Turbulence continues to remind air passengers that the sky can change rapidly; therefore, flying remains one of the most reliable forms of transportation in spite of turbulence and how unpredictable it is.
On one such instance recently, Delta Air Lines operated a scheduled flight over the Pacific Ocean from Los Angeles to Sydney Australia and unexpectedly experienced turbulence which caused several crew members onboard the aircraft to fall due to unstable positions of work.
At approximately halfway through the flight, an unexpected jolt from turbulence caught the attention of all cabin crew members while performing duties. Because of this jolt caused unsafe work conditions in the cabin for a period of time, multiple crew members lost their balance during this time resulting in multiple employee falls inside the aircraft. Three crew members were then treated at the hospital subsequent to landing due to employee injuries caused by the unexpected airplane jolt.
Delta Airlines representatives reported no passengers suffered serious injury due to this incident, and post-landing passenger medical checks were provided; however, crew members were of main concern in this instance as the incidents mentioned above were directly contributed by the sudden jolt in the aircraft.
The Airbus A350 landed at the Sydney Airport at 6:48AM after carrying 245 passengers and 15 crew members. Emergency services were on standby for the plane’s landing after receiving a call only minutes prior to touch down.
Turbulence like what occurred on that flight is not uncommon. There are many examples of turbulence, and are often the result of weather patterns, geographical/seismic locations of land or other features that can affect air flow and temperature, etc. Stronger incidents of turbulence have gained more media attention because researchers/experts have reported that they seem to be occurring more frequently.
Climate change is one of the possible explanations for this trend according to scientists.
Persistent changes in air temperature combined with changing weather patterns have led to more instability of air currents. As the energy in the atmosphere dissipates due to the increasing gravitational pull from global warming, so does the ability of the aircraft to maintain steady flight over an extended distance. Thus, when compared to today, future flights may feel even less stable.
In the past 12 months alone there have been numerous turbulence related incidents in the news, including a late 2015 incident where a Delta flight from UT to AMS encountered significant turbulence and was forced to divert due to danger to the passengers, and another incident earlier this year which injured several flight attendants during an in-flight occurrence because of roof damage due to strong crosswinds, among others.
One of the best-known cases of turbulence in history was in 2024 when a Singapore Airlines flight encountered severe turbulence resulting in one death and multiple injuries.
Many injuries from turbulence occur from passengers being unsecured, particularly when cabin crew move throughout the aircraft to serve food and drinks as they provide support to the cabin. Cabin crew can experience severe falls if the aircraft shakes hard just for a few seconds.
As a result, airlines have a strong emphasis on seat belts, especially when the seat belt signs have been turned off.
So, while the Delta flight landed safely and no one on board had any problems, this incident illustrates the issue of an increase in turbulence as a concern when flying today.
Not because flying today is dangerous, but because the atmosphere is becoming more unpredictable than it has historically been.
