Multiple Hurt as Rough Air Strikes Delta Aircraft into Sydney
A number of individuals have been injured following a Delta Airlines jet traveling from Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia was hit by rough air this past Friday.
Flight DL41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it landed at Sydney Airport, a representative for the carrier informed. A number of the onboard staff were injured.
Emergency medical services said they treated a total of five people, and took three to a medical facility with non-life-threatening injuries that comprised back pain and head pain. The injured were between their 30s to 70s.
It is the latest incident of commercial jets being hit by atmospheric disturbance, with researchers saying that global warming is a significant contributor.
On board were 245 passengers and a crew of 15 on the wide-body jet, the Delta spokesperson noted, adding that the plane arrived "safely" at the airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on the day in question.
Paramedics reported they got a call just a mere three minutes ahead of the plane landed, and response teams were waiting on the tarmac.
Why plane turbulence is growing increasingly prevalent - and often stronger.
In the previous year, two dozen individuals were hurt when a Delta Airlines flight, on a route from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, Netherlands, encountered "severe" turbulence just a couple of hours into the transoceanic journey, and had to make an unscheduled landing.
Recently, travelers and staff on a certain international flight endured a terrifying five seconds period of extreme instability. One passenger died and many were hurt, as those without seatbelts rose out of their seats and were slammed back.
In-flight turbulence is a common occurrence during flights, and while cases of strong or severe turbulence are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are remained quite uncommon.
Data suggests that there are an estimated five thousand cases of significant in-flight disturbance every year, out of a sum of more than 35 million journeys that currently occur globally.
Intense turbulence is described as when the vertical motions of a plane passing through disturbed air apply greater than 1.5 times the force of gravity on your body - enough to propel you from your seat if you did not have on a seatbelt.
As climate change alters the conditions in the sky, experts warn that air travel could become less smooth: temperature changes and shifting wind patterns in the higher altitudes are likely to boost the regularity and severity of severe turbulence.