Multiple Hurt as Turbulence Strikes A Delta Airlines Aircraft Landing at Sydney, Australia
Several people were hurt when a Delta flight from LA to Sydney, Australia experienced turbulence Friday morning.
Delta Flight 41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it made its approach and landed at Sydney Airport, a company official told. Several cabin crew members were injured.
The New South Wales Ambulance Service stated they evaluated five patients, and transported three to the hospital with relatively minor issues that included pain in the back and migraines. Those affected spanned from their 30s to 70s.
This marks the latest incident of commercial jets being hit by atmospheric disturbance, with aviation specialists indicating that climate change is a key driver.
There were 245 people and 15 crew members on the wide-body jet, the representative noted, adding that the plane touched down "safely and normally" at Sydney Airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on Friday.
The NSW Ambulance Service reported they got a call just a mere three minutes ahead of the plane landed, and response teams were standing by on the runway.
Why plane turbulence is growing more common - and potentially more dangerous.
During the past year, 25 people were injured when a separate Delta aircraft, travelling from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, experienced "considerable" turbulence just a couple of hours into the transoceanic journey, and had to make an emergency landing.
Earlier this year, those on board on a Singapore Airlines flight endured a terrifying five seconds bout of severe turbulence. A traveler died and many were hurt, as unbelted passengers lifted out of their seats and were slammed back.
In-flight turbulence is fairly routine on aircraft journeys, and while instances of rough conditions seem to be rising, they are still very rare.
Research indicates that there are around 5,000 incidents of significant in-flight disturbance each year, out of a overall number of more than 35 million journeys that now take off around the world.
Severe turbulence is categorized as when the vertical motions of a plane experiencing disturbed air generate more than 1.5 times the force of gravity on your body - a strong enough force to propel you from your seat if you were not fastened by a safety belt.
As climate change shifts the conditions in the sky, researchers alert that commercial aviation could become bumpier: shifts in temperature and changing jet streams in the jet stream level are projected to increase the frequency and intensity of significant turbulence.
