Multiple Injured as In-Flight Disturbance Impacts A Delta Airlines Aircraft Arriving in Sydney
Multiple passengers and crew sustained injuries following a Delta Airlines aircraft from LA to Sydney, Australia was hit by significant turbulence on Friday morning.
Delta Flight 41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it landed at the Sydney airport, a representative for the carrier told. Four flight attendants sustained injuries.
Emergency medical services said they assessed a total of five people, and took three of them to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries that included pain in the back and head pain. The patients' ages were between their thirties and seventies.
The event represents the latest incident of aircraft encountering atmospheric disturbance, with researchers indicating that global warming is a significant contributor.
On board were nearly 250 travelers and a crew of 15 on the Airbus A350, the official added, stating that the plane arrived "without further incident" at the airport at 06:48 local time on the day in question.
Emergency responders reported they got a call just only 180 seconds prior to the plane arrived, and response teams were ready and waiting at the airport.
Why plane turbulence is becoming more common - and potentially more dangerous.
In the previous year, two dozen individuals sustained injuries when a Delta Airlines flight, on a route from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, hit "significant" atmospheric disturbance just 120 minutes into the long-haul flight, and diverted for an unscheduled landing.
Recently, travelers and staff on a Singapore Airlines flight endured a terrifying five seconds bout of severe turbulence. A traveler lost their life and dozens were injured, as those without seatbelts lifted out of their seats and crashed back down.
In-flight turbulence is a common occurrence on aircraft journeys, and while cases of significant turbulence appear to be increasing, they are remained quite uncommon.
Data suggests that there are around five thousand cases of severe or worse turbulence each year, out of a sum of over 35 million aircraft departures that are conducted worldwide.
Strong atmospheric disturbance is described as when the sudden jolts of a aircraft going through unstable air apply in excess of a significant G-force on your body - a strong enough force to throw you from your seat if you weren't wearing a restraint.
As global warming shifts atmospheric conditions, experts warn that flying could become bumpier: temperature changes and altered air currents in the higher altitudes are projected to boost the frequency and intensity of dangerous in-flight bumps.
