A Number of Affected as Turbulence Impacts Delta Plane Landing at Sydney, Australia
Multiple passengers and crew sustained injuries after a Delta flight originating in LA to Sydney, Australia experienced turbulence Friday morning.
The flight, numbered 41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it touched down at Sydney Airport, a representative for the carrier stated. A number of the onboard staff sustained injuries.
The New South Wales Ambulance Service said they assessed five individuals, and transferred three to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries that included pain in the back and headaches. The patients' ages spanned from their 30s up to the 70s.
The event represents the most recent case of planes experiencing turbulence, with aviation specialists saying that climate change is a key driver.
There were 245 passengers and a crew of 15 on the Airbus A350, the Delta spokesperson said, stating that the plane touched down "safely" at Sydney Airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on Friday morning.
Paramedics indicated they were alerted just three minutes ahead of the plane arrived, and emergency vehicles were waiting on the tarmac.
Why plane turbulence is getting more common - and more severe.
Last year, 25 people were injured when another Delta jet, flying from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, Netherlands, encountered "considerable" turbulence just a couple of hours into the long-haul flight, and diverted for an precautionary landing.
Earlier this year, travelers and staff on a certain international flight experienced a harrowing five seconds bout of severe turbulence. An individual passed away and numerous people sustained injuries, as those without seatbelts rose out of their seats and fell back down.
Turbulence is not uncommon while flying, and while occurrences of rough conditions are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are still very rare.
Estimates show that there are around 5,000 incidents of significant in-flight disturbance annually, out of a total of in excess of 35 million journeys that currently occur globally.
Severe turbulence is categorized as when the vertical motions of a jet going through unstable air apply more than a significant G-force on your body - a strong enough force to lift you out of your seat if you did not have on a safety belt.
As a changing climate alters atmospheric conditions, specialists caution that commercial aviation could become more turbulent: shifts in temperature and shifting wind patterns in the higher altitudes are projected to boost the occurrence and strength of severe turbulence.
