A Number of Affected as Rough Air Hits A Delta Airlines Flight into Sydney, Australia
Several people were hurt when a Delta jet from Los Angeles to Sydney encountered significant turbulence on Friday morning.
The flight, numbered 41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it landed at the Sydney airport, a company official stated. Four flight attendants were injured.
The New South Wales Ambulance Service said they treated a total of five people, and took three to the hospital with minor injuries that comprised pain in the back and headaches. The patients' ages ranged from their 30s up to the 70s.
It is the most recent case of commercial jets experiencing severe turbulence, with researchers saying that global warming is a significant contributor.
There were 245 passengers and a crew of 15 on the aircraft, the representative added, clarifying that the plane arrived "without further incident" at Sydney Airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on Friday morning.
Paramedics reported they received a call just three minutes ahead of the plane arrived, and response teams were standing by on the runway.
The reasons turbulence is becoming increasingly prevalent - and more severe.
In the previous year, twenty-five passengers and crew sustained injuries when a Delta Airlines flight, travelling from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, experienced "considerable" atmospheric disturbance just a couple of hours into the transoceanic journey, and had to make an precautionary landing.
Earlier this year, travelers and staff on a certain international flight endured a terrifying brief five-second of severe turbulence. One passenger lost their life and numerous people sustained injuries, as those without seatbelts rose out of their seats and were slammed back.
Bumpy air is not uncommon on aircraft journeys, and while instances of rough conditions are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are statistically infrequent.
Data suggests that there are approximately thousands of instances of severe-or-greater turbulence each year, out of a total of in excess of 35 million journeys that now take off globally.
Strong atmospheric disturbance is defined as when the vertical motions of a jet passing through rough air masses apply in excess of 1.5 times the force of gravity on your body - enough to propel you from your seat if you weren't wearing a seatbelt.
As a changing climate shifts atmospheric conditions, researchers alert that commercial aviation could become less smooth: warming trends and shifting wind patterns in the jet stream level are expected to heighten the regularity and severity of dangerous in-flight bumps.