Several Hurt as Turbulence Hits A Delta Airlines Flight into Sydney, Australia
Multiple passengers and crew sustained injuries when a Delta Airlines aircraft originating in LA to Sydney, Australia was hit by turbulence on Friday morning.
Delta Flight 41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it touched down at the Sydney airport, a company official stated. Several cabin crew members were injured.
Local paramedics stated they treated five individuals, and transported a trio to a medical facility with minor injuries that comprised back pain and migraines. The patients' ages were between their thirties and seventies.
This marks the most recent case of planes experiencing turbulence, with researchers indicating that climate change is a significant contributor.
On board were 245 people and fifteen staff members on the wide-body jet, the representative said, adding that the plane touched down "safely and normally" at Sydney Airport at 06:48 local time on Friday.
The NSW Ambulance Service reported they were alerted just three minutes before the plane landed, and emergency vehicles were ready and waiting at the airport.
Why in-flight bumpiness is growing more common - and more severe.
Last year, two dozen individuals were injured when a Delta Airlines flight, on a route from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, hit "severe" atmospheric disturbance just two hours into the transoceanic journey, and was forced to make an precautionary landing.
Recently, travelers and staff on a Singapore Airlines flight went through a harrowing five seconds of severe turbulence. A traveler lost their life and dozens were injured, as those without seatbelts lifted out of their seats and were slammed back.
Turbulence is a common occurrence on aircraft journeys, and while occurrences of rough conditions seem to be rising, they are remained quite uncommon.
Estimates show that there are an estimated five thousand cases of significant in-flight disturbance every year, out of a total of in excess of 35 million journeys that now take off globally.
Severe turbulence is categorized as when the up and down movements of a plane experiencing unstable air apply greater than a significant G-force on your body - a strong enough force to throw you from your seat if you weren't wearing a restraint.
As a changing climate alters weather patterns, specialists caution that air travel could become bumpier: shifts in temperature and changing jet streams in the higher altitudes are likely to boost the frequency and intensity of dangerous in-flight bumps.
