A TikTok user is going viral after documenting her apparent first experience with turbulence on a plane — a moment that she said felt like her “soul left earth.”
On Thursday, March 6, a content creator named Maanneri shared a video on TikTok featuring her perspective of a bumpy ride she experienced while looking out of her window during a recent flight.
“[Throwback] to when my soul left earth + the panicked voices in the [background],” the TikTok user captioned the footage, which featured some additional text written over the video: “It’s ur first time on a plane and this happens…”
In the clip itself, the plane’s wing can be seen making direct contact with a cloud, before appearing to shake as her camera is momentarily jolted. Other passengers around her could be heard gasping, too, but it wasn’t long before the plane appeared to reach blue skies once again.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
The video has since reached over 4 million people on the platform, earning roughly 260,000 likes as of Sunday, March 16, and prompting a comment section full of fellow travelers discussing turbulence, which one flyer dubbed “potholes in the sky.”
“The most dangerous thing about turbulence are the people who freak out about it,” one commenter wrote, while another added that “there’s no accident that [is] caused by turbulence.”
“Truee,” the video’s creator responded. “I just came across a pilot explaining it using a jelly, lol.”
Another user wrote that, before flying, they “watch turbulence explanation videos,” which they said “works like a charm” for their anxiety.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), a total of 37 passengers and 146 crew members were seriously injured as a result of turbulence from 2009 to 2023. To prevent such injuries, passengers are encouraged to wear their seat belts at all times, adhere to carry-on restrictions and listen to their pilots and flight attendants, per the FAA.
While videos of severe turbulence on flights may occasionally go viral, the Air Transport Action Group reports that an estimated 5 billion passengers traveled via the world’s airlines in 2024 — meaning turbulence-related injures are quite rare.
Still, such injuries happen. Earlier this month, a reported five passengers were injured when their Houston-bound plane hit turbulence mid-flight.
Local outlets 25 News and Springfield News-Leader reported at the time that a United Airlines jet made an emergency landing at Waco Regional Airport following its departure from Missouri on March 2. The injured people were then reportedly taken to a local hospital with “non-life-threatening” injuries, with a SkyWest Airlines spokesperson telling PEOPLE that the flight ultimately “landed safely” after experiencing the turbulence.
Read the full article here
