TikTok user @_youmia went viral recently for her actions while on board a plane. She had screamed in terror as the plane experienced some turbulence.
Responding to those mocking and questioning what she called a “panic attack”, the passenger claimed that she was one of the many injured in the severe turbulence that hit SQ321 in Nov 2024.
Source: @_youmia on TikTok
Like many others, the event had left her traumatised and with a fear of flying.
Behind the scenes, however, the aviation industry has taken steps to ensure safety in the skies — from pilot to crew training. Meanwhile, accident statistics also remain low.
Here’s why you shouldn’t fret while gearing up for your next trip abroad.
For frequent fliers, especially pilots and cabin crew, turbulence is a part and parcel of air travel.
The bumpiness passengers feel is the natural effect of a plane experiencing sudden changes in wind speed and direction.
You may feel it more if the flight route passes through mountain ranges, or if the plane is traversing a storm.
Source: Altino Dantas on Unsplash
Though turbulence can feel frightening, pilots train intensively to handle such rough conditions.
The path to becoming a commercial pilot takes years, and their experience with turbulence begins early in their training — as private pilots operating unpressurised aircraft.
In such aircraft, which can only fly at lower altitudes, these individuals often have to fly through weather, said Mr Leithen Francis, managing director of aviation public relations firm Francis & Low.
“That means that all pilots have to deal with turbulence very early in their career,” he added.
Source: California Aeronautical University
Later on in their training, instructors will test pilots in simulators, where they navigate situations such as turbulence and inclement weather.
Speaking to MS News, managing director of consultancy firm Aviation Insight, Mr Michael Daniel, said that training programs even put pilots through extreme, but possible, scenarios such as clear-air turbulence — a sudden, invisible air movement in clear skies.
And when they have the green light to fly, navigating real-world cases should come as second nature.
Source: ATR aircraft
Even after becoming certified commercial pilots, individuals must maintain a high standard. Mr Francis added that airlines monitor pilots via onboard flight data monitoring systems.
“Airlines take the data at the end of each flight, and are able to analyse it,” he explained.
“If a pilot has done something that’s outside of what they should have done, then the airlines can decide if the pilot needs to go through further training.”
Through this constant monitoring and optimisation, airlines expect pilots to maintain a high level of adherence to proper procedures.
“Pilots have to be concerned about turbulence; they should take every flight seriously,” added Mr Daniel.
Modern weather radars and turbulence awareness applications also help pilots to make the right call when it comes to avoiding hazardous turbulence.
“The pilot’s role is to monitor for turbulence. If there’s turbulent activity identified, the pilot can decide to change the altitude or the direction of the aircraft,” said Mr Francis.
Source: Seeing Machines
In Singapore, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) has worked to promote the use of enhanced turbulence forecasting and onboard turbulence detection systems.
Singapore Airlines and Scoot are also a part of the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) Turbulence Aware platform, which allows pilots to share real-time turbulence data.
They join 23 other airlines, including British Airways, Cathay, Emirates, and Qatar Airways, in the initiative.
In 2025, airline operators in Singapore reportedly added turbulence-related scenarios to flight crew training.
Pilots and crew aside, passengers can also have faith in the very machine they are riding.
Commercial planes, by design, withstand significant stress and go through rigorous testing.
“Aircrafts are designed to fly through all types of weather,” said Mr Francis. “The only thing they would not be able to fly through is a typhoon.”
Some aircraft manufacturers even stress-test the plane’s wings to their maximum deflection angle, added Mr Daniel.
In other words, they test it until it breaks — all in the name of making sure that their breaking point is beyond the expected load level.
Source: Port of Seattle
What’s more, statistics suggest that flying remains one of the safest modes of transport.
In 2024, IATA reported one accident per 880,000 flights. Among the 40.6 million flights that year, there were only seven fatal accidents.
Though the statistics are encouraging, Mr Daniel warns against taking it for granted.
“Mathematically, it is fairly rare, statistically not common, to have a flight incident,” he said.
“But when it happens out of the clear blue, they have to be ready.”
Though tools are available to pilots for forecasting most types of turbulence, others, such as clear-air turbulence, pose a bigger issue.
This type of turbulence typically occurs suddenly, at high altitudes above 30,000 ft in clear skies.
Experts have noted that injuries typically result from clear-air turbulence, which is unpredictable.
Source: @_youmia on TikTok
In such cases, pilots do not have the time to activate the seatbelt sign. Cabin crew will also be unable to warn passengers to buckle in.
Mr Francis reminds passengers to keep their young children or babies secured.
“Drops in altitude can happen quite suddenly, and the smaller the person is, the more likely they are to go up into the air,” he explained.
However, no matter how old you are, it is a good habit to buckle up — even if the seatbelt sign is off.
After all, as the age-old saying goes, it is better to be safe than sorry.
Also read: SQ321 aircraft dropped 178 ft over 4.6 seconds, experienced ‘rapid G-force changes’: MOT
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Featured image adapted from Green Motion and @_youmia on TikTok.