Recently, on a 14 hour trip over the pacific, for the first time in abt 12 years I experienced pretty bad turbulance. For me it was an extremely terrifing because i m the kind of person that gets very afraid of the worst possible situation as soon as something small goes wrong...anyways, how does everyone else deal with turbulance?

I turn up Selena really loud on my Walkman. Calms me everytime

I will probably be roundly castigated on this one, but I love turbulence! Like a roller coaster in the sky. Calm flights are boring boring boring.

Of course, it always helps if the turbulence doesn't come in the middle of sipping my drink!

As the old saying goes: It's not flying you are afriad of; It's crashing.

Oh, didn't you know that turbulence only happens in coach class? You must be flying on the wrong airline! I agree its the fear of the crash...grip the seat tightly, grit your teeth, say a little prayer, look around wondering why nobody else seems to be getting upset...all of these come to mind.

You feel the plane drop. Then you think the plane is hitting some potholes in the sky. The "FASTEN SEATBELT" sign lights up. Drinks on the seatback trays start to spill.... WHEEEEEEEEEEEEE IT'S TURBULENCE !!

I work at the National Center for Atmospheric Research and am involved with the development of radar-based remote sensing of turbulence.

Mid-flight turbulence poses the greatest danger to the flight crew and those passengers not wearing their lap belts. Although, people have been fatally injured by sudden extreme movements of commercial aircraft, the likelihood that such an encounter could bring a modern passenger plane down is remote. The greatest danger is when the aircraft is near the ground. An unexpected 100 ft drop is one thing if you are flying at 35,000 ft, and something altogether different if you are 50 ft off the ground on approach.

The higher the altitude, the greater the margin of safety for unexpected motion induced by turbulence. Once you are well off the ground, there is no reason to be uptight about turbulence, provided that you wear your lap belt so you don't hit the ceiling during an encounter with severe turbulence.

What is the depth of the average bump in a high altitude? Is it 100ft? Yikes, I thought it was alot smaller than that, sort of like a speed bump.

I am certain this is a rational, scientific, and totally common-sense approach..but, I suspect, you wrote it while you were on the ground and not bouncing around in the air!

I liked turbulence much better before I read smueller's explanation. Killjoy!

I think Turbulances are great because they get people to the hospital faster.

For me, it's turbulence during take-off and before gaining full altitude (you know, when the plane is still tilted upwards) that makes me white-knuckle the seat. Don't know why - it just does. Fuhchi, I took a trip over the Pacific (SFO to Narita) twelve years ago which put me off flying for a long time. It was a beautiful sunny day, we first flew steadily north,then we took a left turn just past Mendocino, and the sky turned totally BLACK. It stayed that way, with unbelievably prolonged periods of severe turbulence, for the next 9 hours or so.
Years later, I can look back on that flight and say to myself that I survived, and nothing can be scare me that badly again. Don't let one bad experience stop you.

Hi fuchchi,
When I encounter turbulence I am invariably in the bathroom - it never fails. The "return to your seat" light comes on at the most inopportune time! Actually, when there is turbulence I just remind myself that no ride in the car is comepletely smooth either. A small pothole can seem like a big bump and it's the same way in an airplane. Just a few potholes in the sky.

I never cease to be amazed at how downing a few stiff Bloody Marys before boarding always ensures a smooth flight.

well, I had only experienced turbulance at a high altitude, I am a wee bit terrified of turbulance while going up...any other suggestions on calming things..

capo ... LOL

fuchchi, I too hate turbulence! I imagine all the nuts and bolts in the airplane popping out one by one, the wing is ready to fall off, the tail, the door will pop open and we will all be sucked out or the plane will just plummet. ( I hope this did not frighten you more
I just hang on to my husband (who usually sleeps through it) and wait it out~
I have been flying since I was a wee baby and during plenty of turbulence and I am still here to talk about it. So while it is not the most fun for those of us who dislike Roller Coasters, it seems to be something most of us live through~

fuchchi, we did not mean to tease (at least too much)! How about if you simply closed your eyes, tried not to clench your fists too tightly, and concentrated on simply taking deep, even breaths. Perhaps that will help. And think about the wonderful destination that awaits you at your arrival.

I go to sleep.

I hate turbulence, especially at take off and landing. To me we defy all rules of nature by flying in the first place. When turbulence hits I don't get worried unless the flight crew seems nervous. So far they never have.

To turn a phrase,

If you can"t take the turbulence, don"t get on the plane!