Chaotic scenes on Aeroflot flight as major turbulence threw passengers all over the cabin. Instagram / @krlrgstk
We're told turbulence is nothing to be afraid of - but when that plane starts jolting, it's impossible not to feel nervous.
And while there's no chance of turbulence bringing down a plane, stories of people becoming injured due to severe turbulence bouts can bring even confident flyers to the point of panic.
But there's a clever technique passengers can use that can help keep them calm when turbulence strikes.
In the segment, a Today show producer, who has flying anxiety, sat in the turbulence simulator and tried calming techniques offered by program teacher and pilot Captain Ron Neilsen.
And one of his tips was surprising. He said whenever turbulence struck, write down your name over and over using the hand you wouldn't usually write with.
For example, if you're right-handed, write your name with your left hand.
"Just keep writing your name," Captain Neilsen told the producer.
Explaining why it worked, he said: "It first causes her to focus extra-hard on what she's doing, because she doesn't normally write with her other hand ... and not on the turbulence.
"And the second thing is, it's actually crossing over her motor function in her brain, using the other side of her brain from what she would normally do. We're disrupting the thinking."
The producer said she found the trick worked, as it distracted her from the commotion in the simulator.
Another tip from Captain Neilsen was to breathe through a drinking straw.
He said the technique restricted air flow and prevented hyperventilation, which could make anxiety worse.
Passengers and crew not wearing seatbelts are the most likely to be affected. Photo / Getty Images
While it's great to have ways of coping with turbulence, the bad news is the phenomenon might become more common in the future.
In April scientists at the University of Reading in the UK said bouts of turbulence strong enough to toss passengers around the cabin could become up to three times more common due to climate change.
They said climate change would generate stronger wind shears within the jet stream, which is a major cause of turbulence.
And all kinds of turbulence was due to get worse, from light turbulence, which is due to increase by about 59 per cent in the future, through to severe turbulence, which the study suggested would see an increase of a whopping 149 per cent.
Passengers and crew not wearing seatbelts are the most likely to be affected.
Some recent examples of those injuries have been horrific.
In May, 27 people seriously were injured after being slammed into the ceiling when an Aeroflot Boeing 777-300 hit severe turbulence about 40 minutes into the trip.
Some people suffered fractured bones in the terrifying ordeal, which was caused then the plane flew through a pocket of "clean air" turbulence - so-called because there is no cloud warning of its presence.
Severe turbulence on an Aeroflot flight led to broken bones and other injuries. Photo / Supplied
In December last year, passengers were "tossed like rag dolls" when Qatar Airways flight from Washington to Doha hit extreme turbulence, forcing an emergency landing.
Witnesses said a young boy was thrown out of his seat and into the lap of a passenger across the aisle during the scary experience.
In November, seven people were hospitalised after China Eastern flight MU777 ran into turbulence as it landed at Sydney Airport. One patient suffered a laceration to the jaw, and others injuries to the head, back and wrist.
In October, two crew members and a passenger were injured when a QantasLink flight from Melbourne encountered severe turbulence on descent into Canberra. And in September, passengers said they "thought they were going to die" when their United Airlines flight from Houston to London hit turbulence, leading to the hospitalisation of 14 passengers and two crew members.
