Flight Mode | The Fancy Tech Pilots Use to Keep Your Flight Turbulence-Free

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[Announcer] You know when the pilot asks you

to keep your seatbelt on whenever you're seated?

It's good advice.

Turbulence is the number one cause

of non-fatal air injuries.

Every year, 58 people are hurt across the United States

when the air suddenly turns violent.

A NASA study estimates turbulence costs airlines

at least $100 million a year

in injuries, plane damage, and delays.

And it's only going to get worse.

Studies show that climate change

will increase turbulence across the Atlantic.

But there is new technology that can help.

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Airlines have teams of meteorologists

monitoring conditions across the globe.

Until recently, pilots would have been briefed

on the weather before their flight,

and then lugged that with the rest of their paperwork

onto the plane in a briefcase weighing about 40 pounds.

We used to carry quite a few manuals on the airplane

for procedures or different things that we needed

as we were flying around the world.

We digitized all that and we have that right here.

[Announcer] Having a tablet that brings in data

in real time is critical,

because on a 17 hour flight to, say, South Africa,

a lot can change.

The most exciting thing that I have right now is,

Delta developed this Delta Flight Weather Viewer,

and this provides us with live turbulence forecasts

and observations.

[Announcer] Accelerometers

and pitch, roll, and yaw sensors installed on the planes

measure bumps on a regular basis

and report it back to the ground.

Being online allows pilots

to receive turbulence reports instantly,

so that others in the air are warned.

It's kind of like Google Maps or Waze, but for the skies.

You see an overlay of forecast turbulence

that's color coded

along with this legend here on the top.

But then I can also tap on any one of these observations

and I can get detailed information

of that specific observation.

[Announcer] Tablets are just the start, though,

this concept from Thales demonstrates a future

where the whole cockpit is a touchscreen, Tesla style.

Named Avionics 2020, this is a flight deck

that can be personalized and reconfigured

to suit each airline.

It looks far fetched,

but the French aerospace supplier says

it's technology that could be made flight ready

within years.

Because if we're in the back of the plane,

using the in flight wifi to stay connected with the world,

shouldn't the pilots be, too?

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