Several Injured as In-Flight Disturbance Hits Delta Aircraft Landing at Sydney

Multiple passengers and crew have been injured after a Delta jet traveling from LA to Sydney was hit by turbulence this past Friday.

The flight, numbered 41 "went through a short bout of rough air" as it landed at Sydney Airport, a company official informed. Four flight attendants sustained injuries.

Local paramedics said they evaluated a total of five people, and transferred three to the hospital with relatively minor issues that included back pain and head pain. The injured ranged from their 30s to 70s.

It is the latest incident of aircraft being hit by turbulence, with aviation specialists saying that shifting climate patterns is a major factor.

There were 245 people and 15 crew members on the wide-body jet, the representative said, clarifying that the plane landed "safely and normally" at the airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on the day in question.

Emergency responders indicated they were alerted just only 180 seconds prior to the plane arrived, and emergency vehicles were waiting on the tarmac.

Why plane turbulence is becoming increasingly prevalent - and more severe.

Last year, two dozen individuals sustained injuries when a Delta Airlines flight, on a route from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, Netherlands, experienced "significant" atmospheric disturbance just two hours into the long-haul flight, and had to make an precautionary landing.

Earlier this year, passengers and crew on a certain international flight endured a harrowing brief five-second of severe turbulence. One passenger lost their life and many were hurt, as unbelted passengers rose out of their seats and fell back down.

In-flight turbulence is a common occurrence during flights, and while occurrences of rough conditions seem to be rising, they are statistically infrequent.

Data suggests that there are an estimated 5,000 incidents of severe or worse turbulence every year, out of a total of over 35 million aircraft departures that now take off globally.

Intense turbulence is defined as when the vertical motions of a plane going through rough air masses apply in excess of 1.5 times the force of gravity on your body - enough to propel you from your seat if you weren't wearing a restraint.

As global warming alters atmospheric conditions, specialists caution that air travel could become less smooth: shifts in temperature and altered air currents in the jet stream level are projected to boost the occurrence and strength of significant turbulence.