A Number of Hurt as Turbulence Hits Delta Aircraft Landing at Sydney, Australia

A number of individuals sustained injuries after a Delta Airlines flight originating in LA to Sydney encountered significant turbulence on Friday morning.

Delta Flight 41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it landed at Sydney Airport, a representative for the carrier stated. Several cabin crew members required medical attention.

Emergency medical services reported they assessed five patients, and took three to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries that comprised spinal discomfort and headaches. The patients' ages were between their 30s to 70s.

The event represents the most recent case of aircraft being hit by atmospheric disturbance, with experts pointing out that climate change is a major factor.

On board were 245 passengers and a crew of 15 on the aircraft, the official added, clarifying that the plane touched down "safely and normally" at the airport at 06:48 local time on Friday morning.

Paramedics indicated they were alerted just only 180 seconds before the plane arrived, and emergency vehicles were ready and waiting at the airport.

The reasons turbulence is growing more common - and often stronger.

During the past year, two dozen individuals sustained injuries when a separate Delta aircraft, flying from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, Netherlands, experienced "significant" rough air just two hours into the long-haul flight, and had to make an emergency landing.

Earlier this year, passengers and crew on a Singapore Airlines flight endured a harrowing brief five-second period of extreme instability. An individual died and many were hurt, as individuals not fastened in lifted out of their seats and crashed back down.

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

Data suggests that there are around 5,000 incidents of severe or worse turbulence annually, out of a overall number of in excess of 35 million aircraft departures that currently occur around the world.

Intense turbulence is defined as when the sudden jolts of a plane experiencing unstable air apply greater than 1.5g-force 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 weather patterns, researchers alert that air travel could become less smooth: warming trends and changing jet streams in the jet stream level are expected to boost the regularity and severity of dangerous in-flight bumps.