Multiple Affected as In-Flight Disturbance Strikes A Delta Airlines Aircraft Landing at Sydney
Multiple passengers and crew were hurt when a Delta Airlines jet traveling from Los Angeles to Sydney experienced significant turbulence Friday morning.
Delta Flight 41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it made its approach and landed at Sydney Airport, an airline spokesperson informed. Four flight attendants sustained injuries.
The New South Wales Ambulance Service said they treated five patients, and took three to the hospital with relatively minor issues that such as spinal discomfort and head pain. The patients' ages were between their 30s up to the 70s.
This marks the newest example of commercial jets experiencing atmospheric disturbance, with aviation specialists indicating that global warming is a key driver.
The aircraft was carrying 245 passengers and fifteen staff members on the wide-body jet, the representative noted, adding that the plane arrived "safely" at the airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on the day in question.
The NSW Ambulance Service indicated they received a call just three minutes prior to the plane landed, and ambulances were standing by on the runway.
Why in-flight bumpiness is becoming more common - and potentially more dangerous.
During the past year, twenty-five passengers and crew sustained injuries when a Delta Airlines flight, flying from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, hit "severe" turbulence just a couple of hours into the transoceanic journey, and was forced to make an emergency landing.
Earlier this year, those on board on a certain international flight experienced a frightening short but intense of severe turbulence. An individual passed away and numerous people sustained injuries, as those without seatbelts lifted out of their seats and crashed back down.
Bumpy air is a common occurrence while flying, and while cases of rough conditions appear to be increasing, they are still very rare.
Research indicates that there are around five thousand cases of severe-or-greater turbulence each year, out of a overall number of over 35 million journeys that now take off around the world.
Severe turbulence is defined as when the vertical motions of a jet going through rough air masses exert greater than 1.5g-force on your body - sufficient force to throw you from your seat if you did not have on a seatbelt.
As a changing climate alters atmospheric conditions, researchers alert that commercial aviation could become more turbulent: warming trends and altered air currents in the higher altitudes are likely to heighten the regularity and severity of severe turbulence.