Can a 747 crash due to turbulence in mid-flight?

Answer 1

Could it happen? If it were severe enough.

Odds of that happening? Very, very, very, very slim!

A few airliners have been damaged structurally by severe turbulence, like a JAL aircraft that had an angine break away-

http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19930331-0&lang=en

but the fuselage is built to such a strength to withstand loads many times over what any aircraft would normally encounter aloft.


Here is a list of turbulence AND crosswind related accidents.

http://aviation-safety.net/database/dblist.php?Event=WXT

Most fatal accidents occured during close maneuvering with the ground and were the result of operating in weather that was far worse than simply turbulent air. Usually, turbulence related accidents/incidents are from passengers being thrown about in the cabin and sustaining serious injuries. There have been a few flights where this has happened and the person later died.

"From 1992 to 2001, there were 4,326 weather accidents that occurred in the United States. Of these 4,326 accidents, 509 were cited as turbulence weather events. (Not all accidents resulted in a crash.) Nearly 23 percent of these turbulence-related accidents resulted in fatal injuries to the occupants of the aircraft. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) cited downdraft as the cause or factor most often in the general aviation accidents. Clear air turbulence was cited most often in the air carrier accidents."

from the report "Review of Turbulence Related Accidents in the USA 1992-2000" found here- http://www.nasdac.faa.gov/aviation_studies/turbulence_study/turbulence_study_new.pdf

Answer 2

Yes. In rare and extreme circumstances turbulence could damage an airliner like a 747 past the design limit load which could cause structural deformation and or destruction.

An example can be found in the accident report of BOAC Flight 911 on March 5 1966. The 707 departed Tokyo and flew close to Mt. Fuji on an extremely turbulent day. The gust load on the tail exceeded the design limit of the tail structure and the aircraft tail sheared off which began a long in flight break up sequence. Fortunately the conditions encountered that fateful day are very rare.

Answer 3

You would be surprised to see how strong the wings of a commercial airliner are. If you had watched the documentary in the Discovery Channel about the Boeing 777 being the Airliner of the 21st Century, you would have noticed how much stress the wings could take during the development stage. In fact, on a Boeing 747, the wings at the tip can flex as much as 57 feet from the original level position! Yes, it is possible for the wings to be torn off on ground due to collision or a crash, but the thought of a wing being torn
off in flight is very unlikely. The airplane design engineers have to comply with very stringent FAA Regulations on wing construction. So there is no fear as to the wings tearing off in flight at any time!

Weather planes that deliberately fly into turbulence for scientific purposes would certainly encounter very rough and bumpy flight but they are specially configured to do so. Properly handled, it is not possible for the airplane to tip over. In fact, on a Boeing 777, it is not possible in normal flight control mode for the airplane to bank more that 35 degrees before it tries to correct itself again automatically.

There was once a commercial big jet that actually went into a spiral dive, where at some stage, it was almost inverted. However, the Captain was able to recover the airplane from the unstable condition and landed safely. On ground inspection, it was found that many of the flight controls surfaces were overstressed and badly buckled.

Answer 4

The question was, "CAN a 747 crash due to turbulence in mid-flight?" (Emphasis mine)

Then answer is "YES." Aircraft are built to withstand aerodynamic forces in the expected flight regime, plus an additional margin of safety. Onboard equipment along with air traffic control guidance, pilot reports and crew experience are there to keep the aircraft away from situations that are beyond it's design limitations.

Where could it happen? Inside a mature thunderstorm. Severe updrafts and downdrafts inside a thunderstorm can be strong enough to exceed the design limits of an aircraft. In addition, thunderstorms contain severe hail that can damage or destroy critical aircraft systems such as radar or flight controls. Smaller aircraft are of course more likely to sustain severe or fatal damage, but any aircraft would be in danger if the storm is big enough.

Check out the details of the crash of a Pan Am 727 in Kenner, LA on July 9, 1982. Smaller aircraft, but the idea is the same. In this case, the aircraft encountered the downdrafts from a thunderstorm and had insufficient power and control force to keep the aircraft flying.

Answer 5

Perusing the NTSB reports for 747 mishaps uncovered 301 occurrences of fatal, nonfatal, or incidents. None crashed because of turbulence, but in all turbulence related reports crew and passengers were injured. Only 3 planes suffered minor damage of a non specified nature, but one in Alaska had an engine separate due to turbulence.
The most common cause of aircraft damage? Colliding with other aircraft or equipment on the ground.
Just because none of the encounters with turbulence resulted in a crash doesn't mean that it is not possible.

Answer 6

Zenon, I have once flown in thunderstorm with a L-1011, which is definitely a big plane, and it got seriously damaged by the turbulence. The pilot actually declared an emergency and the whole plane was really not far from falling into tiny bits. Next morning we were in the papers. The plane had to turn back and the next day a lot of people chose to take the train for the 1800 mile trip because they were scared to sit on another airplane.

It is extremely unlikely that turbulence would take a big jet apart, but no, it is not impossible.

Answer 7

sure. In uncommon and extreme situations turbulence ought to wreck an airliner like a 747 previous the layout cut back load that ought to reason structural deformation and or destruction. An occasion could be discovered interior the twist of fate checklist of BOAC Flight 911 on March 5 1966. The 707 departed Tokyo and flew near to Mt. Fuji on an exceptionally turbulent day. The gust load on the tail exceeded the layout cut back of the tail shape and the plane tail sheared off which began a protracted in flight spoil up sequence. luckily the situations encountered that fateful day are very uncommon.

Answer 8

It would take a considerable amount of turbulence, but it could happen. Most commonly, turbulence accidents occur while taking off or landing. This is because the plane is close to the ground, allowing no margin of error. A wind shear at this point can push the plane out of the sky.

Answer 9

It would have to be some pretty significant turbulence combined with some sort of mechanical or structural problem. Those planes are built to withstand some pretty significant stresses. I think if the planes could be brought down by turbulence we would see crashes on a fairly regular basis.

Answer 10

No way, there is no way that turbulence gonna be the cause of plane crash. Pilots get pre warning thru the nevigation that how difficult the turbulence is going to be ahead so they can prepare themselves in advance, this is the reason during crossing the turbulence they either bring the plane to higher altitude or lower or if there is no way then they go thru that with more speed so they can cross it quickly, thou there is minor chance that if pilot loss the balance due turbulence shakes the craft harder. Normally all the planes are free from the effect of the turbulence. it cannot give you a serious harm but only (Wind-crossing) while landing can put you in trouble.