Multiple Injured as In-Flight Disturbance Hits Delta Aircraft into Sydney, Australia
A number of individuals have been injured when a Delta aircraft traveling from LA to Sydney, Australia was hit by turbulence this past Friday.
Flight DL41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it made its approach and landed at Sydney Airport, a representative for the carrier informed. Four flight attendants were injured.
Local paramedics reported they treated five patients, and took three to a medical facility with non-life-threatening injuries that included pain in the back and headaches. The injured ranged from their 30s up to the 70s.
This marks the newest example of aircraft experiencing atmospheric disturbance, with researchers indicating that shifting climate patterns is a key driver.
The aircraft was carrying 245 passengers and fifteen staff members on the aircraft, the representative added, clarifying that the plane touched down "safely" at the airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on the day in question.
The NSW Ambulance Service reported they were alerted just only 180 seconds before the plane landed, and emergency vehicles were waiting on the tarmac.
Why in-flight bumpiness is becoming more common - and often stronger.
In the previous year, two dozen individuals were hurt when another Delta jet, travelling from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, encountered "significant" turbulence just 120 minutes into the transoceanic journey, and diverted for an unscheduled landing.
Earlier this year, passengers and crew on a Singapore Airlines flight went through a harrowing short but intense of severe turbulence. An individual passed away and dozens were injured, as individuals not fastened in lifted out of their seats and fell back down.
Turbulence is not uncommon during flights, and while occurrences of significant turbulence seem to be rising, they are still very rare.
Data suggests that there are an estimated 5,000 incidents of significant in-flight disturbance every year, out of a overall number of in excess of 35 million flights that are conducted globally.
Severe turbulence is categorized as when the vertical motions of a aircraft going through disturbed air generate in excess of 1.5 times the force of gravity on your body - a strong enough force to propel you from your seat if you weren't wearing a seatbelt.
As a changing climate shifts weather patterns, researchers alert that air travel could become more turbulent: warming trends and altered air currents in the higher altitudes are likely to heighten the occurrence and strength of dangerous in-flight bumps.
