Multiple Hurt as Rough Air Impacts Delta Flight Arriving in Sydney, Australia
A number of individuals were hurt following a Delta jet traveling from LA to Sydney experienced significant turbulence Friday morning.
The flight, numbered 41 "went through a short bout of rough air" as it landed at Sydney Airport, an airline spokesperson told. Four flight attendants required medical attention.
The New South Wales Ambulance Service reported they assessed five patients, and transferred a trio to the hospital with relatively minor issues that comprised pain in the back and head pain. The patients' ages were between their 30s to 70s.
This marks the newest example of aircraft experiencing severe turbulence, with researchers indicating that climate change is a major factor.
There were nearly 250 travelers and 15 crew members on the aircraft, the official said, adding that the plane arrived "without further incident" at the airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on the day in question.
Paramedics indicated they were alerted just a mere three minutes before the plane landed, and emergency vehicles were standing by on the runway.
Why plane turbulence is becoming increasingly prevalent - and often stronger.
In the previous year, twenty-five passengers and crew sustained injuries when a separate Delta aircraft, on a route from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, encountered "significant" turbulence just 120 minutes into the long-haul flight, and diverted for an unscheduled landing.
Recently, passengers and crew on a Singapore Airlines jet experienced a frightening short but intense bout of severe turbulence. One passenger died and numerous people sustained injuries, as individuals not fastened in rose out of their seats and were slammed back.
Bumpy air is not uncommon on aircraft journeys, and while cases of rough conditions appear to be increasing, they are still very rare.
Estimates show that there are approximately five thousand cases of severe or worse turbulence each year, out of a sum of over 35 million flights that currently occur worldwide.
Severe turbulence is described as when the up and down movements of a plane experiencing disturbed air apply more than a significant G-force on your body - enough to propel you from your seat if you weren't wearing a seatbelt.
As climate change modifies weather patterns, experts warn that commercial aviation could become bumpier: shifts in temperature and shifting wind patterns in the jet stream level are projected to heighten the occurrence and strength of significant turbulence.
