There's turbulence ... the type of choppy air that just about every long haul flight runs into, resulting in bumps and shakes of an airplane ... and then there's the type of turbulence that sends passengers to the hospital.

That was, unfortunately, the experience of a Singapore Airlines flight last night ... where extreme turbulence got so bad, 31 people onboard were injured to the point of having to be hospitalized.  One passenger ended up dying of a heart attack.

Thanks to climate change, flights are being shaken and jarred with more intensity than ever before.

Laura Einsetler is a veteran and active commercial airline pilot with over 30 years experience ... she's certified on just about all of Boeing's big jets.