Prevalence of 'air pockets'

[April0413]

Hello,

Has anyone here ever flown through an "air pocket" that caused their plane to abruptly drop or descend? I'm not sure what the proper term is, but unfortunately I've been through a few of these situations and I've developed an extreme fear of going through it again. How common is this phenomenon? Is there any way to predict when it might happen?

Thanks for anything you can share.

[B744drvr]

Well, I have..
The definition 'air pocket' is a bit off, because it suggests there is no or less air at some times.
It usually occurs in the jetstream where the you can encounter downdrafts which will cause the aircraft to 'go with the airflow' and descent a little bit.
As CAT or clear air turbulence is not seen on aircraft radars it is hard to avoid while in flight.
The only thing I can suggest is to avoid the little jets as the larger jets have the advantage of being less prone to air pockets because of their bigger mass.
Hope this helps.