A Number of Affected as In-Flight Disturbance Impacts Delta Flight Arriving in Sydney, Australia

A number of individuals sustained injuries after a Delta Airlines flight originating in Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia encountered rough air on Friday morning.

The flight, numbered 41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it made its approach and landed at the Sydney airport, a company official stated. Several cabin crew members required medical attention.

Local paramedics stated they treated five patients, and transported a trio to the hospital with relatively minor issues that comprised pain in the back and head pain. Those affected spanned from their 30s to 70s.

The event represents the newest example of aircraft experiencing severe turbulence, with researchers indicating that climate change is a significant contributor.

There were 245 passengers and 15 crew members on the aircraft, the representative added, clarifying that the plane touched down "without further incident" at the airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on Friday morning.

The NSW Ambulance Service said they received a call just three minutes prior to the plane touched down, and response teams were standing by on the runway.

Why plane turbulence is becoming more frequent - and more severe.

In the previous year, two dozen individuals were hurt when a separate Delta aircraft, travelling from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, encountered "significant" atmospheric disturbance just 120 minutes into the long-haul flight, and was forced to make an precautionary landing.

Recently, travelers and staff on a Singapore Airlines flight endured a terrifying brief five-second bout of severe turbulence. An individual passed away and dozens were injured, as unbelted passengers were thrown from their seats and crashed back down.

Bumpy air is fairly routine while flying, and while cases of strong or severe turbulence appear to be increasing, they are statistically infrequent.

Data suggests that there are around thousands of instances of significant in-flight disturbance every year, out of a sum of in excess of 35 million aircraft departures that currently occur worldwide.

Strong atmospheric disturbance is categorized as when the up and down movements of a plane experiencing rough air masses exert in excess of 1.5 times the force of gravity on your body - sufficient force to lift you out of your seat if you weren't wearing a restraint.

As a changing climate alters atmospheric conditions, researchers alert that air travel could become more turbulent: shifts in temperature and shifting wind patterns in the jet stream level are expected to heighten the frequency and intensity of dangerous in-flight bumps.