A Number of Hurt as In-Flight Disturbance Hits Delta Flight Arriving in Sydney, Australia

A number of individuals sustained injuries when a Delta Airlines jet from LA to Sydney was hit by rough air on Friday morning.

Flight DL41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it touched down at the Sydney airport, a representative for the carrier informed. Several cabin crew members were injured.

Local paramedics reported they treated a total of five people, and took three of them to a medical facility with non-life-threatening injuries that such as spinal discomfort and head pain. Those affected ranged from their thirties and seventies.

The event represents the latest incident of aircraft experiencing severe turbulence, with aviation specialists saying that shifting climate patterns is a key driver.

On board were 245 people and 15 crew members on the Airbus A350, the official noted, adding that the plane landed "safely and normally" at Sydney Airport at 06:48 local time on Friday morning.

Paramedics indicated they received a call just three minutes before the plane arrived, and response teams were ready and waiting at the airport.

The reasons turbulence is getting increasingly prevalent - and potentially more dangerous.

During the past year, 25 people sustained injuries when a Delta Airlines flight, on a route from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, experienced "severe" atmospheric disturbance just two hours into the transoceanic journey, and had to make an precautionary landing.

Earlier this year, passengers and crew on a Singapore Airlines jet went through a frightening short but intense bout of severe turbulence. An individual passed away and numerous people sustained injuries, as individuals not fastened in rose out of their seats and fell back down.

In-flight turbulence is a common occurrence during flights, and while cases of significant turbulence are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are remained quite uncommon.

Estimates show that there are around five thousand cases of severe or worse turbulence each year, out of a total of in excess of 35 million journeys that currently occur around the world.

Intense turbulence is described as when the vertical motions of a plane going through unstable air apply more than 1.5 times the force of gravity on your body - sufficient force to throw you from your seat if you did not have on a safety belt.

As global warming alters atmospheric conditions, specialists caution that flying could become more turbulent: shifts in temperature and changing jet streams in the upper atmosphere are expected to heighten the regularity and severity of significant turbulence.