How long does turbulence last?

Question

I'm extremely paranoid and i have the fear of flying. I just took a flight that lasted for 1 hr 15 mins and i felt like dying. I kept counting down every single second. I am very prone to panic attacks and i cannot imagine taking flights that last 10 hours. Help needed and to ask how long does turbulence last?

Answer 1

From a few seconds to a few minutes, depends.

Answer 2

Looking at the turbulence reports for today, they stretch from Chicago all the way down to Texas in front of a cold front and very strong jetstream.  So if you were traveling that direction, it could be a bumpy flight the whole way.  If you are going directly east to west or west to east, it appears the turbulence would only last several minutes.

A few things you should keep in mind while you are flying and I hope they help you...

1. While turbulence can be very uncomfortable in most situations you are in no real danger.  What feels like you are "falling" several hundred feet us usually only a few foot fluctuation.  12 out of 35,000 barely registers on the aircraft instruments.

2. Try and bring a portable movie player or something else to help distract you while you are flying.  You can even talk to your doctor about giving you medicine to relax you before you fly.

3. Understand where your best chance for turbulence is and try and avoid it.  While you will not have the data in front of you to avoid a strong jetstream in the winter or thunderstorms in the summer, the biggest way you can avoid it (especially in the summertime) is to fly early in the morning when the cooler temperatures and less daytime heating will at least minimze thermal turbulence and most thunderstorm activity.

4. Lastly, realize that you are not crazy and certainly not alone.  Many, many people are scared or nervous about turbulence.  Next time you get on a flight, ask the Flight Attendant to visit the cockpit during the boarding process.  Most times they will let you.  Talk to the pilots and let them know you don't like turbulence.  It may make you feel better to know someone up there is aware of your concerns.

Hang in there... Ian

Answer 3

That's like asking "how high is up?"  Turbulence is intermittent, and is caused by the overall condition of the atmosphere.  It can rock your piano all day and all night, or stop after sunset, or whatever it wants to do.

My recommendation to you is to take a train.  If you need to go overseas, get a cabin on a large, heavily loaded cargo ship.  You can look that up on the internet.  It's lots of fun.

Good luck!

Answer 4

depends....mostly less than 10 mins

Answer 5

IT depends.  Sometimes the a/c can climb or descend below it, sometimes not depending on traffic.  Pilots won't fly in continuous severe turbulence, but mild chop is okay, it just spills drinks.  I'd work with a professional to de-sensitize yourself before attempting a long flight, as you can't guarntee a turbulence free flight.

Answer 6

Turbulence lasts as long as it lasts—there isn't any specific time limit.

Turbulence occurs when an aircraft passes from an area where the wind is moving in one direction to an area where it is moving in another direction.  Since the aircraft is flying within the air mass, if the air mass changes direction, so does the aircraft.  The movement is usually slight, but it feels dramatic sometimes.

When aircraft move between areas with significantly different winds, sometimes the transition area between them has a lot of variable air movement where the two different air masses rub against each other.  This can also cause turbulence.  

Both types persist for however long it takes to get from one zone of moving air to another, usually no more than a few minutes, but sometimes longer.  Areas with bad weather can have many zones of different air movement and so one might move frequently from one area of turbulence to another.

The actual movements of turbulence are not very great, often only inches or perhaps a foot or two.  However, the aircraft is moving at very high speed, so the movements are sudden.  It's like driving a car over a hilly road: if you drive slowly, you don't notice the up and down movement very much, but if you drive quickly, it feels like a roller coaster, even if the hills are not very high.

Answer 7

Turbulence is like bumps on the road or waves in the ocean. No plane has ever crashed due to turbulence.