Several Hurt as Rough Air Strikes Delta Aircraft into Sydney, Australia
Several people were hurt following a Delta Airlines flight traveling from Los Angeles to Sydney encountered turbulence on Friday morning.
Delta Flight 41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it touched down at Sydney Airport, a representative for the carrier told. Four flight attendants were injured.
Local paramedics reported they assessed five individuals, and took a trio to a medical facility with minor injuries that such as back pain and head pain. The injured ranged from their 30s up to the 70s.
This marks the latest incident of commercial jets encountering atmospheric disturbance, with experts saying that global warming is a significant contributor.
On board were nearly 250 travelers and fifteen staff members on the aircraft, the Delta spokesperson added, adding that the plane arrived "safely and normally" at Sydney Airport at 06:48 local time on the day in question.
Paramedics said they got a call just only 180 seconds prior to the plane arrived, and response teams were ready and waiting at the airport.
Why in-flight bumpiness is becoming more common - and often stronger.
In the previous year, 25 people were injured when a Delta Airlines flight, flying from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, Netherlands, encountered "significant" atmospheric disturbance just a couple of hours into the transoceanic journey, and had to make an emergency landing.
Recently, passengers and crew on a Singapore Airlines flight experienced a terrifying brief five-second of severe turbulence. A traveler died and many were hurt, as those without seatbelts lifted out of their seats and were slammed back.
Bumpy air is a common occurrence while flying, and while cases of rough conditions appear to be increasing, they are remained quite uncommon.
Data suggests that there are approximately thousands of instances of severe-or-greater turbulence annually, out of a overall number of more than 35 million aircraft departures that currently occur around the world.
Severe turbulence is defined as when the vertical motions of a jet experiencing disturbed air apply more than a significant G-force on your body - enough to propel you from your seat if you did not have on a restraint.
As climate change alters weather patterns, researchers alert that flying could become less smooth: shifts in temperature and changing jet streams in the upper atmosphere are likely to increase the occurrence and strength of significant turbulence.
