Several Hurt as Turbulence Hits Delta Plane into Sydney
Multiple passengers and crew sustained injuries following a Delta aircraft traveling from LA to Sydney, Australia experienced turbulence on Friday morning.
The flight, numbered 41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it touched down at Sydney Airport, a company official stated. Four flight attendants were injured.
The New South Wales Ambulance Service said they treated five individuals, and took three of them to hospital with minor injuries that comprised pain in the back and migraines. Those affected were between their thirties and seventies.
The event represents the latest incident of planes encountering atmospheric disturbance, with researchers pointing out that climate change is a major factor.
On board were 245 people and a crew of 15 on the wide-body jet, the official noted, adding that the plane landed "safely and normally" at the airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on Friday morning.
The NSW Ambulance Service said they received a call just only 180 seconds prior to the plane arrived, and ambulances were standing by on the runway.
Why in-flight bumpiness is getting increasingly prevalent - and potentially more dangerous.
In the previous year, twenty-five passengers and crew were injured when another Delta jet, travelling from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, Netherlands, experienced "considerable" atmospheric disturbance just 120 minutes into the long-haul flight, and diverted for an emergency landing.
Recently, passengers and crew on a certain international flight endured a frightening brief five-second bout of severe turbulence. An individual passed away and dozens were injured, as those without seatbelts rose out of their seats and crashed back down.
Bumpy air is fairly routine while flying, and while instances of significant turbulence appear to be increasing, they are statistically infrequent.
Research indicates that there are approximately five thousand cases of severe-or-greater turbulence each year, out of a sum of over 35 million flights that now take off globally.
Strong atmospheric disturbance is categorized as when the vertical motions of a plane passing through unstable air exert in excess of 1.5g-force on your body - sufficient force to lift you out of your seat if you did not have on a safety belt.
As climate change alters the conditions in the sky, experts warn that commercial aviation could become bumpier: temperature changes and changing jet streams in the higher altitudes are expected to heighten the frequency and intensity of severe turbulence.
