Multiple Affected as In-Flight Disturbance Strikes Delta Plane Arriving in Sydney, Australia

Multiple passengers and crew were hurt following a Delta Airlines jet originating in LA to Sydney was hit by rough air this past Friday.

Delta Flight 41 "went through a short bout of rough air" as it landed at the Sydney airport, an airline spokesperson informed. A number of the onboard staff were injured.

The New South Wales Ambulance Service stated they evaluated five patients, and transported three of them to a medical facility with minor injuries that such as back pain and headaches. Those affected ranged from their 30s to 70s.

It is the most recent case of aircraft encountering atmospheric disturbance, with experts saying that climate change is a significant contributor.

There were nearly 250 travelers and 15 crew members on the aircraft, the Delta spokesperson said, adding that the plane touched down "without further incident" at the airport at 06:48 local time on Friday.

Emergency responders said they received a call just three minutes ahead of the plane arrived, and ambulances were waiting on the tarmac.

Why plane turbulence is getting more frequent - and potentially more dangerous.

In the previous year, two dozen individuals were injured when a Delta Airlines flight, flying from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, Netherlands, hit "considerable" atmospheric disturbance just a couple of hours into the lengthy trip, and diverted for an unscheduled landing.

Earlier this year, passengers and crew on a Singapore Airlines jet experienced a frightening brief five-second of severe turbulence. One passenger passed away and numerous people sustained injuries, as unbelted passengers rose out of their seats and were slammed back.

Turbulence is a common occurrence during flights, and while instances of rough conditions are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are remained quite uncommon.

Data suggests that there are an estimated 5,000 incidents of severe-or-greater turbulence annually, out of a total of in excess of 35 million aircraft departures that currently occur worldwide.

Intense turbulence is categorized as when the sudden jolts of a aircraft going through rough air masses exert more than 1.5g-force on your body - a strong enough force to propel you from your seat if you were not fastened by a seatbelt.

As a changing climate alters the conditions in the sky, researchers alert that flying could become more turbulent: shifts in temperature and shifting wind patterns in the upper atmosphere are projected to increase the regularity and severity of dangerous in-flight bumps.