A Number of Hurt as Rough Air Hits Delta Plane into Sydney, Australia

Several people sustained injuries when a Delta flight originating in Los Angeles to Sydney experienced significant turbulence Friday morning.

Delta Flight 41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it made its approach and landed at Sydney Airport, a representative for the carrier stated. Four flight attendants required medical attention.

Local paramedics said they assessed five patients, and transported three of them to the hospital with minor injuries that comprised pain in the back and migraines. Those affected spanned from their thirties and seventies.

The event represents the latest incident of aircraft encountering severe turbulence, with aviation specialists indicating that climate change is a key driver.

There were nearly 250 travelers and fifteen staff members on the wide-body jet, the representative said, adding that the plane landed "without further incident" at the airport at 06:48 local time on Friday.

Emergency responders indicated they were alerted just three minutes before the plane landed, and emergency vehicles were ready and waiting at the airport.

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

In the previous year, twenty-five passengers and crew sustained injuries when a Delta Airlines flight, on a route from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, experienced "significant" turbulence just 120 minutes into the transoceanic journey, and was forced to make an emergency landing.

Recently, those on board on a certain international flight experienced a frightening five seconds bout of severe turbulence. One passenger died and many were hurt, as individuals not fastened in were thrown from their seats and crashed back down.

Bumpy air is a common occurrence while flying, and while occurrences of significant turbulence appear to be increasing, they are still very rare.

Research indicates that there are around five thousand cases of severe-or-greater turbulence each year, out of a overall number of over 35 million aircraft departures that now take off around the world.

Strong atmospheric disturbance is described as when the vertical motions of a aircraft experiencing disturbed air exert more than a significant G-force on your body - a strong enough force to propel you from your seat if you did not have on a seatbelt.

As climate change alters weather patterns, specialists caution that air travel could become more turbulent: temperature changes and shifting wind patterns in the jet stream level are projected to boost the occurrence and strength of dangerous in-flight bumps.