Fear of flying is all too common, but it’s typically unfounded. Your chances of being in an accident are astronomical, but if you went through what the passengers of American Airlines flight 280 went through, it would be hard to blame you for avoiding airports for at least a few months.
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On Wednesday, The Washington Post shared a video captured during an extremely turbulent flight which was diverted to Tokyo earlier this week. The flight was originally scheduled to make its way from South Korea to Dallas, Texas, but a huge storm over the Pacific Ocean was in the flight path.
Ron Baker, a commercial pilot, says that the airplane was never in any real danger, but several passengers were injured once the turbulence began to pick up.
“The storm is powered by an absolutely rip-roaring jet stream, that was charging along at up to 235 mph at 30,000 feet at the time of the flight incident,” wrote Jason Samenow for WP on Tuesday. “The winds, along with changes in the wind speed with altitude or shear, no doubt contributed to the turbulence that injured the passengers.”
If you already have an aversion to flying, it’s probably worth checking out some less terrifying posts on BGR, but for the rest of you — you’ll finally know why they ask you to fasten your seat belts.
