As we look back at the past year, 精东影业 examines the most turbulent flight routes of 2023 where passengers have experienced that familiar shaky feeling.

The phenomenon of turbulence: why does it feel like the plane is falling?

The main reason why turbulence provokes so much anxiety among passengers is the complexity of the phenomenon. There is no simple way to define turbulence, which causes the plane to shake and even lose altitude, as it is subject to several factors and often unpredictable.

During the flight, the air is constantly generating turbulence as it moves across the atmosphere. The unpleasant shaking occurs when due to various weather irregularities, the , which is passing over and under the aircraft wings, creates low-pressure areas or so-called air pockets.鈥�

Due to the somatogravic illusion, which makes the human brain interpret a deceleration as the plane pitching down, when the plane meets with such airflow, it can create the sensation that the jet is falling.

However, the altitude change barely reaches several meters.

What causes turbulence?

Every pilot knows that there are four main ways that turbulence is created: mechanical, thermal, frontal, and wind shear.鈥�

Mechanical turbulence

According to the US National Weather Service (), mechanical turbulence occurs when the plane is flying over mountains or other large structures on the ground. In such cases, the aircraft passes through pockets of rising and falling air called eddies.

These eddies are not visible on the plane radars, so it is a challenge for pilots to determine the margins of the turbulence zone in advance and correct the route on the ground.

The stronger the wind speed, the rougher the terrain and the more unstable the air, the greater the turbulence will be.

Thermal turbulence

Thermal turbulence occurs when columns of heated air rise from warmer surfaces of the earth. The small rising parcels of warm air produced by the uneven heating from the earth’s surface generate convective cells. When the plane passes through the area where warm air rises and colder air sinks, these air circulations lead to bumpy flight conditions.

Frontal turbulence

Frontal turbulence is caused by the abrupt wind shift between warm and cold air masses. According to the NWS, fast-moving cold fronts are the most severe in this type of turbulence.

Wind shear

Wind shear occurs in certain atmospheric conditions, when the wind changes its direction or speed over a specific horizontal or vertical distance. According to the NWS, quite severe turbulence can be expected when the change in wind speed and direction is pronounced.

How is turbulence measured?

Depending on the intensity, turbulence can be divided into four types: light, moderate, severe, and extreme.

Light and moderate levels of turbulence usually do not have a significant impact on the flight or passenger well-being. However, in the event of severe or extreme turbulence, the aircraft could experience sudden sharp changes in altitude or even a loss of aircraft controls.鈥�

While strong turbulence is rare, it occurs when pilots are unable to redirect the plane from a patch of bad weather and it crosses an area of thunderstorms or thunderclouds.

The turbulence of each flight can be calculated over a plane精东影业 trajectory traveling from point A to point B at a constant heading, speed, and altitude.

The Eddy Dissipation Rate (EDR) is a common universal measure of turbulence, which is used to describe the intensity of the turbulent state of the atmosphere.

Turbulence levels are considered light when the intensity varies between 0 and 20 EDR or moderate when it stands between 20 and 40 EDR. It is considered severe or even extreme when it reaches up to 80 EDR or up to 100 EDR, respectively.

What were the most turbulent routes of 2023?

Since unexpected bumps, drops, shaking, and rumbles mid-flight can be concerning, it might be beneficial for passengers to be aware of which flight routes are most likely to be turbulent.

Having analyzed a total of 150,000 routes worldwide, experts at , an online 鈥渢urbulence forecast tool for the curious or fearful flyer鈥�, have recently released a list of the most turbulent flight routes in 2023.

According to the domestic route connecting the Italian city Milan (MXP) to Switzerland’s Zurich (ZRH) is one of the 10 most turbulent flights.

turbli data suggests that the average turbulence level between Milan (MXP) and Zurich (ZRH) stood at 16.016 EDR in 2023, meaning that air travelers have frequently experienced light turbulence on board. The MXP-ZRH route also covers the shortest distance in this list of the shakiest flights.

Based on the number of turbulent routes, analysts positioned China as the world精东影业 most turbulent region for the year.

Three other Chinese flight routes also boasted a high risk of losing balance or gaining an injury when moving around the aircraft cabin due to turbulence. An example would be a flight between Xianyang (XIY) and Chongqing (CKG), which was listed as one of the most frequently turbulent routes with average turbulence levels reaching 16.041 EDR.鈥�

The list of most turbulent flight routes also included the Xianyang (XIY) – Chengdu (CTU) flight with light bumps of 16.25 EDR, the Osaka (KIX) – Sendai (SDJ) route with 16.307 EDR, and the Lanzhou (LHW) – Xianyang (XIY) flight with 16.337 EDR, as well as the flight between Milan (MXP) and Geneva (GVA), which recorded a of 16.398 EDR.鈥� Fourth was the flight between the Centrair (NGO) and Sendai (SDJ), with a 16.579 EDR.

The three most turbulent flight routes of 2023

3. Lanzhou (LHW) – Chengdu (CTU)

The flight between China精东影业 largest city the Chinese province of Gansu, Lanzhou (LHW), and the capital city of the Chinese province of Sichuan, Chengdu (CTU) was identified as the third most turbulent passenger route in 2023.鈥�

Regularly served by the country精东影业 flag carrier China Eastern, it usually takes up to 1 hour and 30 minutes for travelers to reach their destination, according to Flightradar24.com .

This journey is 2nd longest on our list and can be a little stressful for people onboard since the route精东影业 turbulence level is rated at 16.75 EDR.

2. Almaty (ALA) – Bishkek (FRU)

The Almaty (ALA) – Bishkek (FRU) service transports passengers from Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city, to the capital of Kyrgyzstan.

Air Astana, the flag carrier of Kazakhstan, takes to facilitate the transfer of travelers.

Air pockets, causing turbulence with an EDR of 17.457, were a common occurrence for passengers covering the 210 kilometers (130 miles) distance between the two cities.

1. Santiago (SCL) – Santa Cruz (VVI)

According to turbli精东影业 2023 ranking, sudden and unexpected plane movements were most frequently observed on an international direct flight between鈥疭antiago (SCL) in Chile and Santa Cruz (VVI) in Bolivia.

Operated by the Santiago-based air carrier LATAM, the two-hour flight was rated at 17.568 EDR.鈥�

However, while the flight route is considered the bumpiest in the world, passengers will still only experience light turbulence on board.

Fasten your seatbelt!

Regardless of the intensity of the experience, turbulence is more of an inconvenience rather than a threat to safety, especially when passengers follow instruction given by the flight crew.

So, don鈥檛 forget to fasten your seat belt when you fly in 2024.

Footage reportedly taken on board the China Eastern Airbus A330-300 showed the aircraft rattling uncontrollably as the Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) bound flight was forced to divert to Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport (XMN).聽

Flight MU721 left HKG December 3, 2023, shortly after 8:30 am local time and was due to land at its destination around six hours later. 

Passengers reportedly heard a loud bang and subsequent photos shared on social media showed one of the plane精东影业 Rolls Royce engines with two badly damaged blades.聽

Ent茫o, Rolls Royce? Uma p谩 do andar de fan do motor Trent 772 partiu-se, provocou danos nas p谩s adjacentes e fez um buraco na carenagem. Pilotos do A330 da China Eastern controlaram bem a enorme vibra莽茫o que se seguiu e aterraram em seguran莽a. Isto n茫o devia acontecer, 茅 perigoso

— Jos茅 Correia Guedes (@cpt340)

A second photo showed another part of the aircraft精东影业 exterior with a small tear where presumably one of the blades struck.  

It is understood that the Airbus A330 suffered engine failure, which in turn caused the aircraft to shake violently. 

A passenger aboard the flight filmed from inside the aircraft and showed the cabin rattling uncontrollably聽as passengers held onto the seats in front of them. 聽

China Eastern Airlines flight MU721, from Shanghai Hongqiao to Hong Kong, Airbus A330-300 (B-8970) experienced sudden vibrations inside cabin due to suspected engine failure. Originally scheduled to land at Hong Kong International Airport at 10:50 am, has been diverted to Xiamen鈥�

— Eliteworld (@eliteworldwaves)

The Airbus, registered B-8970, is a seven-year-old plane. No injuries to passengers or crew have so far been reported. 

The passengers were subsequently placed on another flight that landed in Xiamen later that day.聽

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byMiquel Ros

December 1, 2023

The ACCC said in a that Qantas and China Eastern are seeking authorization for an Extended Joint Coordination Agreement to enable the two airlines to coordinate passenger and cargo transport operations between Australia and China until the end of March 2024.

However, the commission has said that an agreement between two key competitors may breach competition laws. The ACCC also argued that it can only authorize agreements if the public benefits from the coordination outweigh the harm to competition.

China Eastern is currently the only airline flying direct between Sydney International Airport (SYD) and Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG), with Qantas planning to resume flights in late October 2023.

鈥淎t this stage we are not satisfied that the likely harm to competition from Qantas and China Eastern精东影业 proposed coordination would be outweighed by any potential benefits,鈥� ACCC commissioner Anna Brakey said in a statement.

鈥淲e are concerned that the authorization would provide Qantas and China Eastern with the opportunity and incentive to increase prices, compared to what they would charge absent the alliance, by limiting or delaying the introduction of additional capacity on the Sydney-Shanghai route as passenger demand continues to grow,鈥� Brakey added.

The ACCC predicts that demand for air travel between Australia and China is likely to keep growing between now and the end of March 2024, as Chinese tour groups return, and in the wake of Tourism Australia’s recent campaign in China promoting Australia.

鈥淎ny additional services on routes other than Sydney- Shanghai could potentially be a public benefit but we are not satisfied they are likely to eventuate between now and March 2024,鈥� Brakey said.

In March 2023, the ACCC granted interim authorization to enable Qantas and China Eastern to continue their partnership while the ACCC assessed their substantive application for reauthorization. 

The ACCC has said that it is seeking submissions in response to the draft determination by October 6, 2023, before making its final decision.

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The narrow-body passenger jet, operated by China Eastern, departed Shanghai shortly after 9am on August 2, 2023, and arrived at TFU around two hours later at 11.10am.  

The aircraft, registered B-919C, is the second of the five C919 that will be delivered to China Eastern.聽

The second air worthy C919 was delivered to China Eastern Airlines on July 16, 2023, at Hongqiao International Airport. 

The final assembly of the aircraft was completed in February 2023 and the production flight test was completed in June 2023.   

鈥淎fter entering the delivery stage, the pick-up team of cooperated closely with the delivery team of COMAC to meticulously complete all the work such as aircraft appearance inspection, ground test, delivery test flight, bureau inspection, and document handover,鈥� the manufacturer noted in a statement on July 16, 2023.聽聽聽

The first COMAC C919, also operated by China Eastern, has been flying on the same identical route that the B-919C is scheduled for since May 29, 2023.聽聽

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• Airlines

byRytis Beresnevicius

August 1, 2023

A photo posted by China Aviation Review on September 29, 2022, showed a photograph of a ceremony with a certificate being handed over. There was no official confirmation from the manufacturer or the country精东影业 civil aviation regulator, the CAAC. 

BREAKING: Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) issued Type Certificate to COMAC C919.

鈥� ChinaAviationReview (@ChinaAvReview)

A Reuters report said it had been widely expected that the aircraft would be certified by the end of September after two C919s flew to Beijing on September 13, 2022.  

The C919精东影业 launch customer is China Eastern Airlines (CIAH) (CEA), which has said it expects to take delivery of one jet in 2022 and a further four in 2023.  

The C919 was initially supposed to enter commercial service in 2016, but it was delayed multiple times due to technical difficulties and supply issues.   

The C919 has a range of 4,075 to 5,555 kilometers and can carry up to 168 passengers. According to data from COMAC, 815 C919 provisional orders have been obtained from 28 customers.   

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• Civil Aviation

byVyte Klisauskaite

September 1, 2022

Within the space of a few hours, China Southern, China Eastern and Air China announced orders for a combined 292 A320 Family aircraft. 

China Southern placed an order for 96 A320neo aircraft, worth over $12 billion at list prices, China Eastern signed for 100 A320neos worth $13 billion, while Air China ordered 64 A320neos for itself plus 32 for unit Shenzhen Airlines.  

Airbus said in its own statement that the orders demonstrate 鈥渢he positive recovery momentum and prosperous outlook for the Chinese aviation market.鈥� 

鈥淭hese new orders demonstrate the strong confidence in Airbus from our customers,鈥� commented Christian Scherer, Airbus Chief Commercial Officer and Head of International. 鈥淲e commend the excellent work by George Xu and the entire Airbus China team as well as our customers鈥� teams for having brought to conclusion these long and extensive discussions that have taken place throughout the difficult COVID pandemic.鈥� 

The orders come as a major win for Airbus against rival Boeing, which is still waiting for Chinese authorities to approve the Boeing 737 MAX精东影业 return to service. China精东影业 regulator grounded Boeing精东影业 latest narrowbody jet in March 2019 after the two fatal Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines crashes.  

Adding to Boeing woes in the country was a report that China Southern had removed over 100 737 MAX aircraft from its near-term delivery schedule.  

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Airbus said that as per the May 2022, over 130 customers have ordered over 8,000 A320neo family aircraft. The manufacturer has delivered more than 2,200 A320neo family aircraft since it entered into service six years ago.  

The orders come as Asia slowly recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic. Traffic recovery in the region is lagging behind other parts of the world due to tougher travel restrictions, notably in China. In April 2022, domestic traffic in China was 80% down compared to 2021, according to IATA figures.  

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 China Southern said the new aircraft will increase its capacity by 13%. China Eastern also intends to use the new aircraft to replace older planes and boost its capacity. Air China said the new aircraft will boost its capacity by around 10% and lower its operating costs.  

China Southern and China Eastern精东影业 A320neos will be delivered between 2024 and 2027, while Air China精东影业 new Airbus aircraft will arrive between 2023 and 2027 and those for Shenzhen will be delivered from 2024 to 2026.  

Citing people familiar with US officials鈥� preliminary assessment of the incident, the that initial findings suggest that the aircraft was  deliberately put into a fatal nosedive.

Disturbing news – If Sources with Wall Street Journal (WSJ) are true,the Data recovered from black box of crashed China Eastern Airlines B737-800 flight suggests that someone in the cockpit intentionally forced the controls, that pushed the plane into the fatal dive.

鈥� FL360aero (@fl360aero)

The China Eastern Boeing 737-800 jetliner was flying to Guangzhou from Kunming on March 21, 2022, when it suddenly dropped from its cruising altitude of 29,000 feet and impacted terrain, killing all 132 passengers and crew. 

US officials involved in the investigation have focused on the actions of a pilot, though they are not discounting the possibility of someone else breaking into the flight deck and causing the crash, the WSJ reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

鈥淭he plane did what it was told to do by someone in the cockpit,鈥� a person who is familiar with US officials鈥� preliminary assessment told the WSJ. The assessment included an analysis of information extracted from the aircraft精东影业 damaged flight-data recorder.

If these initial reports are correct, it suggests that the crash was not caused by a mechanical problem with the Boeing-made aircraft. Boeing shares closed up 6.5% on May 17, 2022 after the WSJ report came out.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have not immediately responded to media queries and have not yet released official statements regarding the findings.

The WSJ said the Civil Aviation Administration of China had not responded to its requests for comment. China Eastern repeated a statement made in March that the pilots were in good health and financial status and referred to a previous statement made in April by the Chinese government regarding the status of the investigation. 

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April 3, 2022

 

On May 14, 2022, the C919, registered as B-001J, took off from Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) and landed after three hours of flight. During the test flight, pilots and engineers conducted all required tests and said that the aircraft was in good condition, according to COMAC. 

COMAC also added that the preparations for the first C919 delivery are 鈥減rogressing in an orderly manner鈥�. However, the exact delivery date was not specified. 

The first C919 will be delivered to launch customer China Eastern Airlines (CIAH) (CEA). In March 2021, the Shanghai-based carrier signed a purchase contract with COMAC to acquire five C919 jets. 

In an interview with state-controlled media outlet The Paper in January 2022, COMAC精东影业 deputy general manager Wu Yongliang revealed that China精东影业 COMAC C919 aircraft deliveries are expected to start in 2022. Previously, COMAC had aimed for C919 local certification in 2021.  

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• Civil Aviation

byVyte Klisauskaite

January 20, 2022

The C919 aircraft is a narrowbody developed by Chinese aircraft manufacturer COMAC. The first C919 was rolled out in 2015. The C919 was initially supposed to enter commercial service in 2016, but it was delayed multiple times due to technical difficulties and supply issues. 

The narrowbody, destined to compete against the Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 MAX, made its first test flight in 2017. A total of six C919s have conducted test flights since 2019. After 14 years of development, COMAC aims for local certification of the aircraft in 2022.  

The C919 has a range of 4,075 to 5,555 kilometers, and a capability to accommodate up to 168 passengers. Currently, a total of 815 C919 provisional orders have been obtained from 28 customers, COMAC data shows.   

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) detailed some of the findings of the preliminary report in a statement on its website on April 20, 2022.  

However, with the black boxes sustaining severe damage, work is still continuing to recover the contents and analyze the data, the CAAC said. As per international air accident investigation protocols, preliminary reports are typically published within 30 days of an incident or accident. 

According to the preliminary report, the flight and cabin crew were fully qualified and there were no maintenance faults. The aircraft was not carrying any dangerous cargo, there were no severe weather conditions and the navigation and monitoring equipment involved in the flight was normal.  

The statement also said radio communications between the crew and air traffic control were normal, with the last call occurring at 14:16 local time. 

The Boeing 737-800 aircraft, registered B-1791, was flying from Kunming to Guangzhou with 132 passengers on board on March 21, 2022, when it plunged from its cruising altitude at about 14:20 local time.   

China Eastern B737 crashes in Guangxi mountains with聽132 onboard

• Aviation Safety

by精东影业 Team

March 21, 2022

The aircraft精东影业 final speed was 1010 kilometers per hour when it crashed in the Guangxi mountains in southern China, killing all 132 onboard.  

It took authorities several days after the crash to recover the aircraft精东影业 flight data and cockpit voice recorder. The main impact caused a crater 2.7 meters deep, the CAAC said with major parts of the aircraft, including the horizontal stabilizer, vertical tail, rudder, engines, wings, fuselage parts, landing gear and cockpit parts, being found at the scene. 

China Eastern grounded its fleet of Boeing 737-800 aircraft after the crash for checks but returned them to service within a month.  

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• Civil Aviation

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April 19, 2022

As part of an emergency safety measure, China Eastern previously grounded a total of 233 Boeing 737-800s. The airline conducted system tests, structural inspections and verified airworthiness data for each aircraft before resuming passenger operations.  

On March 21, 2022, a Boeing 737-800 aircraft registered B-1791, carrying out flight MU5735 from Kunming to Guangzhou with 132 passengers on board, crashed in the Guangxi mountains, in southern China. 

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March 21, 2022

It took two days after the incident for Chinese recovery crews to find the cockpit voice recorder. The second black box, the flight data recorder, was found on March 27, 2022. According to the Civil Aviation Authority of China (CAAC), the exterior of both black boxes was severely damaged. 

On April 1, 2022, a group of seven investigators and technical advisers representing the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) joined Chinese authorities to investigate the China Eastern Boeing 737-800 crash. Boeing also said that it will continue to support China Eastern, and that a technical team of the aircraft manufacturer is supporting the NTSB and the CAAC in its investigations. 

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According to Xinhua, a preliminary investigation report is expected to be completed within 30 days of the accident. 

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