The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has released a new video demonstrating exactly what can happen to passengers during extreme turbulence.

The video, produced in partnership with the National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) has been released on the heels of a TSB-led investigation into a 2015 Air Canada flight (AC088) from Shanghai to Toronto, where 21 people were injured after the aircraft hit a violent patch of turbulence.

Although the animation itself does not represent any specific aircraft, it was designed to replicate the acceleration forces detailed by AC088’s flight data recorder. The animation features yellow-shirted passengers (not wearing their seatbelts) and more safety-conscious green-shirted travellers.

Let’s just say things don’t go well for the yellow shirts who choose to ignore the “fasten your seatbelt warning.”

While it’s easy to think “it could never happen to me,” the video demonstrates just how quickly things can go wrong. And the 21 injured passengers on flight AC0888 bear real-life testimony to just that fact.

The Boeing 777 departed Shanghai, China at 1123 on December 30, 2015 with the intended destination of Toronto, Canada.  About 5 hours into the flight, the crew received a severe turbulence warning for an area over the southern coastal mountains of Alaska.

About half an hour before entering the area of turbulence, the first officer asked the flight crew to be seated and told passengers that in-flight service would be suspended. Announcements were made in English, French and Mandarin asking passengers to fasten their seat belts. Numerous passengers did not heed the safety belt warning and were unprepared when the flight entered the area of turbulence.

Of the 21 injured passengers, most received strains, sprains, scrapes and bruises, although one was seriously injured. First aid was provided onboard the aircraft and the flight was also diverted to Calgary, Alberta.

The TSB investigation found that the flight crew's efforts to secure the cabin helped prevent a potentially significant numbers of injuries as well as helping avoid potential damage to the aircraft.

The investigation also found that while training materials given to pilots and dispatchers contained information on clear weather turbulence, it did nor provide enough details on alternate scenarios, such as when jet streams cross mountainous terrain. Air Canada has since updated its guidance for flight crews in avoiding turbulence. 

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