3 Crew Injured When Turbulence Hits Delta Flight

They're hospitalized after flight from LA to Sydney
Posted Mar 20, 2026 9:41 AM CDT
3 Crew Injured When Turbulence Hits Delta Flight
File photo of a Delta Airlines jet, this one landing at Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport.   (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

A rough patch of turbulence sent three crew members on a Delta flight from Los Angeles to Australia to the hospital on Friday, but all 245 passengers on the Airbus A350 walked away uninjured, reports the BBC and NBC News. Australian paramedics evaluated five people for what were described as "musculoskeletal and lower back concerns" after the plane hit turbulence on its descent into Sydney. Three went to the hospital and were in stable condition. The widebody jet, carrying 15 crew members, landed just after 6:40am local time, according to Flightradar24.

"The most common cause for turbulence on flights around Sydney is convective storms," Michael Heisel of the University of Sydney's School of Civil Engineering tells NBC. "These weather events are becoming more common in Australia with the warming climate." The incident follows a series of recent turbulence-related injuries on commercial flights, including two other Delta flights in July and September.

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