A Number of Injured as Turbulence Impacts Delta Plane into Sydney, Australia
A number of individuals were hurt following a Delta Airlines aircraft originating in Los Angeles to Sydney encountered significant turbulence Friday morning.
Flight DL41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it made its approach and landed at Sydney Airport, a representative for the carrier informed. Several cabin crew members required medical attention.
The New South Wales Ambulance Service reported they treated five individuals, and transported a trio to hospital with minor injuries that such as back pain and headaches. The injured were between their 30s up to the 70s.
It is the most recent case of commercial jets experiencing atmospheric disturbance, with aviation specialists pointing out that climate change is a major factor.
On board were 245 passengers and fifteen staff members on the wide-body jet, the Delta spokesperson said, adding that the plane arrived "safely" at Sydney Airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on Friday.
Paramedics reported they got a call just only 180 seconds before the plane landed, and emergency vehicles were standing by on the runway.
The reasons turbulence is getting increasingly prevalent - and more severe.
In the previous year, two dozen individuals sustained injuries when a Delta Airlines flight, flying from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, encountered "considerable" atmospheric disturbance just 120 minutes into the transoceanic journey, and diverted for an precautionary landing.
Recently, those on board on a Singapore Airlines jet went through a harrowing five seconds of severe turbulence. An individual lost their life and dozens were injured, as those without seatbelts lifted out of their seats and were slammed back.
Bumpy air is not uncommon while flying, and while cases of rough conditions seem to be rising, they are remained quite uncommon.
Estimates show that there are around thousands of instances of severe or worse turbulence annually, out of a total of more than 35 million aircraft departures that are conducted around the world.
Intense turbulence is categorized as when the sudden jolts of a aircraft experiencing unstable air generate in excess of a significant G-force on your body - sufficient force to propel you from your seat if you weren't wearing a safety belt.
As global warming shifts atmospheric conditions, researchers alert that commercial aviation could become less smooth: temperature changes and altered air currents in the higher altitudes are likely to increase the occurrence and strength of dangerous in-flight bumps.
