Multiple Hurt as In-Flight Disturbance Hits Delta Aircraft Landing at Sydney

Several people have been injured when a Delta flight from LA to Sydney, Australia encountered rough air 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 told. Several cabin crew members were injured.

The New South Wales Ambulance Service stated they evaluated a total of five people, and took a trio to a medical facility with relatively minor issues that included spinal discomfort and head pain. The injured spanned from their thirties and seventies.

It is the newest example of aircraft experiencing atmospheric disturbance, with researchers pointing out that shifting climate patterns is a major factor.

The aircraft was carrying nearly 250 travelers and a crew of 15 on the wide-body jet, the official added, clarifying that the plane touched down "safely and normally" at Sydney Airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on Friday.

The NSW Ambulance Service said they received a call just a mere three minutes prior to the plane touched down, and emergency vehicles were ready and waiting at the airport.

Why in-flight bumpiness is growing more frequent - and potentially more dangerous.

In the previous year, two dozen individuals were injured when a separate Delta aircraft, flying from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, encountered "significant" rough air just two hours into the lengthy trip, and was forced to make an unscheduled landing.

Recently, passengers and crew on a certain international flight endured a frightening brief five-second bout of severe turbulence. A traveler passed away and numerous people sustained injuries, as individuals not fastened in rose out of their seats and fell back down.

Bumpy air is not uncommon while flying, and while cases of rough conditions are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are statistically infrequent.

Estimates show that there are approximately 5,000 incidents of severe or worse turbulence annually, out of a overall number of over 35 million flights that are conducted worldwide.

Intense turbulence is defined as when the up and down movements of a jet going through rough air masses exert more than 1.5 times the force of gravity on your body - a strong enough force to propel you from your seat if you weren't wearing a safety belt.

As a changing climate alters the conditions in the sky, specialists caution that commercial aviation could become bumpier: temperature changes and shifting wind patterns in the higher altitudes are expected to increase the frequency and intensity of severe turbulence.