Several Affected as Rough Air Hits Delta Aircraft Landing at Sydney

Several people sustained injuries following a Delta flight originating in LA to Sydney, Australia encountered significant turbulence this past Friday.

Flight DL41 "went through a short bout of rough air" as it made its approach and landed at Sydney Airport, a representative for the carrier informed. Four flight attendants sustained injuries.

Emergency medical services reported they treated five individuals, and transferred three of them to the hospital with minor injuries that included back pain and head pain. The injured spanned from their thirties and seventies.

It is the newest example of planes being hit by atmospheric disturbance, with experts pointing out that climate change is a key driver.

The aircraft was carrying 245 passengers and a crew of 15 on the wide-body jet, the official added, stating that the plane landed "without further incident" at the airport at shortly before 7 a.m. on the day in question.

Emergency responders indicated they received a call just a mere three minutes ahead of the plane landed, and ambulances were standing by on the runway.

Why in-flight bumpiness is growing increasingly prevalent - and more severe.

During the past year, twenty-five passengers and crew were injured when a separate Delta aircraft, travelling from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, hit "severe" atmospheric disturbance just a couple of hours into the lengthy trip, and diverted for an precautionary landing.

Earlier this year, those on board on a Singapore Airlines flight experienced a frightening five seconds period of extreme instability. One passenger lost their life and numerous people sustained injuries, as unbelted passengers were thrown from their seats and crashed back down.

Turbulence is a common occurrence on aircraft journeys, and while instances of significant turbulence appear to be increasing, they are remained quite uncommon.

Research indicates that there are an estimated thousands of instances of severe or worse turbulence annually, out of a sum of over 35 million journeys that now take off around the world.

Severe turbulence is defined as when the sudden jolts of a plane going through unstable air exert more than 1.5g-force on your body - enough to propel you from your seat if you did not have on a seatbelt.

As climate change alters the conditions in the sky, researchers alert that flying could become bumpier: shifts in temperature and shifting wind patterns in the jet stream level are likely to increase the frequency and intensity of significant turbulence.