Multiple Hurt as Turbulence Strikes Delta Flight Landing at Sydney
A number of individuals were hurt following a Delta Airlines flight traveling from LA to Sydney encountered turbulence Friday morning.
Flight DL41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it made its approach and landed at the Sydney airport, an airline spokesperson told. Four flight attendants sustained injuries.
Emergency medical services stated they treated five patients, and transported three of them to a medical facility with relatively minor issues that included pain in the back and headaches. The patients' ages spanned from their thirties and seventies.
The event represents the latest incident of aircraft being hit by atmospheric disturbance, with aviation specialists pointing out that shifting climate patterns is a significant contributor.
There were 245 passengers and 15 crew members on the aircraft, the representative said, clarifying that the plane landed "safely" at Sydney Airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on Friday.
Emergency responders indicated they got a call just only 180 seconds ahead of the plane touched down, and emergency vehicles were waiting on the tarmac.
The reasons turbulence is getting more common - and potentially more dangerous.
Last year, two dozen individuals sustained injuries when a separate Delta aircraft, flying from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, Netherlands, hit "significant" rough air just a couple of hours into the lengthy trip, and diverted for an emergency landing.
Earlier this year, travelers and staff on a certain international flight experienced a harrowing five seconds bout of severe turbulence. An individual passed away and many were hurt, as those without seatbelts were thrown from their seats and fell back down.
In-flight turbulence is fairly routine while flying, and while instances of significant turbulence appear to be increasing, they are still very rare.
Estimates show that there are an estimated five thousand cases of severe-or-greater turbulence annually, out of a total of over 35 million journeys that currently occur around the world.
Intense turbulence is described as when the sudden jolts of a jet going through unstable air apply in excess of 1.5 times the force of gravity on your body - sufficient force to throw you from your seat if you weren't wearing a restraint.
As climate change alters the conditions in the sky, experts warn that commercial aviation could become less smooth: temperature changes and altered air currents in the higher altitudes are projected to increase the regularity and severity of dangerous in-flight bumps.
