In-Flight Turbulence is the Leading Cause of Injury to Airline Passengers
If we learned one thing while researching this list it’s “never underestimate the power of turbulence.” While turbulence isn’t likely to cause your flight to crash or to precipitate another fatal disaster, it can and does cause numerous problems for passenger aviation.
While air travel is about as safe as it gets, there are things that can cause injuries to passengers—dear old turbulence being chief among them. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, every year as many as 58 people in the US are injured due to in-flight turbulence, making it the lead cause of nonlethal injuries in aviation. The good news is that the cabin of the plane is designed to keep you safe. Over head compartments made such that they won’t open when the plane is bouncing around. Interior edges are rounded off to lessen the likelihood of an injury if you do start bouncing around. And above all, the seats and seatbelts are engineered to keep you securely in place no matter what wicked turbulence hits the aircraft.
This all presupposes that you were smart enough to listen to the highly trained professionals on the cabin crew when they told you how and when to buckle up. They’re only looking out for you, so maybe next time meet them halfway.