A Number of Injured as Rough Air Strikes Delta Aircraft into Sydney
Multiple passengers and crew were hurt following a Delta Airlines jet from LA to Sydney was hit by significant turbulence on Friday morning.
The flight, numbered 41 "went through a short bout of rough air" as it landed at Sydney Airport, an airline spokesperson informed. Several cabin crew members required medical attention.
Local paramedics reported they assessed a total of five people, and took three of them to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries that such as pain in the back and headaches. Those affected spanned from their 30s to 70s.
It is the most recent case of commercial jets being hit by severe turbulence, with experts indicating that shifting climate patterns is a significant contributor.
The aircraft was carrying 245 passengers and a crew of 15 on the aircraft, the official added, clarifying that the plane landed "safely and normally" at the airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on Friday morning.
The NSW Ambulance Service said they received a call just three minutes prior to the plane touched down, and emergency vehicles were ready and waiting at the airport.
Why in-flight bumpiness is becoming increasingly prevalent - and potentially more dangerous.
During the past year, twenty-five passengers and crew were hurt when a Delta Airlines flight, on a route from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, Netherlands, experienced "significant" turbulence just a couple of hours into the transoceanic journey, and was forced to make an precautionary landing.
Earlier this year, those on board on a Singapore Airlines flight experienced a harrowing brief five-second of severe turbulence. An individual passed away and dozens were injured, as those without seatbelts rose out of their seats and fell back down.
In-flight turbulence is a common occurrence during flights, and while occurrences of significant turbulence are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are statistically infrequent.
Estimates show that there are an estimated thousands of instances of severe-or-greater turbulence every year, out of a sum of over 35 million journeys that are conducted around the world.
Severe turbulence is categorized as when the up and down movements of a plane going through rough air masses apply greater than 1.5g-force on your body - a strong enough force to lift you out of your seat if you were not fastened by a seatbelt.
As a changing climate shifts atmospheric conditions, experts warn that flying could become bumpier: warming trends and altered air currents in the higher altitudes are expected to heighten the occurrence and strength of dangerous in-flight bumps.