Several Affected as Turbulence Strikes Delta Flight Landing at Sydney

Multiple passengers and crew were hurt after a Delta jet from Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia experienced significant turbulence this past Friday.

The flight, numbered 41 "went through a short bout of rough air" as it made its approach and landed at the Sydney airport, a representative for the carrier informed. Several cabin crew members were injured.

The New South Wales Ambulance Service stated they evaluated five patients, and transferred three of them to the hospital with minor injuries that included back pain and migraines. Those affected were between their thirties and seventies.

The event represents the latest incident of commercial jets experiencing atmospheric disturbance, with experts saying that climate change is a significant contributor.

On board were nearly 250 travelers and fifteen staff members on the Airbus A350, the representative noted, adding that the plane arrived "safely" at Sydney Airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on the day in question.

Paramedics indicated they received a call just a mere three minutes prior to the plane arrived, and ambulances were standing by on the runway.

The reasons turbulence is becoming more common - and more severe.

Last year, two dozen individuals were injured when another Delta jet, on a route from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, Netherlands, hit "significant" rough air just two hours into the lengthy trip, and had to make an unscheduled landing.

Earlier this year, passengers and crew on a Singapore Airlines flight experienced a terrifying brief five-second bout of severe turbulence. One passenger died and dozens were injured, as individuals not fastened in rose out of their seats and fell back down.

In-flight turbulence is fairly routine during flights, and while instances of significant turbulence seem to be rising, they are statistically infrequent.

Data suggests that there are approximately five thousand cases of significant in-flight disturbance annually, out of a sum of in excess of 35 million aircraft departures that are conducted worldwide.

Strong atmospheric disturbance is defined as when the vertical motions of a aircraft experiencing rough air masses generate greater than 1.5g-force on your body - enough to throw you from your seat if you weren't wearing a safety belt.

As a changing climate modifies the conditions in the sky, specialists caution that flying could become less smooth: temperature changes and altered air currents in the jet stream level are likely to increase the frequency and intensity of severe turbulence.