Meet American Airlines’ Turbulence Guru

Steve Abelman, the only meteorologist employed by American Airlines, wants to eliminate turbulence injuries. But even with advances in science, airlines still struggle to predict when aircraft will bounce around. “Turbulence is a very difficult, transient forecast,” he said. “Forecasts of severe turbulence are the best they’ve ever been, but the forecast of light or light-to-moderate turbulence are not as good, and light-to-moderate turbulence can be enough to injure a flight attendant who was serving from a cart. Those are still real challenging for us.” Abelman, 54, has been in aviation meteorology for 30 years, including two stints at American, and may know more about how weather affects airplanes than anyone. The first time he worked at American, in the 1990s, Abelman forecasted weather, helping operations teams decide when to cancel, delay, or divert flights. Now, American uses an outside firm called The Weather Company for forecasts, and Abelman focuses on the bigger picture. Increasingly, he's the turbulence czar. Sometimes that means asking whether climate change is affecting turbulence (he’s not sure) or searching for new technology that can help American’s pilots avoid choppy air. Just as often, though, he’s more of a turbulence evangelist, reminding American’s crews about the damage unstable air can cause. Over the years, turbulence has become less dangero