A Number of Affected as Rough Air Hits A Delta Airlines Flight Landing at Sydney
A number of individuals were hurt following a Delta Airlines flight originating in Los Angeles to Sydney experienced rough air on Friday morning.
Delta Flight 41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it landed at the Sydney airport, a company official informed. A number of the onboard staff were injured.
Local paramedics reported they treated a total of five people, and transferred a trio to the hospital with minor injuries that included pain in the back and headaches. The injured ranged from their thirties and seventies.
The event represents the latest incident of commercial jets being hit by turbulence, with experts indicating that climate change is a major factor.
On board were 245 people and a crew of 15 on the wide-body jet, the representative noted, adding that the plane landed "without further incident" at the airport at 06:48 local time on Friday morning.
Paramedics said they got a call just a mere three minutes ahead of the plane arrived, and ambulances were waiting on the tarmac.
Why plane turbulence is growing increasingly prevalent - and potentially more dangerous.
During the past year, twenty-five passengers and crew sustained injuries when another Delta jet, flying from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, Netherlands, experienced "severe" turbulence just 120 minutes into the lengthy trip, and diverted for an emergency landing.
Earlier this year, travelers and staff on a Singapore Airlines flight endured a terrifying brief five-second of severe turbulence. One passenger passed away and dozens were injured, as unbelted passengers were thrown from their seats and fell back down.
Bumpy air is a common occurrence during flights, and while instances of significant turbulence are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are remained quite uncommon.
Data suggests that there are around five thousand cases of severe or worse turbulence annually, out of a overall number of in excess of 35 million aircraft departures that currently occur around the world.
Strong atmospheric disturbance is described as when the sudden jolts of a jet passing through unstable air exert in excess of 1.5g-force on your body - sufficient force to lift you out of your seat if you were not fastened by a restraint.
As global warming alters weather patterns, experts warn that air travel could become more turbulent: warming trends and altered air currents in the higher altitudes are projected to increase the regularity and severity of severe turbulence.
