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A pilot has demonstrated how a simple bottle of water can be used to reassure you there's nothing to worry about if you're hit with some horrible turbulence on a plane.
No matter how often you get on a plane, having it suddenly rock from side to side is a terrifying experience.
It's natural to get scared, considering you're thousands of feet up in the air, and even if you manage to put on a brave face the chances are your stomach will be in knots until things calm down again.
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There is one way to reassure yourself even before the wind stops, though, and it's been shared by pilot Jimmy Nicholson, from Sydney.
Jimmy was travelling as a passenger on a plane with his wife when they were suddenly hit by 'horrible' turbulence that left other passengers screaming in fear.
The pilot admitted it was 'some of the worst turbulence [he's] ever felt', but thanks to his experience from the cockpit, Jimmy knew it was nothing to worry about - and he had a bottle of water to prove it.
In a video shared on TikTok, Jimmy showed how passengers were panicking but urged people to remind themselves that turbulence is 'completely normal'.
"The plane isn't going to fall out of the sky," he wrote in a caption over the video.
Jimmy then used his bottle to point out that the water inside wasn't moving much, indicating that the plane wasn't rocking as much as it seemed.
You can use this trick to reassure yourself if you're ever stuck in turbulence, and Jimmy advised that turning on the air conditioning for some 'fresh air' and looking out of the window can also help make you feel better.
"Nothing to worry about," Jimmy said. "Planes are built to withstand way worse. [It's] not fun, evidently, but [it's] completely fine."
Relieved passengers applauded their pilot once the plane was safely out of the turbulence, while interested TikTok viewers thanked Jimmy for sharing his advice about rocky plane journeys.
"I’d want to be sitting next to him in bad turbulence," one person commented after watching Jimmy's video, while another added: "This was actually VERY reassuring tbh... good post."
A third wrote: "This helps so much! We need more pilots to post about the stuff the rest of us think will be the last minutes of our lives."
Jimmy suggested the turbulence on his flight was likely the result of widespread storms, meaning the pilot in charge had to 'pick their path of least resistance and go through it'.
Emily Brown