What causes air turbulence and is it dangerous for modern jet aircraft?

Answer 1

air turbulance is caused by currents of air of different density and temperature, and by the eddies and whirlpool that are the result of currents meeting.

Air turbulance is an inescapable feature of the atmosphere.

All aircraft fly because they are pulled aloft by their wings. The entire weight of the aircraft can be sustained by the wings themselves, and these wings flex and bend as they accept load and stress -- if they didn't flex, they would be too rigid and would snap, eventually.

Modern jet aircraft are desiged to flex and jiggle in response to changes in load, speed and air currents. So air turbulance is rarely dangerous for modern jet aircraft.

On very unusual occasions, sudden downdrafts hitting a jet aircraft as it is landing (such as a landing approach in a violent thunderstorm) can "swat" one of these planes out of the sky, but pilots and air traffic controllers know this and are alert to such conditions.

Answer 2

Air turbulence is pretty much the atmospheric equivalent of
water turbulence - caused by air being heated or cooled unevenly.

There are lots of reasons for uneven heating - clouds, different
color land surfaces (white bounces light and heat, dark absorbs it).

Yes, sufficiently nasty turbulence can rip the wings off an airplane.

However, there is a huge amount of reliable technology out there
to prevent airplanes from straying into areas with such high
turbulence (called SIGMETs for Significant Meterological
conditions). The most notable are anvil clouds sitting on top of
lightning storms where you can get a vertical lift of thousands of
feet per second followed by a similarly precipitous drop.

If you want to worry about turbulence, worry about windshear on
landing - this is when the wind changes direction while the airplane
is going its slowest. If a strong head wind just dies, the airplane will
just fall to the ground until the pilot can compensate by increasing
air speed.

However, this is what pilots do for a living. It is their training.

If a pilot feels that she is entering conditions that she isn't trained
to fly in, she can always say "Nope." No airline will ever try to
force a pilot to operate beyond her skillset.

OK class, say it with me: You are safer in a commercial airline than
you are in your own car

Answer 3

Air turbulence is caused by wind, or by heat riseing from the earth. servere turbulence is associated with thunderstorms which may pose a danger to aircraft. Clear air turbulence rairly is severe enough to damage an airplane but can give a rough ride.

Answer 4

Warm air rises and provides lift for aircraft. A cold air pocket means less lift, and as the aircraft rides the boundary between the warm and cool air, there's turbulence.

Substantial turbulance would be a worrisome thing for the aircraft, but it would have to be substantial.

Answer 5

It is similar to the waves in the ocean. I have read aircraft are tested under the most extreme conditions of turbulence and while many people will be sich, it is next to impossible to cause the people inside the aircraft much harm.

Answer 6

turbulence is air pockets in the sky. imagine like, if ur up in the air, and the air is traveling over the wings in an aerodynamic fashion. if the wings hit a spot inthe sky where there is no wind or air to go over the wings, the plane momentarily drops. it isnt really dangerous, unless ur dropping vertically, and then the plane because of velocity and momentum has the ability to split in two.

Answer 7

Updrafts, downdrafts, and wind shear (all caused by weather systems). Also, air flowing over mountains, etc...

Very dangerous at times. Microbursts near thunderstorms can slam a jet into the ground.

Answer 8

The change in temperature. Should the turbulence become too strong, it could tear a small plane apart.

Answer 9

cool air falling, hot air rising.

No it is not dangerous, aircraft are over engineered, pilots are well trained.

Answer 10

Air pockets. It's not dangerous.