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

A number of individuals sustained injuries following a Delta aircraft traveling from Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia experienced turbulence Friday morning.

The flight, numbered 41 "went through a short bout of rough air" as it landed at Sydney Airport, a company official stated. Four flight attendants were injured.

Emergency medical services said they assessed five patients, and transported three to hospital with relatively minor issues that included spinal discomfort and headaches. The injured ranged from their 30s up to the 70s.

It is the newest example of commercial jets encountering atmospheric disturbance, with experts pointing out that global warming is a significant contributor.

The aircraft was carrying 245 passengers and fifteen staff members on the aircraft, the representative said, stating that the plane landed "without further incident" at Sydney Airport at 06:48 local time on Friday.

The NSW Ambulance Service reported they got a call just only 180 seconds ahead of the plane arrived, and response teams were ready and waiting at the airport.

The reasons turbulence is becoming more frequent - and often stronger.

During the past year, 25 people were injured when a separate Delta aircraft, travelling from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, hit "severe" rough air just two hours into the transoceanic journey, and diverted for an precautionary landing.

Earlier this year, passengers and crew on a Singapore Airlines flight went through a terrifying five seconds of severe turbulence. A traveler died and many were hurt, as those without seatbelts lifted out of their seats and fell back down.

Bumpy air is fairly routine during flights, and while instances of significant turbulence are reportedly becoming more frequent, they are still very rare.

Research indicates that there are approximately five thousand cases of significant in-flight disturbance every year, out of a overall number of more than 35 million aircraft departures that now take off worldwide.

Severe turbulence is categorized as when the up and down movements of a jet going through unstable air exert more than a significant G-force on your body - a strong enough force to propel you from your seat if you weren't wearing a seatbelt.

As global warming modifies weather patterns, specialists caution that commercial aviation could become more turbulent: shifts in temperature and changing jet streams in the higher altitudes are likely to boost the regularity and severity of severe turbulence.