Turbulence Forecast

Turbulence cannot cause a plane to fall. Air that is moving up and down causes up and down movement as the plane flies through. Up and down movement is limited, usually to an inch or less, The small amount of movement up and down is magnified by the speed of the plane, by awareness that the plane is high up, and by fear of falling. Pilots, because they know the facts and because they have complete control, simply cannot understand why passengers have any concern at all about turbulence.

Turbulence is a problem for the passenger whose strategy it is to keep flying out of mind. The anxiety-prone person seeks relief through control of situations and physical escape in case control fails. Flying allows neither. Thus the anxious flier tries to escape psychologically by keeping the flight out of awareness and keeping the mind occupied. This strategy fails during takeoff when acceleration intrudes into awareness and during turbulence when up and down movements intrude into awareness. Takeoff is brief, and over with. Turbulence, potentially, could continue and get worse. Even when there is not, there is anticipatory anxiety that it will develop. This strategy cannot bring relief. The SOAR Program can bring relief. It does so by increasing emotional strength and by training the mind to not react to turbulence.