Several Hurt as Turbulence Hits A Delta Airlines Flight Landing at Sydney

Several people have been injured when a Delta aircraft originating in Los Angeles to Sydney was hit by rough air Friday morning.

The flight, numbered 41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it touched down at the Sydney airport, a company official informed. Four flight attendants sustained injuries.

Emergency medical services said they evaluated five individuals, and took three of them to the hospital with minor injuries that included pain in the back and head pain. Those affected spanned from their 30s up to the 70s.

The event represents the newest example of commercial jets encountering atmospheric disturbance, with experts indicating that shifting climate patterns is a major factor.

There were 245 passengers and 15 crew members on the Airbus A350, the Delta spokesperson added, stating that the plane touched down "safely and normally" at Sydney Airport at 06:48 local time on the day in question.

The NSW Ambulance Service said they received a call just a mere three minutes ahead of the plane landed, and response teams were standing by on the runway.

The reasons turbulence is getting more common - and potentially more dangerous.

Last year, two dozen individuals sustained injuries when a separate Delta aircraft, on a route from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, hit "significant" rough air just two hours into the transoceanic journey, and had to make an precautionary landing.

Earlier this year, passengers and crew on a Singapore Airlines jet experienced a harrowing brief five-second period of extreme instability. A traveler died and numerous people sustained injuries, as those without seatbelts were thrown from their seats and were slammed back.

Turbulence is a common occurrence while flying, and while occurrences of rough conditions seem to be rising, they are still very rare.

Data suggests that there are approximately five thousand cases of significant in-flight disturbance each year, out of a sum of over 35 million flights that are conducted worldwide.

Intense turbulence is categorized as when the vertical motions of a plane experiencing rough air masses apply in excess of 1.5g-force on your body - enough to lift you out of your seat if you weren't wearing a seatbelt.

As climate change modifies the conditions in the sky, researchers alert that air travel could become bumpier: warming trends and changing jet streams in the jet stream level are likely to increase the regularity and severity of severe turbulence.