FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - "Somewhat scary one near Winnipeg"

Oct 18, 2009 | 9:59 am

#418

tcook052

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http://www.google.com/hostednews/can...dHcpAsOfU_brbQ

EDMONTON — Experts say an Air Canada jet that plunged more than 1,000 metres without warning last year, injuring 10 people, rose up and then dove down a massive invisible wall of smooth air called an internal wave.

The official cause of what happened to Flight AC-190 on Jan. 10, 2008, over a rugged area near the B.C.-Washington border is still under investigation by the Canadian Transportation Safety Board.

The internal wave transformed the routine flight from Victoria to Toronto into a terrifying roller-coaster ride that violently tossed passengers, crew and heavy drink carts around the cabin before the pilot made an emergency landing in Calgary.

Scientists not connected with the official investigation say the Airbus 319 hit an atmospheric phenomenon that can loom up out of nowhere and doesn't show up on weather or aircraft radar.

"This Air Canada plane was just unfortunate enough to encounter one of these waves," said Bruce Sutherland, a University of Alberta professor of earth and atmospheric sciences.

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