Flying is not an optional experience for me. But it has been a very common means of long distance travel as our daughter Hiya is pursuing her education in Bangaluru and frequently we visit her there. Every time we go to meet her or back home from there, we get on an aeroplane because flying for 3 hours is a lot better than travelling for 3 days in a train.
It was just yesterday, we took the Air India Flight from Bangaluru to Guwahati to cover an aerial distance of about 2500 km. Moments after the take off, our flight reached a height of about 7,000 feet from the ground. I was looking out through the window. There were only clouds below us. The ground was not visible anymore because some fluffy white clouds were appearing just like a blanket below the aircraft. They looked so good and comfortable. I was enjoying it to the fullest.
Many people complain about the motion sickness in an aeroplane. I never have experienced any such problems during my flights. Motion sickness is often caused by the abrupt jostling of the aircraft due to turbulence. The repeated motion and continued stimulation of the inner ear disturb the sense of balance and equilibrium of many flyers. Once I saw a person experiencing air sickness and he even vomited during the flight.
Our Air India flight was almost smooth till then. Suddenly I saw that the weather changed at that altitude and our flight was passing through some dense and dark clouds. Our plane started shaking moderately. The plane continued to shake up and down, side to side for about 2 or 3 minutes and suddenly an abrupt jostling dropped our plane into the air in such a way that the plane probably dropped by not less than 5 to 6 metre in just a fraction of a second !! We all experienced the zero "g" feelings in the flight. All the passengers in the flight were uttering in fear. It was felt like our aircraft would crash. During the turbulence it was felt like the plane was losing control and it was going to fall apart.
I too felt totally helpless as if we were going to crash soon. The voice of the pilot came over : "We are having turbulence due to bad weather. Please fasten your seatbelt and stay calm. Thank you !" But who cares this message from the pilot ! Everyone in the plane were nervous, scared and uttering. I was digging my nails into the armrest and clawing at it firmly. Perhaps, my eyes were closed. My experience definitely had me clutching the armrests of my seat. It was really crumby and I never had experienced such a violent turbulence in my life before.
The pilots were skillful and quickly they lifted the aircraft upward. But the plane continued to jolt again and again. Finally the turbulence reduced but the flight was pretty bumpy for the next half an hour or so. All these terrible up and down jolting of the aircraft finally became stable and we landed safely at Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport, Guwahati.
After the safe landing at Guwahati, I started thinking that for human, flying is not a natural thing. We are not birds. If we have to fly like birds, we will have to face the reality of a flight. We must learn to fly with a turbulence. However, I must thank all the skillful pilots who always fly in air. Much respect for you.
