They'll probably never forget this flight from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to Srinagar, India. Although this kind of turbulence can be very scary, it's usually harmless.
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Panic onboard
Ten minutes before landing, the IndiGo plane was rocked by very strong turbulence. Violent tremors made several elderly people lose their balance, according to the Mirror. In one of the videos filmed by people on board the aircraft, which you can see at the top of the article, you can hear screams, crying, and prayers.
Generalized panic confirmed by one of the passengers on board:
Some were seen loudly praying and amongst them, women cried when the plane shook heavily. Many recited verses from the Holy Quran.
The tremors lasted two minutes, and despite the crew's efforts to calm them, passengers were not reassured until the plane landed. The landing went well and the plane landed safely at Srinagar airport. The airline confirmed the turbulence in a statement, specifying that the crew had the situation under control.
An irrational fear
Turbulence is often to blame for this type of occurrence, like on the Seoul-Dallas flight a few years ago or, more recently, on the Pristina-Basel flight. However, turbulence is quite natural and doesn't mean the plane will crash or have an accident. As this American pilot explained, the main issue is that passengers don't know enough about turbulence and associate it with impending disaster.
And even though turbulence can be quite scary and cause you to panic, you'll have to get used to it! There will very likely be a sharp increase in turbulence as a result of global warming. Yikes...
