A Number of Hurt as Turbulence Hits A Delta Airlines Plane Arriving in Sydney, Australia
A number of individuals have been injured following a Delta Airlines aircraft traveling from Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia experienced turbulence on Friday morning.
The flight, numbered 41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it made its approach and landed at the Sydney airport, a company official informed. Four flight attendants required medical attention.
The New South Wales Ambulance Service stated they evaluated a total of five people, and took a trio to the hospital with minor injuries that comprised back pain and head pain. Those affected ranged from their 30s up to the 70s.
The event represents the newest example of planes encountering atmospheric disturbance, with researchers pointing out that global warming is a key driver.
There were nearly 250 travelers and fifteen staff members on the Airbus A350, the Delta spokesperson noted, stating that the plane touched down "without further incident" at the airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on the day in question.
Paramedics said they received a call just a mere three minutes before the plane landed, and ambulances were ready and waiting at the airport.
Why plane turbulence is growing more frequent - and often stronger.
Last year, twenty-five passengers and crew sustained injuries when a Delta Airlines flight, flying from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, Netherlands, experienced "severe" turbulence just a couple of hours into the lengthy trip, and diverted for an emergency landing.
Earlier this year, travelers and staff on a Singapore Airlines jet endured a terrifying brief five-second of severe turbulence. An individual died and numerous people sustained injuries, as those without seatbelts rose out of their seats and crashed back down.
In-flight turbulence is fairly routine on aircraft journeys, and while occurrences of rough conditions appear to be increasing, they are remained quite uncommon.
Data suggests that there are approximately five thousand cases of significant in-flight disturbance annually, out of a overall number of over 35 million aircraft departures that currently occur around the world.
Severe turbulence is categorized as when the vertical motions of a aircraft passing through unstable air apply greater than 1.5g-force on your body - a strong enough force to lift you out of your seat if you were not fastened by a seatbelt.
As global warming alters weather patterns, researchers alert that flying could become bumpier: temperature changes and changing jet streams in the higher altitudes are expected to boost the regularity and severity of significant turbulence.
