Multiple Affected as Turbulence Strikes A Delta Airlines Aircraft into Sydney, Australia
Several people have been injured following a Delta jet originating in LA to Sydney experienced turbulence Friday morning.
The flight, numbered 41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it touched down at Sydney Airport, a company official informed. Several cabin crew members required medical attention.
Emergency medical services said they assessed a total of five people, and transferred three of them to a medical facility with minor injuries that included back pain and migraines. The injured were between their 30s to 70s.
This marks the most recent case of aircraft encountering severe turbulence, with experts saying that global warming is a significant contributor.
The aircraft was carrying nearly 250 travelers and a crew of 15 on the wide-body jet, the Delta spokesperson noted, stating that the plane arrived "safely" at Sydney Airport at 06:48 local time on Friday morning.
Paramedics indicated they received a call just a mere three minutes prior to the plane landed, and emergency vehicles were standing by on the runway.
Why in-flight bumpiness is growing increasingly prevalent - and potentially more dangerous.
Last year, twenty-five passengers and crew were hurt when a separate Delta aircraft, on a route from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, Netherlands, encountered "significant" atmospheric disturbance just two hours into the lengthy trip, and was forced to make an emergency landing.
Earlier this year, travelers and staff on a Singapore Airlines jet experienced a harrowing five seconds bout of severe turbulence. A traveler died and numerous people sustained injuries, as unbelted passengers lifted out of their seats and fell back down.
In-flight turbulence is fairly routine on aircraft journeys, and while cases of significant turbulence seem to be rising, they are remained quite uncommon.
Estimates show that there are approximately five thousand cases of severe-or-greater turbulence annually, out of a sum of more than 35 million flights that now take off around the world.
Severe turbulence is defined as when the vertical motions of a jet experiencing rough air masses generate in excess of a significant G-force on your body - a strong enough force to throw you from your seat if you did not have on a safety belt.
As a changing climate modifies weather patterns, experts warn that air travel could become more turbulent: warming trends and changing jet streams in the higher altitudes are projected to increase the occurrence and strength of significant turbulence.
