For people who are nervous about flying, the initial take off and landing are the most terrifying moments of their voyage. Once the seatbelt warning light goes off and the plane levels out for the primary leg of the trip, most people then relax and treat the trip like any other sort of travel. However, there is an all too common hazard for passengers that occurs all too frequently and without warning. Unexpected pockets of powerful turbulence can cause grave injury without proper warning and advisement from the pilot.
On the 21st of July, 2010, United Airlines Flight 967 went through a large patch of turbulence which sent any passenger or flight attendant not securely fastened into their seat flying upwards, with some of the unfortunate victims slamming on to the ceiling before dropping back down on top of other passengers. Upwards of 30 people were taken off the plane due to injuries, one of which left in critical condition. The most disturbing thing about this story, however, is that this is not a rare incident. As of July, this is the third case of violent turbulence injuring passengers and crew this year for United Airlines alone. See: Aviation accident Lawyer This is an all too real threat that needs to be dealt with promptly.
The most difficult thing about this situation is how little passengers can prepare themselves for a possible violent episode of turbulence. Without any warning from those with the technology to detect such air events there is a little that a passenger can do except always remain fastened in with their seatbelts, but on an extensive flight that could last upwards of 8 to 16 hours, this becomes a very arduous thing to do. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the pilots to give proper advisement if they think that there may be even a slight pocket of turbulence in the near future and if this is not covered properly, you may have a case against the airline. An accident attorney that specializes in airline injuries can assess the accident and subsequently help you in such a case.
Recently
The world’s largest pilot union rebuked the federal agency handling the investigation of Saturday’s passenger jet crash in San Francisco, saying it had released too much information too quickly, which could lead to wrong conclusions and compromise safety.
Asiana Airlines, based in South Korea, has said the pilot at the controls, Lee Kang-kuk, was still training on Boeing 777 jets and his supervisor was making his first flight as a trainer. Lee had 43 hours of experience flying the long-range jet, the airline said.
This is very reminiscent of an incident in Although there was a large fire in that crash, all 309 passengers and crew on the Airbus A340 managed to get off.
Without ignoring the casualty figures from the San Francisco incident, it shows that aircraft crashes like this are proving to be survivable incidents provided there is adequate crew training and an awareness of passengers to know what to do when there is an emergency.
And those key things: Know where your exit is, know to leave your belongings behind and exit the plane quickly and orderly because that is the way planes are designed.
The B777 aircraft is built so that everybody can get off the plane within 90 seconds even if half the doors are inoperable.
And they work on that basis because as you can see in the Asiana incident, one side of the aircraft is a lot more damaged than the other — and appears to be the main area of the fire — so you wouldn’t want to open the doors on that side.
Say what you wish about U.S. carriers, but do realize that U.S. airline profits are, in great years, between 3 and 6 percent. U.S. airlines made an average of $4 per passenger last year and have been net money-losers for three decades. In fact, only in the past couple years — the worst for passengers in terms of fees — have they begun to show consistent profit.
So, again, you may have dozens of legitimate complaints about U.S. carriers, but the idea that Asian airlines are conceding profits, when they are in fact far more profitable than U.S. airlines, is just factually wrong.
Also, I’d love to know where you’re finding great deals on Asian carriers. They tend to charge more, especially in premium cabins, because of their strong reputations for quality.
One might even argue that their good service contributes to their profitability
