A Number of Injured as Rough Air Hits A Delta Airlines Plane Landing at Sydney

Multiple passengers and crew were hurt after a Delta flight from Los Angeles to Sydney was hit by significant turbulence Friday morning.

The flight, numbered 41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it landed at the Sydney airport, a representative for the carrier stated. Several cabin crew members sustained injuries.

Emergency medical services said they assessed five individuals, and took a trio to hospital with relatively minor issues that such as back pain and headaches. The injured ranged from their 30s up to the 70s.

The event represents the most recent case of commercial jets encountering turbulence, with researchers indicating that climate change is a significant contributor.

There were nearly 250 travelers and a crew of 15 on the wide-body jet, the official noted, adding that the plane landed "safely" at Sydney Airport at 06:48 local time on Friday.

The NSW Ambulance Service indicated they got a call just a mere three minutes before the plane landed, and response teams were standing by on the runway.

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

In the previous year, twenty-five passengers and crew sustained injuries when a separate Delta aircraft, on a route from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, Netherlands, experienced "considerable" atmospheric disturbance just two hours into the lengthy trip, and was forced to make an emergency landing.

Recently, passengers and crew on a certain international flight endured a terrifying five seconds period of extreme instability. A traveler passed away and numerous people sustained injuries, as those without seatbelts rose out of their seats and crashed back down.

Turbulence is a common occurrence while flying, and while instances of strong or severe turbulence appear to be increasing, they are remained quite uncommon.

Data suggests that there are an estimated thousands of instances of significant in-flight disturbance annually, out of a total of in excess of 35 million journeys that now take off worldwide.

Severe turbulence is categorized as when the up and down movements of a plane going through disturbed air generate more than 1.5 times the force of gravity on your body - a strong enough force to propel you from your seat if you were not fastened by a safety belt.

As climate change shifts weather patterns, experts warn that commercial aviation could become less smooth: shifts in temperature and changing jet streams in the upper atmosphere are likely to boost the occurrence and strength of severe turbulence.