Multiple Hurt as Turbulence Hits A Delta Airlines Plane Landing at Sydney

Multiple passengers and crew sustained injuries after a Delta Airlines jet originating in LA to Sydney experienced rough air on Friday morning.

The flight, numbered 41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it made its approach and landed at Sydney Airport, a company official informed. A number of the onboard staff were injured.

Emergency medical services reported they evaluated a total of five people, and transferred three of them to hospital with relatively minor issues that such as back pain and head pain. Those affected were between their 30s up to the 70s.

The event represents the latest incident of aircraft being hit by severe turbulence, with experts pointing out that climate change is a key driver.

There were nearly 250 travelers and fifteen staff members on the aircraft, the Delta spokesperson noted, adding that the plane landed "without further incident" at Sydney Airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on Friday morning.

Emergency responders reported they got a call just only 180 seconds before the plane landed, and ambulances were waiting on the tarmac.

Why in-flight bumpiness is getting more frequent - and potentially more dangerous.

Last year, two dozen individuals were injured when another Delta jet, travelling from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, encountered "severe" turbulence just 120 minutes into the transoceanic journey, and diverted for an precautionary landing.

Recently, those on board on a Singapore Airlines flight endured a terrifying short but intense period of extreme instability. An individual lost their life and numerous people sustained injuries, as individuals not fastened in lifted out of their seats and fell back down.

Bumpy air is not uncommon while flying, and while instances of rough conditions seem to be rising, they are statistically infrequent.

Data suggests that there are approximately thousands of instances of severe-or-greater turbulence annually, out of a total of over 35 million journeys that are conducted around the world.

Strong atmospheric disturbance is defined as when the sudden jolts of a plane experiencing disturbed air apply more than 1.5 times the force of gravity on your body - a strong enough force to propel you from your seat if you were not fastened by a safety belt.

As global warming shifts the conditions in the sky, experts warn that commercial aviation could become less smooth: shifts in temperature and shifting wind patterns in the higher altitudes are projected to heighten the frequency and intensity of dangerous in-flight bumps.