A Number of Affected as Turbulence Hits Delta Aircraft Arriving in Sydney, Australia

Multiple passengers and crew were hurt following a Delta Airlines flight from LA to Sydney, Australia experienced turbulence Friday morning.

Delta Flight 41 "went through a short bout of rough air" as it made its approach and landed at the Sydney airport, an airline spokesperson informed. A number of the onboard staff were injured.

Emergency medical services reported they assessed five patients, and transported a trio to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries that comprised spinal discomfort and headaches. The injured spanned from their 30s up to the 70s.

It is the newest example of aircraft being hit by atmospheric disturbance, with experts pointing out that climate change is a major factor.

There were nearly 250 travelers and fifteen staff members on the wide-body jet, the representative noted, stating that the plane landed "safely and normally" at Sydney Airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on Friday morning.

The NSW Ambulance Service indicated they were alerted just three minutes before the plane touched down, and emergency vehicles were ready and waiting at the airport.

Why in-flight bumpiness is growing more common - and often stronger.

Last year, twenty-five passengers and crew were hurt when another Delta jet, on a route from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, Netherlands, hit "considerable" rough air just two hours into the long-haul flight, and had to make an precautionary landing.

Earlier this year, travelers and staff on a Singapore Airlines jet experienced a harrowing five seconds bout of severe turbulence. One passenger died and many were hurt, as unbelted passengers were thrown from their seats and fell back down.

In-flight turbulence is a common occurrence while flying, and while instances of significant turbulence appear to be increasing, they are remained quite uncommon.

Estimates show that there are approximately thousands of instances of severe or worse turbulence every year, out of a overall number of in excess of 35 million aircraft departures that now take off around the world.

Intense turbulence is described as when the sudden jolts of a aircraft passing through rough air masses generate more than 1.5 times the force of gravity on your body - enough to lift you out of your seat if you were not fastened by a restraint.

As a changing climate modifies the conditions in the sky, researchers alert that air travel could become more turbulent: shifts in temperature and shifting wind patterns in the jet stream level are likely to increase the regularity and severity of severe turbulence.