A Number of Injured as Rough Air Impacts A Delta Airlines Plane Landing at Sydney, Australia
Several people have been injured after a Delta aircraft originating in Los Angeles to Sydney was hit by turbulence on Friday morning.
The flight, numbered 41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it landed at the Sydney airport, a representative for the carrier told. Several cabin crew members were injured.
Emergency medical services reported they treated five patients, and transferred a trio to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries that included spinal discomfort and head pain. Those affected spanned from their 30s up to the 70s.
The event represents the most recent case of planes being hit by atmospheric disturbance, with aviation specialists indicating that global warming is a key driver.
The aircraft was carrying 245 people and a crew of 15 on the Airbus A350, the Delta spokesperson added, clarifying that the plane arrived "safely and normally" at the airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on Friday morning.
Emergency responders reported they were alerted just three minutes ahead of the plane touched down, and ambulances were ready and waiting at the airport.
The reasons turbulence is getting more common - and often stronger.
During the past year, 25 people were injured when another Delta jet, travelling from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, Netherlands, encountered "considerable" atmospheric disturbance just 120 minutes into the transoceanic journey, and had to make an unscheduled landing.
Recently, passengers and crew on a certain international flight endured a frightening five seconds of severe turbulence. A traveler died and dozens were injured, as those without seatbelts rose out of their seats and crashed back down.
Turbulence is fairly routine on aircraft journeys, and while occurrences of strong or severe turbulence seem to be rising, they are remained quite uncommon.
Research indicates that there are approximately thousands of instances of severe-or-greater turbulence annually, out of a overall number of more than 35 million flights that are conducted globally.
Severe turbulence is defined as when the vertical motions of a jet experiencing unstable air apply more than a significant G-force on your body - enough to throw you from your seat if you did not have on a restraint.
As global warming modifies weather patterns, experts warn that commercial aviation could become less smooth: temperature changes and changing jet streams in the higher altitudes are likely to boost the occurrence and strength of significant turbulence.
