This picture from a NASA study on wingtip vortices qualitatively illustrates the wake turbulence. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Most travelers hear and use the term air pockets when referring to air turbulence while flying. While it has become the norm for describing the drop or rising feeling in the plane, the term is not used correctly.

To understand turbulence you must first understand how air reacts to ground temperatures. The ground temperature can fluctuate by farm fields that have been plowed, unimproved land, lakes, cities, and much more. Because all of these different types of terrain effect the temperature of the air differently, they can lead to turbulence. This turbulence is more like air moving downward or upward as opposed to a pocket of air. We all know that warm air rises because it is less dense than cold air. Therefore, when a plane encounters this warm draft, it is normal for it to move upward or downward depending on how it encounters the draft. This often results in the feeling of falling from the sky when the plane normally has less than a 20ft change in altitude.

There are actually no “pockets” present in the air. An air pocket in the sky would be like a water pocket in a lake… not possible. Many pilots use this analogy to help travelers understand: If you make a cube of jello with a small plane in the middle you can see much of how a real plane reacts to turbulence.  With the small plane in the jello you can shake the jello very violently and the plane will also shake around but it can not possibly fall out of the jello. Likewise, a real plane can not just fall out of the sky, instead a bumpy ride while passing through the air drafts is what we feel in the plane.

So next time you have a while knuckle turbulence experience, you can rest assured your plane will not fall from the sky.