Multiple Injured as In-Flight Disturbance Strikes A Delta Airlines Plane Arriving in Sydney, Australia
Multiple passengers and crew have been injured when a Delta Airlines aircraft traveling from LA to Sydney, Australia encountered rough air on Friday morning.
Delta Flight 41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it touched down at the Sydney airport, an airline spokesperson informed. Several cabin crew members required medical attention.
The New South Wales Ambulance Service reported they evaluated a total of five people, and took three of them to hospital with minor injuries that included spinal discomfort and migraines. The injured spanned from their 30s to 70s.
The event represents the latest incident of aircraft experiencing severe turbulence, with experts pointing out that climate change is a key driver.
There were 245 passengers and 15 crew members on the Airbus A350, the official added, adding that the plane touched down "without further incident" at Sydney Airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on the day in question.
The NSW Ambulance Service reported they received a call just only 180 seconds before the plane landed, and emergency vehicles were waiting on the tarmac.
Why plane turbulence is getting more frequent - and often stronger.
During the past year, two dozen individuals were hurt when a Delta Airlines flight, flying from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, Netherlands, hit "severe" turbulence just two hours into the transoceanic journey, and diverted for an unscheduled landing.
Earlier this year, those on board on a certain international flight endured a frightening short but intense period of extreme instability. One passenger passed away and dozens were injured, as individuals not fastened in rose out of their seats and crashed back down.
Turbulence is not uncommon on aircraft journeys, and while occurrences of rough conditions are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are still very rare.
Research indicates that there are approximately thousands of instances of severe or worse turbulence each year, out of a sum of more than 35 million journeys that are conducted worldwide.
Strong atmospheric disturbance is described as when the up and down movements of a aircraft going through disturbed air exert in excess of 1.5 times the force of gravity on your body - a strong enough force to propel you from your seat if you weren't wearing a seatbelt.
As climate change modifies atmospheric conditions, researchers alert that commercial aviation could become less smooth: temperature changes and changing jet streams in the upper atmosphere are expected to heighten the occurrence and strength of significant turbulence.
