The president of the Sheremetyevo trade union of flight personnel Igor Gelduzhov answers
Why radars can not recognize a dangerous zone and whether it is possible to fly around a thunderstorm, "KP" said the president of the Sheremetyevo trade union of flight personnel Igor Gelduzhov
Recall that on May 1, when approaching Thailand, flight SU270 (Moscow - Bangkok) landed in the zone of "clear sky turbulence". The world's largest passenger plane was thrown up 180 meters, and then also sharply thrown down. There were 313 passengers on board. 27 of them sought medical help. 15 Russian citizens and two Thai citizens are now in a Bangkok hospital (one of them is a one-year-old child).
Can a plane as large as the Boeing 777 lose control and crash in turbulence?
- If only in a thunderstorm. And in a strong one. The plane may not withstand the load and break in half. But this is extremely rare. A gust of eddy winds is limited in size. And it cannot continue to the very ground. Therefore, sooner or later the plane finds itself in a quiet zone.
What other natural phenomena should the aircraft crew be afraid of?
- The worst thing for any pilot is a thunderstorm. Because it is with her that all threats are connected. And hail, and lightning, and turbulence, and icing of the hull. Etc. Therefore, during a severe thunderstorm, flights are delayed.
Is it possible to somehow fly around a thunderstorm?
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- Quite. The pilots request a detour in advance from the dispatcher, who says which side it is better to do it, right or left. If the sky is clear, then, alas, the turbulence zone is often not recognized. As it happened near Bangkok. Locators are determined by precipitation, clouds, moist air. And they were not. So they were silent.
How should passengers behave while passing the danger zone?
- The most important thing is to listen to the guides and do whatever they say. If you are sitting in a chair, be sure to buckle up. The crew members do not unfasten their seat belts, even if the flight is in ideal conditions. So the passengers should also. It happens that the commander turned off the information board. This means that the flight is completely normal, there are no threats. But all the same, I would advise you to buckle up. Passengers of the Moscow-Bangkok plane suffered only because they were not in their seats. But this, of course, would not have happened if they had been warned.
Boeing 777 is the largest passenger aircraft. These react poorly to turbulence. So, in the case of the Moscow-Bangkok flight, it was simply outrageous?
- I think yes. The overload was great. But the number of victims does not depend on this. The main question is whether the passengers are fastened or not. If so, then even with major shocks, the minimum number of passengers will suffer. If not, then in a zone of slight turbulence, dozens of people can break their noses.
Pavel KLOKOV