A Number of Injured as In-Flight Disturbance Impacts Delta Aircraft Landing at Sydney, Australia
A number of individuals were hurt following a Delta Airlines flight traveling from Los Angeles to Sydney encountered significant turbulence Friday morning.
Delta Flight 41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it landed at the Sydney airport, an airline spokesperson told. Four flight attendants sustained injuries.
Emergency medical services stated they treated five individuals, and took three to the hospital with relatively minor issues that comprised pain in the back and head pain. Those affected ranged from their 30s up to the 70s.
The event represents the latest incident of commercial jets encountering atmospheric disturbance, with aviation specialists indicating that global warming is a significant contributor.
There were nearly 250 travelers and fifteen staff members on the wide-body jet, the Delta spokesperson noted, clarifying that the plane landed "safely and normally" at the airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on Friday.
Paramedics indicated they were alerted just only 180 seconds ahead of the plane touched down, and response teams were standing by on the runway.
Why plane turbulence is growing increasingly prevalent - and more severe.
In the previous year, 25 people sustained injuries when a Delta Airlines flight, flying from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, hit "severe" turbulence just two hours into the lengthy trip, and diverted for an precautionary landing.
Recently, travelers and staff on a Singapore Airlines flight experienced a terrifying brief five-second bout of severe turbulence. One passenger passed away and numerous people sustained injuries, as unbelted passengers rose out of their seats and crashed back down.
Turbulence is a common occurrence during flights, and while instances of rough conditions seem to be rising, they are still very rare.
Estimates show that there are an estimated five thousand cases of severe or worse turbulence each year, out of a overall number of more than 35 million journeys that now take off worldwide.
Strong atmospheric disturbance is categorized as when the vertical motions of a aircraft passing through disturbed air apply greater than 1.5g-force on your body - a strong enough force to throw you from your seat if you were not fastened by a safety belt.
As climate change modifies atmospheric conditions, specialists caution that commercial aviation could become more turbulent: warming trends and altered air currents in the upper atmosphere are projected to heighten the frequency and intensity of significant turbulence.
