"But, It Was 'Clear Air Turbulence', There Was No Way to Avoid It"...

likely said the crew of the idiots who flew across the severe thunderstorm complex in northern Oklahoma yesterday evening Friday morning. I wouldn't want to have had that conversation with the company's chief pilot.

Amazing how every other pilot figured out that flying through it would be a very bad idea. 

This is yet another case of what I call aeronautical malpractice.

Addition, Friday, Sept. 6: I received some pushback on this post by a person in Washington, DC, who said there likely wasn't turbulence in this area.

The above is the spectrum width data from the WSR-88D located at Twin Lakes, Oklahoma. Higher values of spectrum width are associated with turbulence (something I have, unfortunately, personally experienced). Orange is moderate to severe turbulence and reds are severe or even extreme turbulence. The plane is flying in a dangerous location.