregular movement of air, and often cannot be seen. When air masses with different speeds, direction or temperatures meet each other - such as a warm or cold front, a thunderstorm, air flowing over or around mountains, or near jet streams - turbulence is likely to occur.
Download Complete Document: AR2008034 [ PDF: 246Kb]
Type: Research and Analysis Report
Author(s): ATSB
Publication Date: 30/06/08
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