Multiple Affected as In-Flight Disturbance Hits Delta Aircraft Landing at Sydney, Australia
Multiple passengers and crew sustained injuries following a Delta flight originating in Los Angeles to Sydney experienced turbulence Friday morning.
The flight, numbered 41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it landed at the Sydney airport, an airline spokesperson stated. Several cabin crew members required medical attention.
Local paramedics said they evaluated a total of five people, and transported a trio to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries that included spinal discomfort and migraines. The patients' ages ranged from their 30s up to the 70s.
It is the latest incident of commercial jets being hit by atmospheric disturbance, with experts indicating that climate change is a key driver.
On board were 245 passengers and a crew of 15 on the aircraft, the representative noted, adding that the plane arrived "safely and normally" at Sydney Airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on Friday.
The NSW Ambulance Service said they received a call just three minutes before the plane landed, and ambulances were waiting on the tarmac.
Why in-flight bumpiness is growing more common - and more severe.
During the past year, two dozen individuals were injured when a Delta Airlines flight, flying from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, Netherlands, hit "considerable" turbulence just a couple of hours into the transoceanic journey, and had to make an emergency landing.
Recently, travelers and staff on a Singapore Airlines jet experienced a harrowing five seconds of severe turbulence. One passenger passed away and dozens were injured, as those without seatbelts lifted out of their seats and fell back down.
Turbulence is not uncommon during flights, and while instances of rough conditions are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are still very rare.
Research indicates that there are approximately five thousand cases of significant in-flight disturbance annually, out of a total of over 35 million flights that are conducted globally.
Strong atmospheric disturbance is described as when the vertical motions of a jet experiencing rough air masses generate in excess of 1.5 times the force of gravity on your body - enough to throw you from your seat if you did not have on a seatbelt.
As global warming alters atmospheric conditions, researchers alert that commercial aviation could become bumpier: temperature changes and changing jet streams in the upper atmosphere are expected to boost the regularity and severity of dangerous in-flight bumps.
