Multiple Affected as In-Flight Disturbance Impacts Delta Aircraft Arriving in Sydney, Australia
Several people have been injured after a Delta Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Sydney experienced significant turbulence on Friday morning.
Delta Flight 41 "went through a short bout of rough air" as it touched down at Sydney Airport, an airline spokesperson informed. Several cabin crew members required medical attention.
The New South Wales Ambulance Service stated they assessed five individuals, and transferred a trio to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries that included spinal discomfort and head pain. The patients' ages were between their thirties and seventies.
It is the newest example of commercial jets being hit by severe turbulence, with researchers pointing out that global warming is a major factor.
The aircraft was carrying nearly 250 travelers and 15 crew members on the aircraft, the Delta spokesperson noted, stating that the plane arrived "without further incident" at Sydney Airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on Friday morning.
The NSW Ambulance Service said they got a call just only 180 seconds ahead of 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 sustained injuries when a Delta Airlines flight, on a route from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, encountered "significant" rough air just 120 minutes into the transoceanic journey, and had to make an unscheduled landing.
Earlier this year, those on board on a Singapore Airlines flight endured a terrifying short but intense bout of severe turbulence. An individual lost their life and many were hurt, as those without seatbelts lifted out of their seats and fell back down.
Turbulence is not uncommon while flying, and while cases of strong or severe turbulence are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are statistically infrequent.
Research indicates that there are around 5,000 incidents of severe or worse turbulence annually, out of a sum of more than 35 million journeys that currently occur worldwide.
Strong atmospheric disturbance is described as when the up and down movements of a plane going through rough air masses generate in excess of 1.5g-force on your body - a strong enough force to propel you from your seat if you were not fastened by a safety belt.
As a changing climate modifies atmospheric conditions, experts warn that flying could become less smooth: temperature changes and altered air currents in the higher altitudes are projected to increase the regularity and severity of significant turbulence.
