Several Affected as In-Flight Disturbance Impacts A Delta Airlines Aircraft into Sydney
Multiple passengers and crew were hurt following a Delta Airlines flight traveling from Los Angeles to Sydney experienced significant turbulence Friday morning.
The flight, numbered 41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it landed at the Sydney airport, a company official told. A number of the onboard staff sustained injuries.
Local paramedics said they evaluated five individuals, and transported a trio to the hospital with relatively minor issues that comprised back pain and migraines. The patients' ages ranged from their 30s to 70s.
It is the newest example of aircraft experiencing atmospheric disturbance, with experts saying that global warming is a significant contributor.
There were nearly 250 travelers and a crew of 15 on the aircraft, the official noted, adding that the plane landed "safely and normally" at Sydney Airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on Friday.
Paramedics said they received a call just three minutes before the plane touched down, and response teams were ready and waiting at the airport.
Why plane turbulence is becoming more common - and often stronger.
In the previous year, 25 people sustained injuries when a separate Delta aircraft, flying from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, encountered "significant" turbulence just two hours into the long-haul flight, and was forced to make an emergency landing.
Earlier this year, those on board on a certain international flight endured a frightening brief five-second of severe turbulence. An individual lost their life and many were hurt, as those without seatbelts lifted out of their seats and crashed back down.
Bumpy air is a common occurrence during flights, and while instances of strong or severe turbulence seem to be rising, they are statistically infrequent.
Estimates show that there are approximately thousands of instances of significant in-flight disturbance each year, out of a total of over 35 million aircraft departures that now take off around the world.
Intense turbulence is categorized as when the sudden jolts of a aircraft going through rough air masses generate more than 1.5 times the force of gravity on your body - enough to propel you from your seat if you did not have on a safety belt.
As global warming shifts atmospheric conditions, experts warn that flying could become more turbulent: temperature changes and changing jet streams in the upper atmosphere are projected to boost the occurrence and strength of dangerous in-flight bumps.
