I have just returned from UK 3 weeks ago.

Flew back on Qantas VH-OJE via Bankok.

After leaving Bankok and whilst over the Sth China Sea we had severe turbulence, (well the worst I have ever witnessed) It came without warning and lasted for about 5 minutes, but Damn was it scary....at one point the plane dived about 2-300ft in a matter of seconds.

Tell me about your 'Turbulent' experiences !

Skipp...

The old south china sea hey Skipp....

Been there too bud !

Probably the same section, it must be that tropical weather or something, our turbulence lasted for about 15 minutes and there was shit flying around the cabin and basically complete mayhem.

This is a pretty cool topic really, I can just imagine some of the stories out there, especially in the US because they have extreme weather over there at times. Mind you, the Yankee's have some awesome pilots so I s'pose their used to it.

Ciao....

My worst turbulence experience was flying from Honolulu to Los Angeles, we were bumping all over the place, at one point the plane dropped probably about 100 feet then climbed back up again the wings on the plane were bending like crazy. On my most recent trip to Hawaii there was some real bad turbulence about halfway between Houston and Honolulu probably right off the coast of California. We dont really get that much turbulence here, usually there is a few bumpy times but it is barely noticable.

Well, I was once on a flight from MCO to SJU (Orlando to San Juan, PR) on vacation. That week there was a strong frontal boundry existing not too far past Cuba. After about 30-45 mins in the air (not sure, I was half-napping), just as meal service was finishing, the captain flicked on the "Fasten Seat Belts" sign and said (over the loudspeaker) that were was going to be "quite a bit of turbulence". Boy, was he ever not kidding, several first class passangers lost their coffee (one in his lap) and us coach riders we wearing our cereal rather than eating it. I shudder to think at how bad it could've been if we hadn't been in an Airbus A-300-600.

Two of my worst expeiences were also around the South China Sea...

The worst one was about 11 months ago, I was going from BKK-YYZ (CP 8) and we were descending into Hong Kong. I don't know how much the drop/rise was, but it's the worse in memory. The same song played every time there was turbulence on my way to YYZ... 

Another one was in 1991, flying BKK-TPE (CI, my only 747SP ride). Same turbulent descent, except that I was airsick.  

Very early in my life I also became airsick on this military plane flying out of TPE... let's just say it was very yucky for fellow passengers 

The south china sea is very prone to clear air turbulence. Someone I am sure will be able to give a detailed explanation of this, but I think it basically involve pockets of low air pressure. So low that the air cannot support the aircraft in flight - so the plane drops.

BA had a BNE-SIN flight ditch 4,000 ft just before arriving in SIN. Becasue the pilots cannot see these pockets, there is no warning - I'll wait for a pilot to correct me!. On this particular occasion there were several borken legs/arms on board.

On a KUL- BKK flight onboard Malaysia Airlines MH782 onbord on A330 , just after the meals had been put on everyone's seatback tables , just out of the blue the plane's tail rose strongly twice ( with the F/As still doing the drink services ) and then dropped for around 5 seconds. I just came back from the toilet and injured my head on the window.

Several passengers or crews were treated for minor injuries , few passengers recieved minor burns from hot drinks , while some passengers knocked themselves around the cabin , an F/A fell right onto the passengers, scary flight


a photo....

My worst has to be an Ansett Australia Airbus A320 flight... I'm not bitching about Ansett, but all the flight attendants said was " It'll be alright luv, nothing ta worry about"
And the plane shook around in a thunderstorm over Brisbane... The plane felt weightless against the storm and we were blowing all over the place... Then on landing, the wing tipped, and I swear that it was atleast a foot till touching the ground!!!!
We landed with a bang!!!!

Qantas 747

Hello!!!
I also, as adam84, it was during a flight between Honolulu and Los Angeles.
FLight happened well, but suddenly, the plane dived and went back up, but everybody shouted. Taht continued during almost one hour. Drawers in luggage opened, people fell in paths.
When one arrived in California, doctors waited in front of the gate to see if there were wounded persons. It's the bigest turbulences that I had
bye bye
greetings

Do I ever consider myself lucky then !!!!!!!

I have had nothing like any of you have described......the worst was a 30 second period flying from YVR to YYC on WestJet, and if I hadn't had my seat belt on I would have risen up about 1 foot from my seat. There where peanuts everywhere !!! Sort of like driving over a rutted country road in an old pickup truck with worn out shock absorbers.

My worse turbulence experience is when we were level at about 36,000 feet, on Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt, Germany, to Chicago O'Hare. We were on an A340 over the middle of the Atlantic, when we hit terrible turbulence, there was a big bump, and the lights went out for a few seconds, we lost at least 400 feet, and the turbulence lasted for about 3 minutes. But besides that, I really enjoyed the flight.  

  Continental  

Last year returning from LHR-JFK on VS25 an A340-300, we had bad turblence for 4 of the 7 hours. Over the atlantic the plane did no stop shaking. The captain said that we were passing over many hurricanes, when he told the crew o be seated i knew we were in for it. I was stting in front of a jump seat, where a very pretty f/a was pale faced and shaking. I knew it was bad when the movies/lights were turned off, all we could see was lightning and the open sea....I was very scared.....upon landing... the main landing gear caught on fire, and there was smoke in the cabin,that was the icing......i love virgin anyway, but wow what a flight......

I was aboard an American MD-80 approaching DFW when we hit a couple of small bumps and then a large bump that would have knocked me around pretty badly had I not been seated. There were many more pretty good bumps, the 'plane was blown around pretty badly and we had to go around and make another pass at the airport. Of course, DFW is notorious for having severe windshear warnings.

To make matters worse, it was my first time flying!!!
-AerLingus

Eastern Express flight in 1989, we landed in a TORNADO WARNING! We had no other choice but to try to land at JAX (turboprop hop from PBI) or go back to where we came from, because the thunderstorms were surrounding us.
Thus I was afraid of flying for ten years...
Finally am over that now, but I can remember all the people on board getting sick around me. My mouth was more busy reciting the Lord's Prayer 1000 times in the worst fifteen minutes I've ever flown.

Northwest Airlines DC-9-51 back on June 28th 1994 from MSP to EWR. We flew through severe thunderstorms that produced several tornadoes in NW New Jersey. I didnt need experiencing this, the "cowboy" flying the thing had some real guts taking that airplane through what would have qualified as a "weather divert" to a different airport in USAF regulations (Grin). I literally saw the fuselage bending and flexing! I kid you not, the wings were bedinging up and down at what seemed to be an incredible angle. I literally was convinced that this was my last day alive and the guy behind me said I turned -sheet white-. It ranked as the scariest experience I ever had aloft. I felt it was unecessary though and I did make a few phone calls to NW's operations department at MSP afterward. I was really pissed that this crew took such risks I believed. An Air Force C-141 Starlifter crew would never have done such a stunt, it really appeared NW was trying to keep ahead of schedule that day. No apology or anything afterwards. Just a really curt "We are 10 minutes ahead of schedule!..Welcome to Newark!" comment that truly torqued me off after what I went thru along with the other passengers. I really thought we "bought it" that day. I was returning home from Guam of all places, changed planes at HNL, SFO and MSP that day. (DC-10 to 757-to DC-9-51)

I swore off NWA for 4 years after that. They really 'spooked me out' after that experience approaching EWR. I gave them another chance in 1998, flying them to Taipei in 1998. Return flight via Tokyo-Narita was an experience in inflight cabin crew attitudes I thought was only approachable on Soviet-era Aeroflot! (Grin) "Zit down yoo zcumbag!..yoo hindrance too me!" attitude. Compare that to the pre-departure "Ken, Biff and Barbie" hi-jinks watching the FA's cattily preen themselves in the terminal prior to departure..Wow!..I almost had to walk to the concourse men's room to regurgitate..as in -vomit-. (LOL)

I'm not sure I'll return to flying them though from that trip onwards, I really got pampered on several Asian carriers since, dont need the "attit-turd" mentality I saw on NWA. (LOL)

Regards
MAC

The worst turbulence I have ever expierenced was on board a US Airways 767 in preperation for landing in Miami. It was a very hot afternoon and the massive clouds were gathering over the everglades to deliver the days normal heavy down pour. As the flight attendents were picking up any last cups and garbage, the pilots were busy maneuvering around the clouds. Everything was normal a few bumps here and there, but out of no where we hit turbulance that rocked that 767 to the extreame. It was only about 2 minutes or so, but it seemed as if I was in one of those airplane crash movies that would never end. The flight attendent a few rows up from mine went flying into the overhead bins and landed in the isle. The cabin was full of screaming as the very large man next to me grabbed onto my arm in total fear. I took a glance out the window and saw those big wings flapping like a bird. The wings then banked sharply to the right and I could see the swamp below. I was totally stunned, and actually thought we wern't going to make it. As fast as it started it ended and the pilots gave it full power to gain some altitude we had lost. I don't know how much we lost but I if we were not landing many people would have been seriously hurt by not wearing their seatbelts.

Oh by the way, the flight attendent was okay. On the return flight to Charlotte a week later I got the same plane and she was onboard. She had a band-aid on her forehead. I talked to her for a few minutes about our expierence and she said that in all her years of flying she had never seen anything like that. I love flying, but for the first time I was actually gripping the arm rest as we were landing once again in simular weather in Charlotte. All went well that time, but I will never forget the landing in Miami. YIKES!