Several Affected as Rough Air Impacts A Delta Airlines Plane into Sydney
Several people have been injured when a Delta Airlines flight traveling from LA to Sydney, Australia experienced rough air Friday morning.
The flight, numbered 41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it landed at Sydney Airport, a company official told. Four flight attendants required medical attention.
Local paramedics said they assessed five individuals, and transported three of them to a medical facility with relatively minor issues that comprised pain in the back and headaches. Those affected were between their 30s up to the 70s.
This marks the latest incident of aircraft experiencing atmospheric disturbance, with aviation specialists saying that global warming is a major factor.
On board were 245 people and 15 crew members on the wide-body jet, the representative noted, adding that the plane landed "safely and normally" at the airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on Friday.
Emergency responders reported they received a call just only 180 seconds ahead of the plane touched down, and emergency vehicles were ready and waiting at the airport.
Why plane turbulence is growing increasingly prevalent - and more severe.
During the past year, two dozen individuals were injured when a separate Delta aircraft, on a route from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, Netherlands, hit "severe" rough air just 120 minutes into the lengthy trip, and diverted for an unscheduled landing.
Recently, travelers and staff on a Singapore Airlines flight experienced a harrowing short but intense period of extreme instability. One passenger died and dozens were injured, as unbelted passengers lifted out of their seats and fell back down.
Bumpy air is a common occurrence during flights, and while instances of strong or severe turbulence appear to be increasing, they are statistically infrequent.
Research indicates that there are an estimated five thousand cases of severe or worse turbulence every year, out of a sum of more than 35 million flights that currently occur around the world.
Severe turbulence is defined as when the up and down movements of a jet passing through disturbed air exert more than 1.5 times the force of gravity on your body - enough to propel you from your seat if you weren't wearing a seatbelt.
As global warming shifts the conditions in the sky, researchers alert that air travel could become bumpier: shifts in temperature and changing jet streams in the higher altitudes are expected to increase the occurrence and strength of dangerous in-flight bumps.
