The dangers of "clear-air turbulence" are on full view today after a terrifying, and deadly, incident that saw a Singapore Airlines plane drop about 1800 metres mid-air.
A British grandfather en route to Australia for a holiday died of a suspected heart attack during the incident, while dozens of other passengers were injured.
Some on board said people struck their heads as the plane dropped, leaving them with bleeding gashes.
Eight Australians so far are confirmed to be in hospital in Bangkok, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has confirmed.
While turbulence-related fatalities are quite rare, injuries have piled up over the years.
Some meteorologists and aviation analysts note that reports of turbulence encounters also have been increasing and point to the potential impacts that climate change may have on flying conditions.
Most incidents of planes hitting bumpy air are minor, however, and airlines have made steady improvements to reduce accident rates from turbulence over time.
Aviation expert Geoff Thomas told Today there had been just three deaths from turbulence in 20 years, but that incidents of severe turbulence had increased by 55 per cent in that same period.
The major issue was not with storm turbulence, which the relatively recently developed multi-scan radar could track from a distance, but with clear-air turbulence.
Clear-air turbulence happens most often in or near the high-altitude rivers of air called jet streams.
The culprit is wind shear, which is when two huge air masses close to each other move at different speeds.
If the difference in speed is big enough, the atmosphere can't handle the strain, and it breaks into turbulent patterns like eddies in water.
Thomas told Today that data sharing between airlines was increasing as they sought to cut down on turbulence incidents.
"What the airlines are doing now are under the under the auspices of the International Air Transport Association, is they're sharing data with each other far more robustly, and so, you know, usually when you look at the Flight Radar 24, you'll see all these aircraft following each other, on air routes around the world," he said.
"Now, the slightest upset or a problem with turbulence, the aircraft following will be advised of that.
"And so there's a there's a great deal more of sharing of information on which should hopefully minimise the number of these impacts."
Now-standardised safety procedures have significantly helped prevent more cases of serious injuries over the years.
They include reviewing weather forecasts, having pilots report when they encounter turbulence and suspending cabin service when planes hit rough air.
But clear-air turbulence "is altogether another animal," according to Doug Moss, a former airline pilot and safety consultant.
It can be devastating, he said, "because the time before the incident can be very calm, and people are caught off-guard."
Air traffic controllers will warn pilots after another plane runs into clear-air turbulence, Moss said.
Many pilots also look at the upper-level jet streams along their route for signs of wind shear, then plan to fly above, below or around those areas, he said.
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Modern planes are strong enough to handle just about any turbulence.
Cabin areas such as overhead bins may receive cosmetic damage, "but these don't impact the structural integrity of the planes," Moss said.
Australian and International Pilots Association vice president Mark Hofmeyer said pilots have a weather radar to inform their decisions.
"If we view that the weather ahead of us is dangerous, we will go around it," Hofmeyer said.
"But, as I said, that's to do with a convective or thunderstorm situation.
"But sometimes you can have a jet stream that is clear, you can't see it.
"Sometimes we get forecasts, but sometimes they're not as accurate as they could be, which is why you have to take a conservative approach."
Thomas Guinn, of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in the US, said some predict climate change could alter the jet stream and up the wind shear, which would consequently drive up turbulence in the air.
In a statement, Paul Williams, a professor of atmospheric science at the University of Reading in England, said there was "strong evidence that turbulence is increasing because of climate change."
Still, others say other factors could also be at play, including an overall increase in air traffic.
Turbulence can be tricky to predict, but experts stress that the first line of defence in the air is keeping the seat belt fastened, whenever possible.
"Planes are generally built to withstand turbulence," Guinn said, noting that passengers not wearing their seat belts is a large source of injuries from in-flight turbulence. While no precaution is foolproof, wearing a seat belt greatly increases an individual's chances of avoiding serious injuries, he said.
"Wear your seat belt," Guinn said.
"That's just a really quick fix to prevent injury."
- Reported with Associated Press
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