A Number of Affected as Turbulence Strikes A Delta Airlines Aircraft Landing at Sydney
Multiple passengers and crew sustained injuries after a Delta Airlines jet traveling from LA to Sydney encountered significant turbulence this past Friday.
Flight DL41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it landed at the Sydney airport, an airline spokesperson informed. A number of the onboard staff sustained injuries.
The New South Wales Ambulance Service reported they assessed a total of five people, and transported three of them to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries that comprised spinal discomfort and migraines. The injured ranged from their 30s up to the 70s.
It is the latest incident of commercial jets being hit by severe turbulence, with aviation specialists indicating that shifting climate patterns is a key driver.
The aircraft was carrying 245 people and fifteen staff members on the aircraft, the official said, adding that the plane touched down "safely and normally" at the airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on Friday morning.
Paramedics indicated they got a call just three minutes before the plane landed, and ambulances were waiting on the tarmac.
Why plane turbulence is growing more frequent - and more severe.
In the previous year, two dozen individuals were hurt when a separate Delta aircraft, travelling from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, hit "considerable" rough air just a couple of hours into the long-haul flight, and had to make an unscheduled landing.
Recently, passengers and crew on a Singapore Airlines jet experienced a harrowing five seconds bout of severe turbulence. An individual passed away and dozens were injured, as unbelted passengers were thrown from their seats and crashed back down.
Turbulence is not uncommon while flying, and while instances of significant turbulence appear to be increasing, they are still very rare.
Data suggests that there are an estimated 5,000 incidents of severe-or-greater turbulence every year, out of a total of more than 35 million aircraft departures that are conducted around the world.
Intense turbulence is categorized as when the sudden jolts of a aircraft passing through unstable air apply greater than a significant G-force on your body - sufficient force to propel you from your seat if you were not fastened by a seatbelt.
As a changing climate shifts the conditions in the sky, experts warn that air travel could become less smooth: temperature changes and changing jet streams in the higher altitudes are expected to heighten the occurrence and strength of severe turbulence.
