Thomas Carney, a professor of aviation technology, appeared in a United Airlines video series to explain what turbulence is and how it affects air travel. "Big Metal Bird," United's educational series, provides a "plane and simple" behind-the-scenes look at the airline's operations and global network.
After Katie Nolan, a host of the series, noted that Carney's 48 years of flight experience qualify him as an aviation expert, Carney explained that winds in adjacent areas of the atmosphere travel at different speeds and create turbulence, or eddies which airline passengers feel.
The episode described the differences between clear air, wake turbulence, convective, and mountain wave turbulence and showed how United dispatchers, planners, and flight crews work together to help flights avoid choppy skies as much as possible. Nolan also experienced turbulence in a flight simulator.
Watch Carney's appearance on YouTube or below.