Multiple Hurt as In-Flight Disturbance Impacts Delta Flight Landing at Sydney

Multiple passengers and crew have been injured when a Delta Airlines flight traveling from LA to Sydney was hit by significant turbulence Friday morning.

The flight, numbered 41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it made its approach and landed at Sydney Airport, an airline spokesperson informed. Four flight attendants required medical attention.

The New South Wales Ambulance Service stated they treated five individuals, and took three of them to the hospital with minor injuries that comprised back pain and headaches. The injured spanned from their 30s to 70s.

This marks the most recent case of aircraft being hit by severe turbulence, with researchers saying that climate change is a key driver.

There were 245 passengers and fifteen staff members on the aircraft, the official added, clarifying that the plane touched down "without further incident" at the airport at 06:48 local time on Friday.

Paramedics reported they were alerted just three minutes before the plane arrived, and ambulances were ready and waiting at the airport.

Why plane turbulence is getting increasingly prevalent - and potentially more dangerous.

Last year, two dozen individuals were injured when a Delta Airlines flight, travelling from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, Netherlands, experienced "significant" rough air just 120 minutes into the long-haul flight, and was forced to make an unscheduled landing.

Recently, passengers and crew on a Singapore Airlines jet went through a terrifying five seconds period of extreme instability. An individual lost their life and many were hurt, as those without seatbelts were thrown from their seats and were slammed back.

Bumpy air is not uncommon while flying, and while instances of rough conditions are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are remained quite uncommon.

Data suggests that there are around thousands of instances of significant in-flight disturbance annually, out of a overall number of in excess of 35 million journeys that now take off around the world.

Severe turbulence is categorized as when the sudden jolts of a aircraft going through rough air masses generate more than 1.5g-force on your body - a strong enough force to throw you from your seat if you did not have on a safety belt.

As a changing climate modifies weather patterns, researchers alert that air travel could become more turbulent: temperature changes and altered air currents in the higher altitudes are expected to boost the frequency and intensity of dangerous in-flight bumps.