Multiple Affected as Rough Air Impacts Delta Flight Landing at Sydney

Several people have been injured when a Delta Airlines jet from Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia was hit by significant turbulence this past Friday.

Flight DL41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it made its approach and landed at the Sydney airport, a company official informed. A number of the onboard staff sustained injuries.

The New South Wales Ambulance Service stated they evaluated five individuals, and transported a trio to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries that included back pain and migraines. The patients' ages ranged from their thirties and seventies.

This marks the most recent case of planes being hit by turbulence, with experts saying that climate change is a key driver.

There were 245 people and 15 crew members on the Airbus A350, the representative noted, adding that the plane arrived "without further incident" at Sydney Airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on the day in question.

The NSW Ambulance Service said they received a call just only 180 seconds ahead of the plane touched down, and emergency vehicles were standing by on the runway.

Why plane turbulence is growing more common - and more severe.

In the previous year, twenty-five passengers and crew were injured when a Delta Airlines flight, travelling from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, encountered "significant" rough air just 120 minutes into the transoceanic journey, and diverted for an emergency landing.

Earlier this year, passengers and crew on a Singapore Airlines flight endured a frightening short but intense period of extreme instability. One passenger died and many were hurt, as those without seatbelts were thrown from their seats and were slammed back.

In-flight turbulence is not uncommon on aircraft journeys, and while instances of strong or severe turbulence are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are still very rare.

Estimates show that there are an estimated five thousand cases of significant in-flight disturbance every year, out of a sum of over 35 million flights that are conducted worldwide.

Strong atmospheric disturbance is defined as when the up and down movements of a plane experiencing disturbed air generate more than a significant G-force on your body - a strong enough force to throw you from your seat if you did not have on a restraint.

As global warming alters the conditions in the sky, experts warn that commercial aviation could become bumpier: shifts in temperature and altered air currents in the higher altitudes are likely to boost the frequency and intensity of severe turbulence.