U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg speaks at a press conference at the White House in Washington, U.S., the day after the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore on March 27, 2024.
Elisabeth Franz | Reuters
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said climate change is one of the culprits behind increased flight turbulence.
“The reality is, climate change is already having an impact on our transportation,” Buttigieg said Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” He predicted the unrest will continue “to impact American travelers, whether In America or in America.” Or abroad. “
“We’ve seen everything from a statistically unlikely heat wave that threatens to melt cables to the Pacific Northwest’s transportation system to, as you mentioned, hurricane seasons becoming more and more extreme, and there are signs that Turbulence increased by about 15%,” he continued. “That means evaluating everything we can do.”
A study published last year in the journal Geophysical Research Letters found that clear-air turbulence (CAT) increased between 1979 and 2020, with “severe or larger” turbulence (the strongest category of CAT) increasing by 55% Frequent sightings over the North Atlantic during that time.
“Our climate is changing,” Buttigieg said. “Our policies, technology and infrastructure must evolve accordingly.”
His comments come as turbulence has wreaked havoc on many flights so far this year.
Twelve people were injured on Sunday when a Qatar Airways flight from Doha to Dublin encountered turbulence while flying over Turkey. Dublin Airport said in a statement that six passengers and six crew members were injured, eight of whom were assessed and taken to hospital. postal on X.
The airport said in a statement that the plane landed just before 1:00 pm local time and was greeted upon landing by emergency services, including airport police and fire and rescue services. separate post on X.
Last week, a Singapore Airlines flight also encountered severe turbulence, killing one person and injuring 30 others.
While Buttigieg called fatal turbulence on a Singapore Airlines flight “very rare,” he added that “turbulence can happen, sometimes unexpectedly.”
“Now, there are protocols and patterns in place for things like how pilots who encounter turbulence notify pilots who may be in the path,” he said. “But I do think that these things are faced more frequently and more seriously than before. The reality is that we need to constantly reassess.”
‘An error was made in reporting’
boeing company It was revealed on Friday that the number of quality and safety issues submitted by employees increased by 500% in the first two months of 2024 compared with the same period last year.
The aerospace giant noted that the increase in submissions comes after Alaska Airlines On January 5, a 737 Max 9 aircraft exploded in flight.
When asked about Boeing’s findings, Buttigieg backed up the statement, saying it was “fatiguing” to see aviation employees fostering a culture of “if you see something, say something.” Inspiring”.
“We hope you’d rather report,” he said. “Certainly the concern is that these issues are occurring.”
Boeing leaders will meet with the Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday to outline plans to improve quality control. The agency announced in late February that it was giving the company 90 days to develop the plan.
