What airlines can do about dangerous invisible turbulence

The death of a passenger on board a Singapore Airlines flight caught in extreme turbulence this week is a stark illustration of why the industry is racing to find new ways to counter the rising threat as the climate changes. Geoff Kitchen, a 73-year old British man, died after flight SQ321 hit turbulence at 37,000 feet over the Myanmar-Thai border, 10 hours into its flight between London Heathrow Airport and Singapore. Twenty people remained in intensive care on Thursday, with some requiring spinal operations, according to authorities in Bangkok, where the flight made an emergency landing. Such fatalities and serious injuries are rare, with aircraft designed to handle significant turbulence without structural damage. But as investigators were dispatched to Bangkok to begin a formal probe, airlines are facing up to the fact that turbulence, already the leading cause of non-fatal injuries in on-board accidents, is becoming more common and more severe as global warming affects weather patterns and the earth’s atmosphere. “At flight cruising levels of 35-40,000 feet, pretty much the entire planet is a turbulent zone . . . you cannot escape it,” said Paul Williams, a professor of atmospheric science at the University of Reading. There are two common types of turbulence, or sudden, sharp changes to air flow, in the atmosphere. Storms cause major changes in wind strength and air flow, and thunderstorms in particular can endanger aircraft. But these show up on weather radars, and can be avoided in flight. The other common type, “clear air turbulence”, is invisible and therefore seen as more dangerous. It does not show up on cockpit instruments and the only warnings are from aircraft that have already been through it. Story has more.<br/>