Multiple Injured as Rough Air Hits A Delta Airlines Flight Landing at Sydney
Multiple passengers and crew sustained injuries after a Delta flight traveling from Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia was hit by turbulence on Friday morning.
Delta Flight 41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it made its approach and landed at Sydney Airport, a representative for the carrier stated. Several cabin crew members were injured.
Emergency medical services stated they assessed a total of five people, and transferred three of them to a medical facility with non-life-threatening injuries that comprised spinal discomfort and migraines. Those affected were between their thirties and seventies.
This marks the newest example of planes being hit by turbulence, with researchers pointing out that climate change is a key driver.
On board were nearly 250 travelers and 15 crew members on the aircraft, the representative added, stating that the plane arrived "safely" at Sydney Airport at 06:48 local time on the day in question.
The NSW Ambulance Service said they were alerted just only 180 seconds ahead of the plane landed, and ambulances were ready and waiting at the airport.
Why plane turbulence is growing more common - and often stronger.
Last year, 25 people sustained injuries when a separate Delta aircraft, on a route from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, Netherlands, hit "severe" turbulence just 120 minutes into the long-haul flight, and diverted for an emergency landing.
Earlier this year, travelers and staff on a Singapore Airlines jet endured a harrowing brief five-second bout of severe turbulence. One passenger died and numerous people sustained injuries, as those without seatbelts were thrown from their seats and were slammed back.
In-flight turbulence is not uncommon on aircraft journeys, and while cases of strong or severe turbulence seem to be rising, they are still very rare.
Data suggests that there are around five thousand cases of severe or worse turbulence each year, out of a overall number of over 35 million flights that now take off globally.
Strong atmospheric disturbance is defined as when the up and down movements of a plane going through rough air masses generate greater than 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 a changing climate shifts atmospheric conditions, researchers alert that air travel could become less smooth: warming trends and altered air currents in the upper atmosphere are projected to heighten the regularity and severity of severe turbulence.
