A Number of Hurt as Rough Air Hits A Delta Airlines Plane Arriving in Sydney
Several people were hurt when a Delta aircraft from LA to Sydney, Australia was hit by turbulence Friday morning.
The flight, numbered 41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it landed at Sydney Airport, a representative for the carrier stated. A number of the onboard staff sustained injuries.
The New South Wales Ambulance Service stated they treated a total of five people, and transferred three of them to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries that such as spinal discomfort and head pain. Those affected spanned from their 30s to 70s.
It is the most recent case of planes encountering severe turbulence, with experts pointing out that climate change is a key driver.
The aircraft was carrying 245 people and 15 crew members on the wide-body jet, the official added, adding that the plane touched down "safely and normally" at the airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on the day in question.
Paramedics indicated they received a call just three minutes before the plane landed, and emergency vehicles were standing by on the runway.
Why in-flight bumpiness is becoming more common - and potentially more dangerous.
Last year, twenty-five passengers and crew were hurt when a Delta Airlines flight, flying from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, Netherlands, encountered "severe" rough air just a couple of hours into the lengthy trip, and diverted for an emergency landing.
Earlier this year, those on board on a Singapore Airlines jet experienced a terrifying five seconds of severe turbulence. One passenger died and dozens were injured, as those without seatbelts lifted out of their seats and crashed back down.
Bumpy air is fairly routine on aircraft journeys, and while cases of rough conditions are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are statistically infrequent.
Estimates show that there are approximately five thousand cases of significant in-flight disturbance every year, out of a sum of over 35 million aircraft departures that are conducted globally.
Strong atmospheric disturbance is described as when the vertical motions of a plane passing through rough air masses apply in excess of 1.5 times the force of gravity on your body - a strong enough force to lift you out of your seat if you weren't wearing a restraint.
As climate change shifts atmospheric conditions, specialists caution that air travel could become less smooth: temperature changes and altered air currents in the higher altitudes are expected to increase the occurrence and strength of dangerous in-flight bumps.
