How Dangerous Is Airplane Turbulence?

_Tombstone_

Can turbulence damage the aircraft? Yeah, but it’s very rare. Indeed, one of the oft-cited cases was way back in 1966, when extreme turbulence tore apart a Boeing 707 near Mt. Fuji in Japan, in which the pilot supposedly flew closer to the mountain for a better view. Winds hit 140 miles per hour, tragically killing all aboard.

But we’ve made serious engineering strides since then. Plane bodies have been made more resilient. Modern jet wings can flex up to 90 degrees in tests, so they can handle strong gusts in the real world. United’s 787 Dreamliner, for example, is fitted with sensors that better predict invisible rough air. And while extreme weather can certainly be hazardous, modern-day turbulence-related accidents are usually combined with other factors, like pilot error or a malfunction.

“Substantial damage to air carrier aircraft is extremely rare, but there have been a couple of cases where turbulence was so severe that an engine was torn off its pylon,” says Robert Sharman, a professor and project scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. “Even in these cases, the aircraft was able to land safely.”

http://gizmodo.com/how-dangerous-is-airplane-turbulence-1714942719?utm_campaign=socialflow_gizmodo_twitter&utm_source=gizmodo_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow

FWVT

Not just dangerous to planes.

http://avherald.com/h?search_term=turbulence+injures&opt=0&dosearch=1&search.x=-862&search.y=-102

murphaph

Modern jet wings can flex up to 90 degrees in tests

I would have thought like 30° maybe. Would never have thought a wing could be bent into a right angle and not snap.

ElWalrus

murphaph wrote: »

I would have thought like 30° maybe. Would never have thought a wing could be bent into a right angle and not snap.

I'm guessing that 90 degree angle refers to the wing tip only. Naturally the angle would decrease towards the fuselage along a curve. (Apologies if that's what you meant, and I misread )

ElWalrus

Quick google search and I did find this image of a Boeing 787 undergoing testing. Pretty impressive.

http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/autopia/2010/03/index1.jpg

the_monkey

_Tombstone_ wrote: »

http://gizmodo.com/how-dangerous-is-airplane-turbulence-1714942719?utm_campaign=socialflow_gizmodo_twitter&utm_source=gizmodo_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow

Can turbulence damage the aircraft? Yeah, but it’s very rare. Indeed, one of the oft-cited cases was way back in 1966, when extreme turbulence tore apart a Boeing 707 near Mt. Fuji in Japan, in which the pilot supposedly flew closer to the mountain for a better view. Winds hit 140 miles per hour, tragically killing all aboard.

But we’ve made serious engineering strides since then. Plane bodies have been made more resilient. Modern jet wings can flex up to 90 degrees in tests, so they can handle strong gusts in the real world. United’s 787 Dreamliner, for example, is fitted with sensors that better predict invisible rough air. And while extreme weather can certainly be hazardous, modern-day turbulence-related accidents are usually combined with other factors, like pilot error or a malfunction.

“Substantial damage to air carrier aircraft is extremely rare, but there have been a couple of cases where turbulence was so severe that an engine was torn off its pylon,” says Robert Sharman, a professor and project scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. “Even in these cases, the aircraft was able to land safely.”

Incidentally the whole production crew from the James Bond film - "You only live twice" were booked on that plane, but either missed it for being late to the airport or rescheduled at the last minute.

amen

And then you have wind shear which can bring a plane down.

Interestingly the A380 Failed the 150% Static load test for its wings (broke at 148%) and they were allowed to pass with some computer modelling(of course the models got it wrong in the first places as they predicted success at 150%).

With increasing climate change, higher winds etc I wonder has anyone potential more severe incidents of turbulence and extreme weather ?

_Tombstone_

amen wrote: »

With increasing climate change, higher winds etc I wonder has anyone potential more severe incidents of turbulence and extreme weather ?

Climate Change Could Mean Bumpier Flights

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/03/130408-turbulence-climate-change-atmosphere-science/

_Tombstone_

the-physics-of-why-airplane-wings-oscillate-in-turbulence

billy few mates

Not just weather related turbulence but wake turbulence can be a killer when an A/C gets to close to the one in front or crosses through the wake of something that passed across its path, and in some cases it's the reaction to this turbulence that does the damage as in the case of the American Airlines A300-600 incident over NY some years ago. In that case the crew response to the upset caused excessive side loads on the vertical stabiliser (fin) causing it to snap off. Likewise pylons and fins are not designed for side loads so even relatively minor forces or upsets can cause them to shear off.
Older A/C autopilot systems used to have a 'Turb' button on the mode control panel which allowed the autopilot a certain degree of leeway in authority in turbulence where it wouldn't try to react as urgently to upsets due to turbulence and would rather let the A/C gradually return to stable state instead of constantly trying to correct and over correct for upsets....