Several Injured as Turbulence Strikes Delta Flight Arriving in Sydney
Multiple passengers and crew sustained injuries when a Delta Airlines flight originating in Los Angeles to Sydney experienced rough air on Friday morning.
The flight, numbered 41 "went through a short bout of rough air" as it made its approach and landed at Sydney Airport, a company official stated. Four flight attendants sustained injuries.
Emergency medical services stated they assessed five individuals, and took a trio to the hospital with minor injuries that included pain in the back and headaches. Those affected spanned from their thirties and seventies.
It is the newest example of commercial jets encountering turbulence, with experts saying that shifting climate patterns is a major factor.
There were nearly 250 travelers and fifteen staff members on the wide-body jet, the official added, adding that the plane touched down "safely" at the airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on Friday morning.
The NSW Ambulance Service indicated they received a call just three minutes before the plane landed, and ambulances were ready and waiting at the airport.
Why plane turbulence is becoming increasingly prevalent - and potentially more dangerous.
During the past year, twenty-five passengers and crew were hurt when a Delta Airlines flight, flying from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, Netherlands, hit "considerable" rough air just two hours into the transoceanic journey, and was forced to make an emergency landing.
Recently, those on board on a Singapore Airlines jet experienced a frightening brief five-second bout of severe turbulence. An individual lost their life and numerous people sustained injuries, as individuals not fastened in lifted out of their seats and were slammed back.
Turbulence is a common occurrence while flying, and while instances of strong or severe turbulence appear to be increasing, they are statistically infrequent.
Research indicates that there are an estimated thousands of instances of significant in-flight disturbance annually, out of a total of over 35 million aircraft departures that now take off worldwide.
Intense turbulence is categorized as when the vertical motions of a jet going through unstable air exert more than 1.5g-force on your body - enough to propel you from your seat if you were not fastened by a seatbelt.
As climate change modifies atmospheric conditions, specialists caution that flying could become bumpier: temperature changes and altered air currents in the upper atmosphere are expected to boost the regularity and severity of significant turbulence.
