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

Multiple passengers and crew were hurt after a Delta aircraft originating in Los Angeles to Sydney encountered rough air Friday morning.

Delta Flight 41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it made its approach and landed at the Sydney airport, a representative for the carrier told. Several cabin crew members sustained injuries.

Emergency medical services stated they assessed five individuals, and took three of them to hospital with minor injuries that included pain in the back and migraines. The patients' ages ranged from their 30s up to the 70s.

It is the most recent case of commercial jets being hit by atmospheric disturbance, with aviation specialists pointing out that global warming is a significant contributor.

The aircraft was carrying 245 people and fifteen staff members on the aircraft, the Delta spokesperson said, stating that the plane touched down "safely and normally" at Sydney Airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on the day in question.

Paramedics indicated they got a call just only 180 seconds prior to the plane touched down, and emergency vehicles were waiting on the tarmac.

Why plane turbulence is becoming increasingly prevalent - and more severe.

Last year, twenty-five passengers and crew were hurt when a Delta Airlines flight, travelling from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, experienced "significant" turbulence just 120 minutes into the transoceanic journey, and had to make an precautionary landing.

Earlier this year, those on board on a certain international flight went through a frightening five seconds bout of severe turbulence. One passenger passed away and dozens were injured, as unbelted passengers lifted out of their seats and crashed back down.

In-flight turbulence is fairly routine while flying, and while instances of strong or severe turbulence are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are remained quite uncommon.

Data suggests that there are an estimated five thousand cases of severe-or-greater turbulence annually, out of a sum of in excess of 35 million journeys that now take off around the world.

Strong atmospheric disturbance is categorized as when the up and down movements of a jet going through rough air masses exert more than 1.5 times the force of gravity on your body - a strong enough force to propel you from your seat if you weren't wearing a seatbelt.

As a changing climate modifies the conditions in the sky, specialists caution that flying could become less smooth: temperature changes and shifting wind patterns in the jet stream level are likely to heighten the occurrence and strength of severe turbulence.