Several Affected as Rough Air Hits A Delta Airlines Aircraft Landing at Sydney, Australia
A number of individuals were hurt following a Delta Airlines jet from LA to Sydney experienced turbulence this past Friday.
Flight DL41 "went through a short bout of rough air" as it landed at Sydney Airport, a representative for the carrier informed. Several cabin crew members sustained injuries.
The New South Wales Ambulance Service said they treated a total of five people, and transported a trio to the hospital with relatively minor issues that comprised pain in the back and headaches. Those affected ranged from their thirties and seventies.
This marks the most recent case of aircraft experiencing severe turbulence, with aviation specialists saying that shifting climate patterns is a major factor.
On board were 245 people and 15 crew members on the wide-body jet, the Delta spokesperson added, stating that the plane arrived "without further incident" at Sydney Airport at 06:48 local time on Friday.
The NSW Ambulance Service said they received a call just three minutes prior to the plane arrived, and response teams were standing by on the runway.
Why in-flight bumpiness is becoming more common - and often stronger.
During the past year, two dozen individuals were hurt when a Delta Airlines flight, on a route from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, encountered "significant" atmospheric disturbance just two hours into the transoceanic journey, and diverted for an emergency landing.
Recently, those on board on a Singapore Airlines flight endured a frightening brief five-second of severe turbulence. One passenger passed away and dozens were injured, as individuals not fastened in rose out of their seats and fell back down.
Turbulence is a common occurrence while flying, and while occurrences of strong or severe turbulence are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are still very rare.
Estimates show that there are approximately thousands of instances of severe-or-greater turbulence annually, out of a sum of in excess of 35 million aircraft departures that currently occur globally.
Strong atmospheric disturbance is categorized as when the vertical motions of a aircraft going through unstable air exert more than a significant G-force on your body - sufficient force to throw you from your seat if you weren't wearing a seatbelt.
As climate change shifts weather patterns, experts warn that flying could become bumpier: warming trends and shifting wind patterns in the higher altitudes are likely to increase the frequency and intensity of severe turbulence.