MUMBAI/KOCHI: There were two theories for the turbulence that shook an Emirates flight from Dubai to Kochi on Sunday. While Emirates officials said the aircraft encountered turbulence “due to cloud’’, aviation meteorologists said that the route did not have any thunderstorm clouds in the morning and the aircraft could have flown into an air pocket. What is clear though is that there surely was poor weather enroute.
“Aircraft flying that route were all asking for deviations to avoid a thunderstorm cloud. The Emirates aircraft also asked for a deviation when it was over the Arabian sea north-west of Mangalore. The flight was cleared to proceed to Calicut,’’ said an air traffic controller from Mangalore.
An aviation meteorology expert had a different take. “The upper air wind/temperature charts issued by World Area Forecast centre did not show any thunderstorm clouds on that route in the morning. But it showed a slight wind shear condition (winds changing speed and direction rapidly) off the coast of Mangalore. At 35,000 feet, the chart shows strong westerly wind with a speed of 60 kts dropping to 25-30 kts. It’s one of the indicators of clear air turbulence (CAT).’’
Unlike thunderstorm clouds, CAT cannot be detected on an aircraft’s airborne weather radar. But it can be predicted by studying upper wind charts with indicators such as wind shear. The Emirates aircraft may have encountered CAT. An aircraft can suddenly lose altitude and get bounced around when it enters CAT, the expert explained.
According to Emirates, the incident took place over the Bangalore airspace at 35,000 feet. “The aircraft encountered a weather cloud near Bangalore and experienced a short period of heavy turbulence. The drop in altitude was minor, a descent of 200 feet, and the aircraft landed safely,’’ said Majid Al Mualla, Emirates senior vice-president, commercial operations, west Asia and Indian Ocean. “The fasten-your-seatbelt sign was on prior to the period of turbulence,’’ an airline spokesperson said.
But a passenger disagreed. “There was no warning to wear the seatbelt. Even the air-hostesses ran around panic-stricken. There were shrieks all around. We breathed easy only when the plane regained it’s balance,’’ said Elsie, who works as a tailor in Kuwait and was returning home for a two-month vacation. “When the aircraft came down a few feet with a thud, a mother sitting in an opposite seat quickly tried to pick up her baby from a pram. But they both fell on to the aisle,’’ she added.
“Everything happened even before we could realise it. I thought we were going right into the sea below,’’ said Ibrahim, another passenger, adding that immediately after the rocking the passengers helped each other. “After a while, a crew member gave me some ice cubes to hold against a wound, but the bleeding wouldn’t stop. When the aircraft finally touched down safely, everyone clapped,’’ Elsie said
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Aircraft-encountered-turbulence-over-Bangalore/articleshow/5857479.cms
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