Brasilia resident registers moment of turbulence on flight to Portugal
A resident of Brasilia recorded the moment of turbulence on a flight bound for Portugal. The case happened this Thursday (23) when Diana Assis left Angola for Lisbon.
- UNDERSTAND: See what causes turbulence and how aircraft safety works
- LEARN MORE: See what the different types of turbulence are
It was Diana’s first trip abroad and she decided to record everything on social media. However, as she drank wine and recorded a video for her sister, the plane began to shake.
“I had wine in hand because I thought it would be more or less turbulence and to show my sister that I had overcome my fear. Everything flew back then,” said Diana.
She says they were fair 30 seconds of turbulence that occurred 2 hours after takeoff. However, since lunch was still served on the plane, food was all over the floor (see picture below). O g1 try to contact TAAG, the company responsible for the flight.
1 of 2 Food being thrown on the ground after turbulence on flight to Portugal — Photo: Personal Archive Food being thrown on the ground after turbulence on flight to Portugal — Photo: Personal Archive
Diana compares the experience to amusement park rides that give the audience the feeling of free fall. According to the Portuguese press, 10 people were slightly injured by the turbulence.
In addition, other passengers required oxygen. “There was a lot of screaming and a lot of desperate people,” he said.
Diana stated that after the episode there were 5 hours left to complete the flight. “You worry it won’t happen again. It was still shaking, but nothing compared to what happened,” he said.
What is turbulence?
2 of 2 Seat belt sign — Photo: 4Photos Seat belt sign — Photo: 4Photos
According to the National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC), turbulence is “the erratic movement of airflow that can cause an aircraft to wobble in flight.”
In other words, turbulence in aviation occurs when the plane “rocks” as it flies through a zone where the airflow is less stable.
Turbulence is classified in ANAC as mild, moderate, severe or extreme. In the vast majority of cases, these phenomena are mild and moderate in severity and do not cause major problems.
At strong turbulence, the plane climbs and descends at greater speed. The situation requires more skill from the pilot, as there may be a temporary loss of control of the aircraft and the possibility of damage to the aircraft structure. Even so, Pilots are trained for such situations.
To avoid this type of turbulence, pilots keep an eye on areas where storms or other atmospheric phenomena occur. Still, there is turbulence in clear skies that is, ones that aren’t as predictable.
Regardless of the intensity of the turbulence, the greatest risk is that a person on the plane will be injured by the plane’s abrupt movement. Therefore, it is very important that passengers are always buckled when seated and that they obey the signs..
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