A Number of Affected as Turbulence Strikes Delta Aircraft into Sydney
Several people sustained injuries when a Delta aircraft traveling from Los Angeles to Sydney was hit by significant turbulence Friday morning.
Delta Flight 41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it touched down at the Sydney airport, a representative for the carrier informed. Several cabin crew members sustained injuries.
The New South Wales Ambulance Service reported they treated five individuals, and took three to hospital with minor injuries that comprised pain in the back and migraines. The injured ranged from their thirties and seventies.
The event represents the most recent case of aircraft experiencing turbulence, with researchers saying that climate change is a major factor.
The aircraft was carrying 245 passengers and a crew of 15 on the wide-body jet, the representative noted, clarifying that the plane touched down "safely" at the airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on Friday morning.
Emergency responders indicated they got a call just a mere three minutes prior to the plane landed, and ambulances were standing by on the runway.
The reasons turbulence is growing more frequent - and potentially more dangerous.
In the previous year, 25 people were hurt when a separate Delta aircraft, on a route from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, Netherlands, encountered "significant" rough air just 120 minutes into the transoceanic journey, and diverted for an unscheduled landing.
Earlier this year, travelers and staff on a certain international flight experienced a frightening short but intense period of extreme instability. One passenger died and dozens were injured, as individuals not fastened in were thrown from their seats and were slammed back.
In-flight turbulence is a common occurrence while flying, and while cases of significant turbulence seem to be rising, they are statistically infrequent.
Data suggests that there are an estimated thousands of instances of severe-or-greater turbulence each year, out of a overall number of in excess of 35 million journeys that now take off around the world.
Severe turbulence is defined as when the sudden jolts of a plane experiencing unstable air apply greater than 1.5g-force on your body - enough to propel you from your seat if you did not have on a safety belt.
As a changing climate shifts atmospheric conditions, experts warn that commercial aviation could become bumpier: temperature changes and changing jet streams in the upper atmosphere are expected to boost the frequency and intensity of severe turbulence.
