Why would a plane suddenly lose altitude?

Severe turbulence causes large and abrupt changes in altitude and/or attitude and, usually, large variations in indicated airspeed. The airplane may momentarily be out of control.



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The minimum safe altitude of a route is 19,000 feet MSL and the altimeter setting is reported between 29.92 and 29.43 “Hg, the lowest usable flight level will be 195, which is the flight level equivalent of 19,500 feet MSL (minimum altitude (TBL ENR 1.7-1) plus 500 feet).

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Airliners can descend over 8,000 feet per minutes if needed. A descent from 35,000 feet at that rate would have you down to 11,000 feet in 3 minutes or less. John Cox is a retired airline captain with US Airways and runs his own aviation safety consulting company, Safety Operating Systems.

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Pressurization problems and hypoxia have caused past aircraft crashes, including the one that killed golfer Payne Stewart and others in 1999.

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91.119 Minimum safe altitudes; general (b) Over congested areas – Over any congested area of a city, town, or settlement, or over any open-air assembly of persons, an altitude of 1,000 feet above the highest obstacle within a horizontal radius of 2,000 feet of the aircraft.

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According to USA Today, the common cruising altitude for most commercial airplanes is between 33,000 and 42,000 feet, or between about six and nearly eight miles above sea level. Typically, aircraft fly around 35,000 or 36,000 feet in the air.

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While pilots can't actually see turbulence, they often know what is coming up, thanks to reports from other planes, weather reports, and radar equipment. However, clear air turbulence (severe turbulence occurring in cloudless areas) can sometimes catch pilots off guard.

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Turbulence is a sudden and sometimes violent shift in airflow. Those irregular motions in the atmosphere create air currents that can cause passengers on an airplane to experience annoying bumps during a flight, or it can be severe enough to throw an airplane out of control. (The pilots) aren't scared at all.

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Routes with the most turbulence
  • New York to London. One of the most popular routes which experience turbulence is flying from New York to London (and also London to New York). ...
  • Seoul to Dallas. ...
  • Flying into certain airports near the equator. ...
  • Flying into Reno, Nevada. ...
  • London to South Africa.


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Should you be scared of turbulence? The short answer is no, and rest assured that the pilots know how uncomfortable turbulence can make passengers feel. And know that no aircraft has ever crashed because of turbulence. Turbulence has not caused an airplane to crash, Biddle said.

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At times like this, pilots will slow to a designated “turbulence penetration speed” to ensure high-speed buffet protection (don't ask) and prevent damage to the airframe. We can also request higher or lower altitudes, or ask for a revised routing.

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There are around 12.8 commercial planes crashes per year in the US. And, 28.3 commercial plane crashes per year globally. As per the officials, there is a commercial plane crash every 16.7 million flights. It means for every 1,000,000 flights, 0.06 planes crash.

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So in summary, the sinking feeling you get after takeoff is a result of your inner ear's response to the sudden change in acceleration and gravity as the plane leaves the ground. It's a completely normal sensation and nothing to be concerned about.

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Why do planes shake on take off? The shudder that many airline-type planes experience just after lift-off is usually caused by out-of-balance landing gear wheels still spinning after they have left the ground. Normal practice is to apply the wheel brakes at that point, then retract the gear.

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An altitude of 500 feet above the surface, except over open water or sparsely populated areas. In those cases, the aircraft may not be operated closer than 500 feet to any person, vessel, vehicle, or structure.

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