Multiple Hurt as Rough Air Hits A Delta Airlines Aircraft Landing at Sydney
Multiple passengers and crew were hurt following a Delta flight from Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia encountered rough air Friday morning.
Delta Flight 41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it landed at the Sydney airport, a company official told. Several cabin crew members sustained injuries.
Emergency medical services reported they assessed a total of five people, and transferred three of them to the hospital with minor injuries that comprised spinal discomfort and headaches. The injured spanned from their thirties and seventies.
The event represents the newest example of commercial jets experiencing atmospheric disturbance, with experts pointing out that climate change is a major factor.
The aircraft was carrying 245 passengers and a crew of 15 on the aircraft, the representative said, adding that the plane landed "safely" at the airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on Friday.
Paramedics said they were alerted just only 180 seconds ahead of the plane arrived, and ambulances were ready and waiting at the airport.
The reasons turbulence is growing more common - and more severe.
In the previous year, 25 people were injured when another Delta jet, travelling from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, hit "severe" atmospheric disturbance just two hours into the lengthy trip, and was forced to make an precautionary landing.
Recently, passengers and crew on a Singapore Airlines jet endured a frightening short but intense period of extreme instability. A traveler passed away and many were hurt, as those without seatbelts were thrown from their seats and crashed back down.
Bumpy air is a common occurrence during flights, and while instances of rough conditions are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are statistically infrequent.
Estimates show that there are an estimated 5,000 incidents of severe-or-greater turbulence annually, out of a sum of more than 35 million journeys that currently occur worldwide.
Intense turbulence is defined as when the vertical motions of a plane experiencing unstable air generate in excess of a significant G-force on your body - sufficient force to lift you out of your seat if you were not fastened by a safety belt.
As climate change shifts atmospheric conditions, experts warn that air travel could become bumpier: shifts in temperature and shifting wind patterns in the jet stream level are projected to heighten the regularity and severity of significant turbulence.
