Multiple Hurt as Rough Air Impacts A Delta Airlines Flight into Sydney

A number of individuals have been injured when a Delta Airlines aircraft traveling from Los Angeles to Sydney experienced turbulence this past Friday.

The flight, numbered 41 "went through a short bout of rough air" as it landed at the Sydney airport, a company official informed. Several cabin crew members required medical attention.

Emergency medical services said they assessed five individuals, and transported three to a medical facility with minor injuries that comprised back pain and headaches. The injured spanned from their 30s up to the 70s.

This marks the newest example of commercial jets being hit by turbulence, with experts saying that climate change is a significant contributor.

The aircraft was carrying nearly 250 travelers and 15 crew members on the wide-body jet, the Delta spokesperson said, clarifying that the plane arrived "safely and normally" at Sydney Airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on Friday.

The NSW Ambulance Service said they were alerted just a mere three minutes before the plane touched down, and response teams were waiting on the tarmac.

Why plane turbulence is becoming more frequent - and often stronger.

During the past year, 25 people sustained injuries when a Delta Airlines flight, travelling from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, hit "significant" turbulence just 120 minutes into the transoceanic journey, and had to make an emergency landing.

Earlier this year, those on board on a Singapore Airlines jet went through a harrowing brief five-second of severe turbulence. An individual lost their life and many were hurt, as those without seatbelts were thrown from their seats and crashed back down.

In-flight turbulence is a common occurrence while flying, and while instances of strong or severe turbulence are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are statistically infrequent.

Data suggests that there are around five thousand cases of severe-or-greater turbulence each year, out of a overall number of in excess of 35 million journeys that are conducted globally.

Intense turbulence is defined as when the vertical motions of a aircraft experiencing disturbed air apply more than a significant G-force on your body - sufficient force to lift you out of your seat if you did not have on a safety belt.

As climate change alters the conditions in the sky, researchers alert that air travel could become more turbulent: shifts in temperature and shifting wind patterns in the higher altitudes are projected to boost the regularity and severity of dangerous in-flight bumps.