How can a flight attendant does not know what a turbulence is?
From one of the opening scenes of "The Hunt for the Red October" (emphasis mine):
I can never sleep on a plane. Turbulence.
Pardon?
Turbulence... Solar radiation heats the Earth's crust, warm air rises, cold airs descends. Turbulence. I don't like that.
How can a passenger explain what turbulence is to a flight attendant? Shouldn't this be exactly opposite? For me its like explaining to a soldier on a war mission how a hand grenade works and that you have to pull a trigger and throw grenade away. What am I missing in here?
Best Answer
I just re-watched the scene and it's not clear why the flight attendant said "Pardon".
Her expression does not look particularly quizzical such as her not understanding what turbulence...it's more like "why is turbulence relevant to the issue of sleep".
Certainly a flight attendant would not need an explanation of what turbulence is so the scene is actually one of exposition.
The point of the scene is to show that Ryan is, if not afraid of flying, then not the greatest fan. We find out the reason later.
Greer told me about him. Three weeks after he was commissioned, he was in a chopper on a rescue mission in the Med. They went down. Bad. Pilot and crew killed instantly. That kid spent eight months in traction with a broken back, and two years learning to walk again.
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How do they know where turbulence is?
In some cases, they actually may hear warning over the radio from a plane that's ahead of them. More often, they rely upon pilot reports \u2014 PIREPS, in aviation lingo \u2014 that are made to air traffic control, which then relays the information to whomever is flying into an area with turbulence.Are flight attendants scared of turbulence?
\u201cTurbulence doesn't scare me, but unruly passengers do,\u201d she admits. \u201cYou never know what someone is capable of doing, and there's no calling the cops or the fire department at 30,000 feet. It's just us and them.\u201d Whatever the flight attendant is scared of, you'll never know it.What do flight attendants say when there is turbulence?
\u201cLadies and gentlemen, the Captain has turned on the fasten seat belt sign. We are now crossing a zone of turbulence. Please return your seats and keep your seat belts fastened. Thank you.\u201dCan pilots detect turbulence?
Pilots know when it's going to happen.In many cases, pilots know of turbulent conditions ahead and can turn on the seatbelt sign as the plane approaches it. Pilots are also aided by pre-flight weather reports, cockpit radar, and reports from other planes in the area.What Is Turbulence? A Pilot Explains How It Happens, Even in Clear Skies | WSJ
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