A Number of Injured as Turbulence Impacts A Delta Airlines Flight into Sydney, Australia
Multiple passengers and crew were hurt following a Delta Airlines aircraft from LA to Sydney, Australia was hit by turbulence on Friday morning.
The flight, numbered 41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it made its approach and landed at the Sydney airport, a company official stated. Several cabin crew members sustained injuries.
Emergency medical services reported they treated five patients, and transferred a trio to hospital with relatively minor issues that comprised spinal discomfort and headaches. The injured were between their thirties and seventies.
The event represents the most recent case of planes being hit by turbulence, with experts indicating that shifting climate patterns is a key driver.
There were nearly 250 travelers and 15 crew members on the wide-body jet, the official said, clarifying that the plane landed "safely and normally" at Sydney Airport at 06:48 local time on Friday.
The NSW Ambulance Service indicated they got a call just only 180 seconds before the plane landed, and ambulances were ready and waiting at the airport.
Why plane turbulence is growing more frequent - and often stronger.
In the previous year, two dozen individuals sustained injuries when a separate Delta aircraft, flying from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, Netherlands, experienced "significant" turbulence just a couple of hours into the transoceanic journey, and was forced to make an unscheduled landing.
Recently, those on board on a certain international flight experienced a terrifying five seconds bout of severe turbulence. A traveler died and dozens were injured, as individuals not fastened in lifted out of their seats and were slammed back.
Bumpy air is not uncommon during flights, and while cases of significant turbulence appear to be increasing, they are statistically infrequent.
Data suggests that there are approximately five thousand cases of severe or worse turbulence every year, out of a total of over 35 million aircraft departures that are conducted globally.
Strong atmospheric disturbance is defined as when the sudden jolts of a aircraft going through unstable air exert greater than 1.5g-force on your body - sufficient force to lift you out of your seat if you weren't wearing a restraint.
As global warming alters the conditions in the sky, experts warn that flying could become more turbulent: warming trends and shifting wind patterns in the higher altitudes are likely to heighten the occurrence and strength of severe turbulence.
