[Telepathic Intruder]

If I die because the plane goes into freefall, because a window or a door blows off, it will be because my heart is beating about 300 times a minute.

[tflabo]

Severe turbulence throws off one’s breathing pattern and heartbeat races upwards. Best to take in deep breathes during the process. Surprised we don’t hear more stories re:, passengers thrown into cardiac arrhythmia’s during severe turbulent episodes.

[katana]

Once traveling at night from Buenos Aires to Santiago, Chile the plane went from a pleasant high pressure system on the Atlantic side of the Andes to a big storm on the Pacific side. The plane nose dived for about a minute, me knowing we were crossing over the highest mountain range in the western hemisphere.

I can understand someone's heart rate spiking as they assume they're experiencing their last few seconds. I certainly did.