Several Injured as In-Flight Disturbance Strikes Delta Flight Arriving in Sydney

Several people sustained injuries following a Delta Airlines flight from LA to Sydney, Australia experienced turbulence this past Friday.

The flight, numbered 41 "encountered brief turbulence" as it touched down at Sydney Airport, a company official stated. Four flight attendants were injured.

Local paramedics stated they evaluated five individuals, and transported a trio to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries that included back pain and headaches. Those affected spanned from their thirties and seventies.

This marks the newest example of planes being hit by severe turbulence, with experts pointing out that climate change is a significant contributor.

There were nearly 250 travelers and a crew of 15 on the wide-body jet, the Delta spokesperson added, stating that the plane landed "without further incident" at Sydney Airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on Friday.

The NSW Ambulance Service reported they got a call just a mere three minutes before the plane arrived, and emergency vehicles were ready and waiting at the airport.

Why plane turbulence is growing more frequent - and more severe.

During the past year, 25 people were injured when another Delta jet, on a route from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, Netherlands, encountered "considerable" rough air just 120 minutes into the long-haul flight, and diverted for an unscheduled landing.

Earlier this year, passengers and crew on a Singapore Airlines jet went through a frightening five seconds period of extreme instability. One passenger died and many were hurt, as unbelted passengers lifted out of their seats and were slammed back.

In-flight turbulence is a common occurrence during flights, and while occurrences of rough conditions appear to be increasing, they are statistically infrequent.

Data suggests that there are an estimated 5,000 incidents of severe or worse turbulence every year, out of a overall number of over 35 million journeys that now take off worldwide.

Severe turbulence is described as when the up and down movements of a plane experiencing disturbed air apply greater than 1.5g-force on your body - a strong enough force to throw you from your seat if you were not fastened by a seatbelt.

As climate change alters atmospheric conditions, specialists caution that commercial aviation could become less smooth: temperature changes and changing jet streams in the higher altitudes are projected to heighten the occurrence and strength of significant turbulence.