Several Affected as Rough Air Strikes Delta Flight Landing at Sydney, Australia
Several people sustained injuries following a Delta Airlines jet traveling from Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia experienced turbulence Friday morning.
The flight, numbered 41 "went through a short bout of rough air" as it landed at Sydney Airport, a company official told. A number of the onboard staff sustained injuries.
The New South Wales Ambulance Service stated they assessed five individuals, and transported three of them to a medical facility with non-life-threatening injuries that included pain in the back and headaches. Those affected spanned from their 30s to 70s.
The event represents the latest incident of commercial jets experiencing atmospheric disturbance, with researchers saying that global warming is a major factor.
On board were 245 people and a crew of 15 on the wide-body jet, the representative said, adding that the plane touched down "safely and normally" at the airport at 06:48 local time on Friday morning.
Emergency responders reported they were alerted just three minutes prior to the plane landed, and ambulances were ready and waiting at the airport.
Why plane turbulence is becoming more common - and more severe.
Last year, two dozen individuals sustained injuries when another Delta jet, flying from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, Netherlands, encountered "considerable" atmospheric disturbance just 120 minutes into the lengthy trip, and had to make an emergency landing.
Earlier this year, those on board on a Singapore Airlines jet went through a harrowing five seconds period of extreme instability. An individual passed away and many were hurt, as unbelted passengers rose out of their seats and fell back down.
In-flight turbulence is not uncommon on aircraft journeys, and while instances of strong or severe turbulence are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are statistically infrequent.
Data suggests that there are an estimated 5,000 incidents of severe-or-greater turbulence annually, out of a overall number of more than 35 million flights that are conducted around the world.
Severe turbulence is defined as when the vertical motions of a jet passing through rough air masses exert in excess of a significant G-force on your body - enough to propel you from your seat if you did not have on a safety belt.
As a changing climate modifies the conditions in the sky, researchers alert that flying could become less smooth: temperature changes and changing jet streams in the upper atmosphere are likely to boost the frequency and intensity of dangerous in-flight bumps.